Get ready for a Holiday Edition …
Yesterday may have been Memorial Day, but Sunday felt more like Christmas. I know “Christmas in May” isn’t a thing, and frankly, I still don’t really get the whole “Christmas in July” thing either, but that’s not my point here. My point is, yesterday felt like a holiday for me because after nearly 11 full weeks of living #myquarantinedlife with my #quarantinefour all up in my grill 24/7, I had an entire day to myself. Not a full 24 hours, but a solid 12 — which is basically the same thing in #coronatimes.
How did I get so lucky? My husband and two sons spent the day driving to Connecticut to clean out my older son’s boarding school dorm room, and I chose not to go with them — leading to my “home alone” day. Again, how’d I get so lucky? I’d like to think it was my keen negotiating skills, but in actuality, my husband suggested it (possibly so he didn’t have to hear me bitch, but that’s neither here nor there). Either way, I win.
I was prepared, however, to make my case for staying home. I was armed and ready with five pretty solid reasons, but I didn’t need to flex my debate muscles. In a weird way, it felt like an anticlimactic win, so I’m going to share my rationale with you all because it’s my blog and I can do whatever I want. #sorrynotsorry #ifyouthinkimkiddingyourewrong. So here they are — my five great reasons for not helping my son clear out his dorm room:
- Only the student and two others were permitted to be on campus at a time. We’re a family of four so that meant one of us needed to stay back. It was either me or my 14-year-old son, and it would have been bad parenting to leave him behind, so I took one for the team.
- Because his “visit home” three months ago was only supposed to be temporary, H only brought a few things home with him. You know, the typical teenage necessities, like his phone, laptop, headphones, wallet, lacrosse equipment, and a small backpack of clothes. That meant virtually everything else he owned, including a bicycle, was still in rural Connecticut. Remember, he’s a 16-year-old manchild so you know his room was probably a disaster with dirty and clean clothes everywhere but the drawers, moldy dishes piled up, spoiled food left out, and don’t even get me started on what it must have smelled like. Needless to say, my anxiety started to rise just thinking about it. Best for everyone if I just stayed behind to avoid the shit storm (and my subsequent, disapproving nagging that would have ensued).
- I have an autoimmune disease and am currently being treated for mercury poisoning as well, which means I have a compromised immune system and was concerned about the risk of exposure. Plus, I cannot make the five hour drive without a bathroom break, so that also came into play. Those rest stops are sketchy any time, but even more so now in #coronatimes.
- I accidentally soy-ed myself a few days ago and have been dealing with an autoimmune flare-up ever since. Between the constant headache, brain fog, fatigue, neuropathy, and GI issues, I wasn’t going to be very useful anyway.
- I’m selfish. At 48, I don’t do things I don’t want to do — and I didn’t want to do this. Besides, once all the shit came home, who do you think had to organize, sort, clean, and store it today? So really, my role in all this just came later.
You may be judging me right now for not being there to support my son on what was probably an emotional day for him, or you may be praising me for amazing marital skills in passing the buck to my husband. Either way, I’m okay with it because it’s what I needed to do for my health and sanity.
So how did I spent my “Christmas-in-May-Coronavirus-Holiday”? I’m sure you’re curious. Or maybe you’re not. I’m going to tell you anyway because, again, it’s my blog and I can do what I want (yes, I’m feeling a little feisty today as I write this). I had 12 glorious hours to do five things that make me happy:
- I slept in later than usual. Well, later than what used to be my usual. I really do need to get back in to my early morning routine, but I decided my May Christmas holiday was not the day to start.
- I got in a great basement workout. Since my accidental soy ingestion, I’ve been struggling, but something about being home alone gave me the energy and motivation I needed to kick it up a notch. That, plus really loud music.
- I potted some fresh herbs and experimented with a new rhubarb-grape-pear jam recipe while listening to a new podcast — and I didn’t have to use earpods because I was home alone. Have I mentioned that yet?!
- I cooked only for myself. These days, with everyone home for every meal, that is treat in and of itself.
- I wrote most of this blog post exactly how I prefer to write — alone and in silence. No noise, no mess, no interruptions … After nearly three full months of living and working in lockdown with my family, it was heavenly.
For me, this truly was Christmas in May! I think I need to make that a real thing. There are still a few days left in the month … Who’s with me?
-LJDT
