I’ve seen this post swirling around the blogosphere lately and it made me start thinking about this odd time in our lives. There’s many things I miss but there’s lots of things that I’m ok with them being out of our lives…maybe even for good.
5 THINGS I MISS
DESTINATION RUNS
Spring is always the time when I start looking forward to long runs in the mountains chasing vert. But with having to travel to the mountains, not wanting to do something really stupid like getting myself hurt during this time, and not wanting to go solo, those runs have been put on the back burner for a bit. I’m super thankful for the local trails that have kept me sane but they are getting old. I need more variety! Hopefully, I’ll be able to have some kind of mountain running fun this summer.
Since the beaches have been closed and the weather is finally warming up, I’m missing running, walking, riding my bike or even sitting on the beach. I don’t know how we are going to survive a summer without the beach. Hopefully, everyone can behave and we can have some sort of system to make sure everyone adheres to social distancing soon.
CRUISING THE AISLES OF TARGET
It’s no secret. I love Target. One of my favorite things to do is to cruise the aisles. There’s just so many cute things there! I’ve only been physically in the store once in the past 9 weeks and it gave me mixed emotions. I was happy to be pushing a red cart around the store but it was not a casual shopping trip. It’s just not the same wearing a mask and not wanting to touch too many things. I practically ran through the store grabbing things on my list rather than browsing. For once, I only got things that were on my list. If you frequent Target, you know that NEVER happens!
Actually, I miss cruising the aisles of anywhere with no worry about wearing a mask or fear of getting infected.
RUNNING WITH FRIENDS
Over the past few years, I’ve become quite a social runner. I’d run with one person one time per week at least. It became part of my social hour and one that I would look forward to. I could catch up with friends on our daily lives. It’s funny that we cover topics that we probably wouldn’t even touch if we were sitting around having wine or coffee. There’s just something about running that brings out the confessional. I’m missing that connection!
A REGULAR SCHEDULE
I’m the type of person who likes a regular schedule. Over the past 9 weeks, there has been nothing regular about it. Every week, my work schedule has been different because I’m working in different departments to make up my reduced hours in Cardiac Rehab. That means I’m working different days and different hours. WAY different hours. Even though we don’t have big plans, it’s still such a bummer to work on the weekends because those are the only days that Ron and the kids have off from work and school
THE GYM AND MY YOGA STUDIO
I’m thankful that I have some at-home strength training equipment and a treadmill but it’s not the same as the gym. I miss the Stepmill. I miss the Elliptical. I miss the squat rack, heavier weights and TRX. Plus, I feel like I push myself to work harder at the gym than in my basement.
And yoga at home isn’t the same as in-studio.
5 THINGS I DON’T MISS
SPENDING MONEY
It’s been eye opening to see how much money we used to spend on stuff that we considered “essential”. Stabucks and Dunkin’ trips. Cruising the aisles of Target and picking up random stuff. Eating out (although we didn’t do that too much before). Whenever things start to open up again, our plan is to not get back into the habit of thinking these things are essential. It’s kind of nice to have the extra money!
A BUSY SCHEDULE
Spring is usually a busy time for kid sports and activities. That means that our weekday evenings are a plethora of places to be from the moment school/work gets out to at least 8 p.m. or later. And then there’s the weekend games where Ron and I would have to divide and conquer to get each kid to their field at the same time. I’ve always been a homebody so this extra time at home, not explaining why I don’t want to go out has been kind of nice.
WEARING REGULAR CLOTHES
As someone who wears scrubs to work, I’ve only worn “regular clothes” on my days off and the weekends. Now, if I’m not wearing scrubs, I’m wearing leggings. I put on regular clothes a few times and lasted an hour at most. If I’m going to be hanging out at home and going for 10,000 walks and bike rides a day, I want to be comfy. And if the weather ever gets warm enough, I’ll change out of my leggings into shorts.
MY KIDS COMPLAINING ABOUT GOING FOR WALKS
Prior to the Stay At Home orders, it was like pulling teeth to get my kids to go for walks or bike rides. It would happen every so often but more than likely, it didn’t because the evenings were full of activities that we had to rush to. Max rarely got a walk longer than 10 minutes in the evening. Now, my kids are ASKING to go on walks. Our walks have been a time to check out the neighborhood and hopefully, see friends and teachers along the way. It’s amazing what a pandemic can do! This is definitely something I hope we can continue afterwards.
THE MORNING HUSTLE
Don’t get me wrong, I’m kind of missing my early morning workouts. What I don’t miss is the morning hustle to fit in everything and then scramble to get everyone fed and out the door to work/school on time. Mornings have slowed down quite a bit unless I’m heading into work. Then I’m still the one hustling but it’s only me that I have to worry about.
5 THINGS I’M GRATEFUL FOR
OUR JOBS
When this first started, I wasn’t sure I was going to have a job. But thankfully, the hospital has kept us semi opened and we’ve been allowed to redeploy to different departments to make up our hours. And I’m thankful that Ron has a job that he can easily work from home. I know we are the lucky ones.
OUR HEALTH
I’m always thankful for good health but after seeing and hearing stories of those affected by COVID-19 or having to be hospitalized during this time, it makes me appreciate it even more.
THAT I HAVE TWO KIDS
I’m so glad that I have two kids that can play with each other. They may fight like cats and dogs at times but they still are BFF’s. I don’t know how parents with one child are able to get anything done with work or their jobs at this time. At least with my kids they have someone other than boring ol’ mom or dad to hang with.
ICE CREAM
I’ve got a confession to make. We’ve been having ice cream every single day. I was joking with Ron that one of my biggest dilemmas over the past 9 weeks has been figuring out how many quarts of ice cream I need to buy to get us through one week in between grocery store trips.
TECHNOLOGY
Can you imagine if this happened 10 or 20 years ago? There’s no way we’d be functioning like we are right now. I’m grateful that we have the technology to stay connected with friends and family even when self-isolating. I’m thankful that we can order stuff online and pick it up curbside to support local stores or have something delivered from anyplace in the country.
Your turn…
What are you missing?
What don’t you miss?
Linking up with Runners’ Roundup
The post 5 Things I Miss (and 5 Things I Don’t Miss) appeared first on Happy Fit Mama.