5 Things I Miss
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Family + Friends + Play Dates
I’m lumping all of these together because, without a doubt, what I’ve been missing most over the course of the past nearly two months is social interaction with our people! We’ve canceled plans to see family on three separate occasions and not seeing them for several months is just plain hard! I’ve also really, really missed regularly seeing our friends. Though I’m used to being home with the boys, I’m not used to isolating ourselves like this and really miss connecting with my friends in person. We’ve done the whole Zoom thing a number of times but nothing replaces in-person conversation and I’m craving it! I also miss watching my boys have a blast with their friends and seeing them just be kids during their various activities and play dates.
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Preschool for Chase
On one hand, I know I’m very lucky to only have to worry about school for Chase and the daily school activities his teacher sends our way are optional, low-pressure and simple compared to what so many of you are going through when it comes to educating older children and multiple children. On the other hand, I JUST MISS PRESCHOOL! I miss feeling good about dropping Chase off at a place he loves four mornings a week. I miss the confidence I have in knowing his teachers are pouring their amazing knowledge and expertise into my child. I miss his preschool stories and excitement over the various lessons. I miss the socialization for him with his classmates. And, selfishly, I miss not having to worry about educating my child beyond reading and fun, play-based activities at home.
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Boot Camp + The Gym (aka my 45 minutes of “me time”)
This one feels so silly to include but, if I’m being honest, it’s something I miss every single day. I didn’t realize just how much having someone else watch my kids so I could get in a quick workout in the morning did for my sanity. It gave me time to truly focus on my workouts and myself and let me put being a mom and everything else going on in my life on hold. Now I feel like whenever I choose to work out, I’m neglecting something else and it’s not a good feeling even though I know exercise is important for me, my health and my sanity.
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Distraction-Free Work Time
Like so many of you out there right now, I’m struggling to balance working from home and everything else. I feel like every day I am failing in some area. If I get in a workout in the morning, I feel instantly behind on blog stuff. If I use my pre-pandemic 5 – 7 a.m. time slot to work, a workout likely isn’t going to happen at all and I just don’t feel like I have my normal level of energy all day long. (I don’t even need a workout to be crazy hard — just the simple act intentional movement by myself without juggling kiddos does so much for my sanity!) And then when I try to dedicate Ryder’s nap time to work, I feel bad because this means that I’m likely neglecting Chase’s preschool assignment for the day because Ryder’s nap time is often the only time I can give Chase the undivided attention he needs and deserves during his “school time” without a grabby 22 month old making things 10,000 times more difficult and serving as the ultimate form of distraction. I’ve had to work at night more often than before which is such a struggle for me because my body and brain are both dead the minute the kids go to bed. It’s a daily battle and makes me feel very fortunate for my usual work schedule which, while still a crazy mix of motherhood and blog work, feels much more manageable than what’s currently going on over here! Oh and don’t even get me started on the seemingly endless cycle of dishes and the state of our house at 4 p.m. every day…
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The Ease of Running Errands + Quickly Grabbing Food Out
Remember when we could just pop into the grocery store or Target for x, y, z or swing by a local restaurant for lunch and not give it much thought? I miss that a lot! Now it feels like every trip needs to be incredibly intentional, grocery shopping needs to be planned and well-thought out, any food we want from a restaurant needs to be pre-ordered, etc. None of this is horrible but it does remove some of the joy from piling into the car, running around town or grabbing food on the fly from a favorite restaurant on a Saturday afternoon. When all of this is over, I definitely won’t miss relying on my phone and the internet for most of our needs.
5 Things I Don’t Miss
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Rushed Mornings
There’s something lovely about having absolutely nowhere to go every morning. Without the pressure of getting everyone out the door by 9 a.m., we’ve eased into a more laid back morning routine and it often involves pancakes, French toast, lots of stories, cuddles on the couch, unstructured playtime, etc.
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Doing My Hair + Makeup
Okay so I wouldn’t say I’m exactly spending hours on my hair and makeup every day in my usual life (far from it — I’m a top knot + 5-minute makeup routine kind of girl normally) but I’ve put on makeup exactly four times in the past seven weeks and took the time to do my hair twice. While I admit I always feel better about myself when I spend a little time getting ready, it’s been nice to forgo the usual beauty routine. I am still sticking with my usual super-basic skincare routine (Amara Vitamin C Cleanser + Thayers Witch Hazel Toner + Rosehip Seed Oil) and embracing the fresh face look!
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All of the “Noise”
I’m not sure how to put this one in words but one thing that has been kind of nice during this time of social distancing is the lack of noise from outside activities, commitments, obligations, etc. I miss a lot of these things but there is something to be said for eliminating every source of outside entertainment to make you really notice and appreciate little things like sunny days, backyard sprinkler splash pads, laughing kids, made-from-scratch cupcakes, etc. There are certain aspects of social distancing that appeal to the homebody in me and reiterate in my mind the fact that we don’t need a jam-packed schedule to have fun and enjoy life.
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Dog Mom Guilt
You guys, Sadie is living her best life right now and it’s making my heart so happy! During normal life, she gets lots of love and a walk every day but she is THRIVING having all of us home 24/7. Any dog guilt I have in my usual life related to Sadie’s outside time and extra exercise has gone out the window! She’s looooving the hours and hours we spend together outside and enjoying multiple walks every day. I’ve also noticed that she’s embracing her big sister role more and more. We always joke that Sadie’s love for our children is a bit unrequited and that she longs for the days when she was our “only child” but I’ve noticed Sadie wandering over to the boys for some love and cuddles and she even seems to enjoy it when Ryder or Chase take the leash to lead her on a walk. Progress!
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Not Seeing Ryan Until After 6:30 p.m.
During a usual work week, Ryan leaves the house a little before 7 a.m. and is often not home until close to 7 p.m. Even though Work from Home Ryan is still very much tied to his computer and phone all day (he has a temporary office set up in our bedroom), seeing him pop into the kitchen for lunch or join us in the front yard for 10-20 minute breaks a few times a day is so nice! And lately he’s been able to wrap up work at a decent time so we have a couple of hours together as a family before the boys go to bed which is the BEST. I know working from home is not ideal for anyone who usually works from an office but we’re both embracing the small perks of this otherwise strange working arrangement.
5 Things I’m Grateful For
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Our Jobs
It’s not lost on me or Ryan for one second how fortunate we are to have jobs right now, let alone jobs we can do from home. We truly talk about this every single day and keeping our hearts set on gratitude for the work we have to do has been central to the way we’ve been handling the adjustment that comes along to working from home with two kids in the mix.
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Spring in Charlotte
In the five years we’ve lived in Charlotte, I can honestly say I’ve never appreciated just how wonderful spring is in our hometown until this year. With outside being the only place we can go every day, I find myself feeling grateful for our mild climate, mostly sunny skies and temperatures ranging from 60-80 degrees. No quarantine is ever ideal, but if it was going to happen at any time of year in Charlotte, this is a decent one for us because spending time outside is so darn appealing! I also love how Chase seems to comment on the weather now, too, and notice how beautiful it is outside. Clearly Ryan and I talk about this a lot because it is definitely rubbing off on him! 
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Various Ways People Are Connecting and Helping
From generous donations and picking up groceries for a neighbor to writing uplifting messages on the sidewalk with chalk, drive by birthday parades for kids and social-distancing visits from teachers and more, it’s really awesome to see so many people caring for each other so well right now. It seems like most people want to do something to help right now and I love this “we’re all in this together” attitude.
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Brothers + Our Family Unit
I’m grateful for our family every day but WOW do I have another level of appreciation for our family unit right now. Chase and Ryder are BFFs and even though brother battles occur every single day (and oh my gosh to they kill me sometimes), every single part of my heart is so grateful they have each other through this time of isolation. Ryder looks to Chase for his primary source of entertainment and play and no one makes him laugh harder than his big brother. Chase clearly relishes his big brother role and seeing our boys run around, laugh and play together every day is the best.
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Food
File food under things I’m grateful for every day! I know we’re lucky to be able to feed our family mostly healthy food as well as have access to grocery delivery and take out. Though feeding our family can admittedly feel never-ending, it’s also been a source of joy for me when I take the time to find new recipes to try and fun treats for us to make together, like homemade ice cream and glazed doughnuts.
Questions of the Day
Your turn!!
What are…
- 5 things you’re missing right now?
- 5 things you don’t miss?
- 5 things you’re grateful for?
The post 5 Things I Miss / 5 Things I Don’t / 5 Things I’m Grateful For appeared first on Peanut Butter Fingers.
