Is Quarantine over yet? I wouldn't know. Not because I am afraid of the virus, but because I am a homebody and being advised to stay home is basically an introvert's dream. Also, I have struggled with the reality of all of life right now, so I am doing what I do best: hiding under a rock and just pretending that none of this is happening. Even still, Quarantine has been sweet in so many ways and there are so many things I do want to remember about this time. Here are just a few of them....
1. DJ working remotely. Being stuck at home with my husband for months on end? Yes please. As anyone knows, he is my favorite and this is my dream. I am basically living my best life over here. Heaven help me the day he has to go back into the office. You're going to find me crying on the floor in the fetal position when that day comes. In the meantime, I am loving living like a 1950's housewife, cooking him breakfast in the mornings and bringing him coffee every day at 2:00. I might be living in the wrong generation, but that's neither here nor there. Also, DJ's work attire is top notch and makes me smile every time.
2. Heather Robertson is my new best friend. I discovered her work outs during Quarantine and I love, love, love them. Her style is crisp and clean and her form is perfect and easy to follow along. I just completed her 12 week work out plan and loved it so much that I'm doing it again. Also, it is free. FREE. Speaking of working out....between eating paleo and working out during Quarantine, DJ has lost 20 pounds like a champ, while I am over here gaining weight like a chump. All I am saying is that it better be muscle gain. But it might actually be because exactly five minutes after I finished the final work out in the 12 week program, I immediately ate a big plate of french fries. I think I would feel incredibly fit and healthy if it weren't for all the second dinners I have also had over Quarantine.
3. Music. Here are the jams I have been enjoying in this season:
- Quarantine Life by Matthew West. This has been my family's theme song all summer. It is hilarious and timely. You can hear it in our Blanco video below.
- Taylor Swift's new Folklore album is perfection.
- Ruth B. Old news, I know, but I literally just discovered her last week when we went out to eat on BurgerIM's Karaoke Night and a teenage girl stole the show with her Lost Boys cover. Amazing. I've not stopped listening to Ruth B ever since.
- I'm loving this Classical Pop Cover playlist on Spotify. The Piano Guys make me happy.
4. Books. Always books. I read a lot anyway but life's biggest break has provided so much more time for my favorite past time. Also, Quarantine broke the library so I had to go and buy a Kindle. Darn. Here are a few of my favorite reads from the lock down:
- The Goodbye Diaries. A heartbreaking mother-daughter memoir journeying through a mother's terminal cancer and her teenage daughter's response to it.
- Ribbons of Scarlet. This historical fiction novel is amazing and is unlike any other book I've read before. Divided into six parts, it tells the story of the French Revolution in chronological order through the eyes of six different real life women who influenced the revolution in really significant ways. Told through the eyes of a philosopher, a revolutionary, a princess, a politician, an assassin, and a beautiful and popular actress who all lived in late 1700's France, you truly get a full understanding of the French Revolution from all angles, and develop a deepened understanding of and compassion for all sides- the oppressed and the oppressors, the royals and the commoners, the conservatives and the liberals. This was a really educational, historically accurate novel that was really eye opening. Also, it felt eerily similar to life as we know it today which kind of scared me.
- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. Insightful, funny, relatable, heart warming. I enjoyed it a lot.
- Boys and Sex. A fascinating and heartbreaking read about how pornography and the media are shaping young boys understanding of sex, intimacy, and hooking up. As a momma of three boys, I was only slightly traumatized.
- Born Survivors. A historical account of three women who hid their pregnancies and gave birth in concentration camps. Unimaginable. Beautifully told.
5. Health! After 15 months of weird, undiagnosed health issues, I am finally almost feeling back to my old self. Doctors spent the past 9 months watching a spot in my brain which just recently came with an official diagnosis: I have an "indolent, lazy, leave me alone" brain tumor. If there was ever a brain tumor to have, this one is it. No further action required, which is the best news I could have received (besides not having a brain tumor at all of course). Also, just in case anyone was wondering what it's like to get a brain scan during a pandemic, just imagine wearing a mask, then putting on a football helmet, and then getting shoved inside a coffin. It wasn't terrifying at all.
6. House projects! It's been nothing short of eye candy over here with all the house projects DJ has been doing. The work is life giving for him, brings great joy to the kids, and he's a hot hunk to look at when he's doing all that building. He's spent Quarantine well, constructing a fort for the boys, an entry table for me, and now triple bunks for the kids, all things that will be used and cherished for years to come. Hubba, hubba!
7. Normalcy. There are only three things in my life that feel normal right now: home, church, and nature. Which is good seeing as those are my favorite things. Our church just started a new series on social and political theology which everyone should listen to as it's super timely to life right now and all of humanity in general. And nature has been our greatest reprieve, allowing us time and space to discover creation in the wide open air free of masks and the post-apocalyptic feel that everywhere else seems to have. We've been to the hill country three times since March and try to spend as many weekends as possible hiking local trails and swimming in lakes and rivers. Here is a video from our last trip to Blanco, TX and some pictures of our recent hikes.
8. Last but not least, I'm growing out my bangs. If there was ever a time to go through an awkward hair phase, this has been it. If Quarantine was all for this, it would have been enough.
And there you have it. Some little happy nothings that have made our life sweet in the past five-going-on-eternity months.
xoxo
