Pre-COVID Saturday vs. COVID Saturday
Pre-COVID-19 I was a busy mom. I worked every 4-5 weekends and was traveling for work at least once a month to various conferences around the country. That only left 2 weekends each month at home and inevitably once of them we would travel to the Twin Cities to visit my family leaving only one weekend at home not working. So how would I spend it? Here was my "typical" Saturday at home when I didn't have to work or travel.
Pre-COVID-19 Saturday:
5:45 A.M. - alarm goes off, google assistant says, "Good morning, Catherine."
6:00 A.M. - meeting running group behind the Holiday gas station to run along the Duluth lakewalk trail for 8 miles
7:30 A.M - say goodbye to friends and head home
8:00 A.M. - say good morning to kids watching Pokemon on Netflix, shower
9:00 A.M. - do a water color painting project in the playroom with the kids
11:50 A.M. - pack up and leave for cub scout pack bowling event at Incline Station
2:00 P.M. - return bowling shoes and say no 100 times as we walk through the arcade area to the parking lot
2:05 A.M. - drop off kids at front entrance of Great Lakes Aquarium, carry Marit's wheelchair inside, tell them to wait for me, go park car and run back to museum but kids have wandered off and are in the elevator to check out the tide pools, sturgeon touch pool, and river otter exhibits
3:30 P.M. - leave aquarium, take kids for special treat at Chilly Billy's ice cream (because the it's a heat wave and the temp is above freezing), then head home
5:00 P.M. - pick up sushi at Zen House, eat quickly because we have to go to another event
5:35 P.M. - Theo and I pack up for Candlelight cross country skiing and snowshoeing at Boulder Lake Environmental Learning Center
6:15 P.M. - ski 3km loop in the dark
7:30 P.M. - enjoy hot cocoa and roast marshmallows by the giant bonfire
8:00 P.M. - drive home
9:00 P.M. - fall asleep relaxing in the sauna
10:00 P.M. - actually go to sleep in bed
Post-COVID-19 Saturday - "Stay at Home" orders in place since March 28
8:13 A.M. - no alarm, wake up to birds chirping and sunshine peaking through the curtains
8:20 A.M. - help kids dye Easter eggs
8:45 A.M. - take kids to Caribou drive through window for "special breakfast" (first time I've left the driveway in 6 days), enjoy cup of coffee with Seth, start working on a 1000 piece puzzle of Canal Park, kids run around the house all day
1:00 P.M. - break from puzzle to eat lunch
1:30 P.M. - start a Disney movie (Tangled) with kids and fall asleep on couch, then return to puzzle
4:00 P.M - backyard Easter egg hunt with 2 neighbor kids, Natalie and Daniel (6 feet apart)
5:30 P.M - dinner (take out to support local restaurant, Va Bene) and then work on puzzle some more
8:00 P.M. - binge watch The Good Place on Netflix with Seth and fall asleep on the couch (again), this time around 11
Gotta say, as much as I liked the once a month, action packed pre-COVID Saturdays, I also like the social isolation Saturdays because we-no-longer-have-any-plans-on-the-calendar-didn't-you-get-the-STAY-AT-HOME-memo. No cub scouts meetings, no birthday parties, no family get-togethers, no vacations, no going out to dinner, no trips to the museums, no work events, no board meetings, no conferences, no running club, no shopping trips, no skiing, no gymnastics, no swimming, no soccer, nothing to interfere with family time. We're staying home and not going out much at all and I kinda like it.
Pre-COVID-19 Saturday:
5:45 A.M. - alarm goes off, google assistant says, "Good morning, Catherine."
6:00 A.M. - meeting running group behind the Holiday gas station to run along the Duluth lakewalk trail for 8 miles
7:30 A.M - say goodbye to friends and head home
8:00 A.M. - say good morning to kids watching Pokemon on Netflix, shower
9:00 A.M. - do a water color painting project in the playroom with the kids
11:50 A.M. - pack up and leave for cub scout pack bowling event at Incline Station
2:00 P.M. - return bowling shoes and say no 100 times as we walk through the arcade area to the parking lot
2:05 A.M. - drop off kids at front entrance of Great Lakes Aquarium, carry Marit's wheelchair inside, tell them to wait for me, go park car and run back to museum but kids have wandered off and are in the elevator to check out the tide pools, sturgeon touch pool, and river otter exhibits
3:30 P.M. - leave aquarium, take kids for special treat at Chilly Billy's ice cream (because the it's a heat wave and the temp is above freezing), then head home
5:00 P.M. - pick up sushi at Zen House, eat quickly because we have to go to another event
5:35 P.M. - Theo and I pack up for Candlelight cross country skiing and snowshoeing at Boulder Lake Environmental Learning Center
6:15 P.M. - ski 3km loop in the dark
7:30 P.M. - enjoy hot cocoa and roast marshmallows by the giant bonfire
8:00 P.M. - drive home
9:00 P.M. - fall asleep relaxing in the sauna
10:00 P.M. - actually go to sleep in bed
Post-COVID-19 Saturday - "Stay at Home" orders in place since March 28
8:13 A.M. - no alarm, wake up to birds chirping and sunshine peaking through the curtains
8:20 A.M. - help kids dye Easter eggs
8:45 A.M. - take kids to Caribou drive through window for "special breakfast" (first time I've left the driveway in 6 days), enjoy cup of coffee with Seth, start working on a 1000 piece puzzle of Canal Park, kids run around the house all day
1:00 P.M. - break from puzzle to eat lunch
1:30 P.M. - start a Disney movie (Tangled) with kids and fall asleep on couch, then return to puzzle
4:00 P.M - backyard Easter egg hunt with 2 neighbor kids, Natalie and Daniel (6 feet apart)
5:30 P.M - dinner (take out to support local restaurant, Va Bene) and then work on puzzle some more
8:00 P.M. - binge watch The Good Place on Netflix with Seth and fall asleep on the couch (again), this time around 11
Gotta say, as much as I liked the once a month, action packed pre-COVID Saturdays, I also like the social isolation Saturdays because we-no-longer-have-any-plans-on-the-calendar-didn't-you-get-the-STAY-AT-HOME-memo. No cub scouts meetings, no birthday parties, no family get-togethers, no vacations, no going out to dinner, no trips to the museums, no work events, no board meetings, no conferences, no running club, no shopping trips, no skiing, no gymnastics, no swimming, no soccer, nothing to interfere with family time. We're staying home and not going out much at all and I kinda like it.
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