Celebrating snapshots in time - notebooks & honey

Celebrating snapshots in time

            Just a quick check in since we are entering what I think is the new phase of the pandemic, which is somewhere in between being oddly adjusted to this weirdness and suffering from stay-at-home fatigue (also related to Zoom fatigue).  For instance, sadly, my natural instinct to give big hugs has subsided; at the same time, I can’t help but feel like I’m breaking the law when I have in real life contact with people outside of the household.  So, here is where my brain is at, if this madness is going to go on for a while, we need to make some allowances. We have to keep our guards up while we are inching out a little at a time. I don’t think I’m the only one that naively thought that as long as we hard core sheltered in place for a couple of months that the light at the end of the tunnel would be glowing strong and bright. Wrong. The light is a weak glimmer, at least for now. This pandemic is staying for a while, THIS IS 2020. It’s taken over all of our lives.  We are living in crazy times … so now what?! Well, now we make steps to live. To try to live a "normal" life, making sure the kids are happy and that this weird snapshot in life is one that they will hopefully think back fondly on one day “When I was a kid, we couldn’t really leave the house for months and my mom wore the same pants everyday”.  I’m not bold enough, nor do I think it’s necessary, to go bowling or dine in at a restaurant just yet (although, I am absolutely jonesing to do the latter) and let’s not talk about the crazy at home haircuts that we are all proudly modeling. However, like much of the world, we are starting to tip toe outside, continuing with our fun hikes and family bike rides and starting to see some friends in small numbers.  I have friends that have been 99% isolated (and they have kids, bless them) and some friends that have started having in person play dates; you have to find your own comfort zone and nobody is here to judge. 
Family time with Notebooks & Honey
 Photo by: Beri Irving               
We celebrated many birthdays in my household this month and Honey’s birthday was, of course, the most important one. Consciously / unconsciously I wanted to make it the best day ever just to spite all of the challenges of a having a Corona birthday. It took extra effort but we were able to make the day special and normal feeling (normal in a good way).  It’s the same for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, new births, engagements, whatever special and important milestones that are in our horizon, because life does not stop and it is our choice to celebrate it extra hard or otherwise, we are just waiting for this virus to pass and life with it.  
Honey and birthday balloons
              Mother’s Day is in a couple of days and it’s a big day in the Notebooks & Honey world. In the last couple of blogs, I talked about how living in the time of Corona and the many roles that mom’s play. This is where the two worlds collide, celebrating being kick-ass mothers in this strange time. In fact, I think we should celebrate everything “extra” this year, maybe this helps to make things more normal for you or maybe you are just motivated to live your life to the fullest.  This Mother’s Day, you may not get to see the grandparents, your first Mother’s Day as a first time mom may feel lonelier than you wanted after an exhausting year, there will be no well deserved date night to celebrate at your favorite restaurant but I know you and yours will find a way to make it special despite all the challenges. Perhaps a social distance drink with some of your other mom friends or take a hike by yourself and enjoy some me time. It’s whatever works for you, maybe the extroverts super want to just hang out at the park and be around others (even if they are strangers) and the introverts just want to lounge in the hammock for a couple of hours and finish reading that book they’ve been meaning to finish.  One last note before I send off … I love people’s creativity and willingness to let their hair down during this time, as witnessed by all the grandparents on Tik Tok and funny-but-true social media memes popping up everywhere. How did you spend your time in Corona? With celebration and fun, I hope.