Sequestered with Teens; Week Five

FIVE WEEKS!?! So many thoughts on this… time has flown by, I feel a little craziness lingering just below the surface, I am happy though- at least at this moment, it feels like it’s been forever since I’ve been to the office, I’m so OVER being cooped up, there’s so much more I want to accomplish before life goes back to normal, I can’t wait to go get a massage! I like being home, I want to go out. So many contradictions.

I’ve been remembering my dreams more. They’ve all been quite strange. I dreamt of snakes one night… lots of snakes. At one point, Phoenix ran and jumped on a terrifying snake. I vividly remember her face… so determined, no fear… she was going to get that snake. She did get that snake… and then it bit her. I dreamt about waitressing at the restaurant I worked at when I was younger… the cups were stacked so high I kept knocking a bunch down, and laughing, and I couldn’t figure out how to use the soda machine. I dreamt about the river, but all I can remember is standing in the middle of the Columbia… the water was moving very swiftly, but it was only up to my knees.

You’d think working from home, healthy habits would be easier to create and keep. After all, we have extra time (no more commuting, less time priming and primping and getting ready). Not so for me! When life was normal and I went into the office, I would set my alarm, get up early and spend some time reading my Bible and mentally preparing for the day. I would do Yoga. I would drink a lot of water. Now… I start work at 9am, and sometimes I don’t even get out of bed until 8:40! I forget to take my vitamins constantly. And I had to start setting alarms through the day to make sure I was hydrating. At the end of the week, I began to get back into routine. I found a mix on YouTube and did yoga to some of the most soul-calming, reassuring, God-power, pump-you-up music. Why don’t I do that every day?

This week, I visited my step mom (who is doing AWESOME with healthy habits… such a show off. lol), and met her new kitty. And I spent an entire afternoon with my mom and grandma in my grandma’s beautiful garden.

 

If you haven’t seen The Notebook… quarantine-time is a perfect time to watch it… it is a must-see romantic movie… one of my favorites. Here is a scene that I decided I should act out… a fine example of me losing my mind: Say I’m a Bird! (Well… Noah fed her craziness and got all romantic… Jesse decided to go outside and escape my craziness)

The excitement of the week was definitely our date with Monopoly. Am I being sarcastic? Maybe. It was a nice break from monotony anyhow. I’d been collecting the Safeway Monopoly tickets since the game began a couple months ago, but hadn’t taken the time to put any on the board. I roped Jesse into helping. So we parked it at the dining room table with a White Claw, and gloves and set out to win $1,000,000. We didn’t win a million, nor did I wear gloves. Two hours later, we did find ourselves richer by eight donuts, six loaves of fresh french bread, sour cream, spaghetti sauce, hand soap, tissue (good luck finding that!), and other random grocery freebies. I ended up with blue fingers, and Jesse ended up with carpal tunnel. We also earned 579 tokens that we cashed in for a $25 grocery gift card, a $15 Fandango gift card, and entered a bunch of sweepstakes.

I participated in a Zoom Book Club meeting. We read, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. Loved it. Reese Witherspoon directed a Hulu series based on the book. Phoenix and I binged watched it. I was probably annoying pointing out all the differences between the book and the series. My favorite character in the book was my least favorite character in the series. I think I may need to blog about this!!

Jesse and I did some couple’s yoga poses. I’ve wanted to do this for so long! It takes far more balance and trust than I anticipated.

Abby got a hair cut. Ayden says she looks like a basketball player.

This was a week of boredom eating and alcohol.

Counselors and life coaches are going to be crazy busy at the end of all this quarantine, with new clients needing to be coaxed and trained to live in society again. How am I going to manage putting makeup on every day again? A friend of mine is pretty sure she’s going to throat-punch the first person that comes up to her to hug her.

Kid update:

Ayden is done. He’s so done with all this. He walks around continuously saying he can’t do this anymore. None of his friends are quarantined. He’s heavy with frustration, and sadness. He may not admit to the sadness part, but you can see it. He has gone back to work, so at least two days a week he has purpose. People give me suggestions on things he can do… plant a garden was a popular one. I don’t know who these people are, or who their 18-year old sons are… but there is no possible way I could get Ayden to go plant a garden. He is angry that he’s locked in the house with his parents. He wants freedom and friends. He is able to get a tiny reprieve from his misery while working out, eating, playing video games, and some activities we come up with to do together… but ultimately, he needs freedom and friends.

Alexis is working. Her boyfriend has been quarantined, so they see each other occasionally. She has been painting a lot. Her attitude has been much appreciated lately.

Phoenix is busy busy. She’s doing little outings with her boyfriend (also has been quarantined). They went and watched the sun set in the gorge the other day. She’s working a lot, and has a ton of homework to wrap up her freshman year of college.

This is almost over. This is almost over. This is almost over. This is almost over.