My running buddy and I stopped our Sunday run/walks that we termed our church last March. This was especially hard because we had attended our church since our 17 yr olds were in Kindergarten. We now connect once or twice a week over the phone for virtual happy hour and/or teletherapy. I shared this week that I could not figure out why the dishes in the sink was such a trigger for me lately. I literally almost started crying the other day just by looking at the sink full of dishes. My wise friend knew the answer. It is a task that we do at least once a day, every single day, and no matter how often we do it, another full sink will be waiting the next day. This whole year has been like Groundhog Day over and over and over, so I am referring to it as the Groundhog YEAR.
This revision of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day helps illustrate my point.
Almost exactly a year ago, I ordered my spring supply of pine needles. I remember spreading 10 bales at a time with my brand new puppy named Bailey. She even “helped” spread them by pulling them mouthful by mouthful. Today I placed another order for 150 bales. This year it is mostly to help cover ALL the mud left behind from our super cold and wet winter. I texted my running buddy a video of the puppies running around my muddy back yard with crying emojis. Her response – “the life of our furry friends is fleeting, yards are always an option.” Damn, I am grateful to have her as a friend.
So I will go back to what I was doing last spring… spreading 10 bales at a time, but this year with 2 puppy assistants. And, I have decided to splurge on some sod for the backyard because of the rain and puppies. Oh, and it doesn’t look like we will be spending money on a big spring break or summer trips, so I refuse to feel guilty about this splurge.
Pandemic life continues almost a year after it started with no end in sight. We will have to keep doing ALL the things to stay sane. Sigh. But I am finding myself dreaming of all the ordinary things we used to do, like church with my running buddy on Sundays.