Ah, June…wait,
it IS still June, yeah? Oh right, it must be, because we just marked the
Summer Solstice this past week. Although I’ve gotta say: how meaningless
is THAT designation in 2020? Don’t get me wrong, I looooove me some extra
daylight to get outside and appreciate nature, but seriously,
“longest day of the year”—ha! Get in line, 6/20, ‘cuz you’ve got some
stiff competition…like EVERY OTHER DAY SINCE MID-MARCH, for crying out loud.
Sheesh…
Okay, breezing
past my mini-tantrum to the actual, you know, “updates” and whatnot. First,
another calendar milestone passed with barely a blip on our collective radar. Not
that it wasn’t special or that we didn’t care—but Riley’s last
day of 11th grade almost escaped our notice because, well, he’s been
home for months, handling his academic load completely independently, and frankly,
had already finished up all of his assignments weeks ahead of time. So yeah…adios,
Junior year…hola, High School Senior. (Pause: GAH! Continue…)
As for Derek, the biggest change to his daily life came when he started a new job. After a somewhat…let’s call it a “tepid search”…he ended up accepting the only offer he received, sorting packages at a warehouse for one of the big nationwide shipping companies. This was all well and good…except that they wanted him for the (brace yourself) 10-2 slot…as in p.m. to “oh good heavens are you kidding me, that’s the middle of the night”. Needless to say, he and I discussed this in-depth, because I wanted to be as sure as possible that he thought it through completely and understood the potential pitfalls inherent in keeping such a schedule for an extended period of time.
Specifically,
I stressed that sabotaging your natural circadian rhythms can in turn mess with
some of the things that are most important to my son…namely “eating”
(approximately 5 times a day) and “sleeping” (the boy does thrive on his
10 hours per night!). Of course, with the brimming confidence—and boundless
energy--of the young, he assured me he’d be able to handle it. And then
he actually went to work…and discovered that the 4-hour stint he’d signed up
for was the norm in the era before COVID. Now, however, with
people doing so much more of their shopping via the Internet, the facility is
being absolutely overrun with orders, such that his crew (and presumably
all the other ones as well) are having to stay much longer than planned,
in an attempt to keep up with the volume.
And that’s
why he’s been getting off (only when a supervisor releases him to leave)
at more like 3:30 (UGH!), and crawling into bed (after driving
home, showering, and scarfing a snack) around…5 a.m. (YIKES!) It’s…it’s just…NOT
GOOD, y’all. Obviously we let him slumber as late as he wants, but after a week
of this, he’s understandably exhausted, and coming up against exactly
what I warned him about, with both his appetite and his fitness routines
getting screwed up along with his rest. So, we’ll just have to see how
long he’s able to keep this up…and hope that his bank account gets the nice fat
boost that it needs from his first and (hopefully only) experience with the
dreaded Graveyard Shift.
Next...hmm…business
continued as usual for Husband, but he did get to try out the expanded version
of our library’s curbside pickup service, to get some fresh reading
material. Fortunately, he snagged my reserved novel as well, since the
one time I’d tried to navigate the system, I encountered a line of cars backed
up all the way down the lengthy driveway--and not perceptibly moving. I think
we can all agree that I do NOT possess the patience required to wait out
that kind of situation, so I U-turned and hightailed it out of there. (On the
other hand, he reported that it was quick and easy-peasy when he went,
so I guess it’s just a game of chance as to what day and/or time you show up? We
shall see…)
He was also
able to make an appointment to swim laps at the local YMCA where
he’s a member. Apparently they’re booking every other lane in half-hour
sessions, to enforce social distancing but let you get your, I don’t know….pool
fix? All told, this probably represents more out-of-the-house time in the span
of one week than he’s had in quite a while, so he must have been itching
to go roam the Great Outdoors!
Finally, my
big excitement for the week involved my bootcamp group. You see, they’ve
been holding virtual meetings since April…but I honestly haven’t been
attending, because the idea of working out via Skype—which I know many folks
do in their regular lives, regardless of quarantine restrictions—does not, as
they say, “spark joy” for me, personally.
BUT it was my
turn to host the sweatfest, so I put together a Tabata-style thing (first
testing it out on myself to see how I liked it, and then making modifications…because
even with my leisure time, I’m evidently an irredeemable Type-A).
Next I reviewed the instructions provided by our Fearless Leader (who’s on
maternity leave with her precious baby girl—yaaay!!), created the event,
emailed a reminder to members, posted in Facebook the night
before….and even after following the list of directions, still stressed about
whether I’d done everything correctly or forgotten anything crucial. (I mean, doesn’t
my brain seem like a delight? Siiiigh….)
Anyway, early
in the morning of our online get-together I scurried about in the driveway, arranging
my “tools”—exercise mat, a stool upon which to rest my laptop, and my
phone for the timer. I fiddled with the camera until it was in the right
position, tested the audio from my speakers, verified that I understood
how to initiate the call…and having finished the preparations, commenced
anxiously pacing until my health-buddies started joining. Whew--success! Then
I was able to relax and happily lunge/squat/plank/crunch/pushup/etc. with
my peeps. I can only imagine that, to the neighbors—and all the many walkers,
runners, and bikers that passed my house during this half-hour circus—I must
have appeared a bit…silly?...leaping around next to my garage and
conversing with invisible friends on a screen.
Nevertheless,
I found it an immensely satisfying interlude, in spite of the SUPER-HIGH FREAKING
HUMIDITY--but the true reward, of course, (besides improving strength
and cardiovascular ability, blah blah blah) came afterwards, when we
continued on to the coffee chat portion of our activity. Personal
training out of the way first thing in the morning…followed by java and
catching up with pals? The very definition of a WIN/WIN, I tell ya…
And…there you
have it: another week down, with everyone in Casa WestEnders so far managing to
avoid the monster virus and maintain their sanity as best we can. Now whattya
say we get out there—perhaps with one of those carefully selected books…and
some ice cream to combat the swelter--and bask in those sunny Summer hours,
while they last…whoo hoo!
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