On this day last year, in Texas we were on day 47 of what was supposed to be a 15 day shutdown to help manage the spread of Covid19. I remember the constant feelings of stress, anxiety, and uncertainty. The schools were closed, and the boys were doing virtual learning. This made a mess of Brainy Bird’s AP exams. The exam days were extremely stressful.
Fast forward a year, and Brainy Bird will be taking his AP exams in the classroom. He has three exams this week, with the first one being tomorrow. I feel like we got the week off to a solid start, and Brainy Bird will be starting his exams tomorrow, prepared, well rested, and in good spirits.
Today, we had the most normal day that we have had since the shutdown began in March 2020. I woke up early, and I ran the Vintage Park half marathon. I am not in half marathon shape by any stretch of the imagination. The race was cancelled last year, and they deferred our entries to this year. To my surprise, I ran at a 10 minute pace, and I finished the race. I am wiped out, but I feel great about my accomplishment.
Both of the boys complemented my achievement, and this made me feel good. I got showered, and we then headed to Black Walnut for brunch with Yvonne and Page. I almost never put on make up anymore. It felt good to do so. Black Walnut was packed like it was before on weekends before the shutdown.
One of the few places I went when places were partially open was Black Walnut. The place just did not feel the same until today. It felt so good to be back there with Yvonne and Page. It felt good to see people we knew. Yvonne and I talked about her new job, and how their task management for the business analysts and IT resources works. This is the sort of thing that we would have talked about pre-pandemic.
Upon arrival, Yvonne and Page congratulated Brainy Bird on his big scholarship. I hadn’t thought about it, but almost no one has congratulated him in person, and this is entirely because no one has seen him. Little Chirp and I enjoyed seeing Black Walnut is again serving a full menu, and they have lots of exciting new menu items. He had the Wagyu beef chicken fried steak, and Brainy Bird had the turkey burger. I indulged in the prime rib sandwich and potato salad. I thought that I deserved a treat after my 13.1 mile run.
There was almost no conversation of viruses, vaccines, and masks. This felt amazing. We talked about family and kids. The good stuff in life.
When we got home, Brainy Bird headed to the garage apartment to study, and I snuggled up with Potatoe and Pumpkine for a nap. Pumpkine is still healing from her surgery, and she has a ways to go. She is lonely, isolated in my bedroom. She purred and purred when I snuggled up with her. I meant to have a thirty minute cat nap. The thirty minutes turned into a couple of hours of me time reading and snuggling with Pumpkine.
We then got together for family time. We played moon for the first time in forever, made chicken fajitas for dinner, and then we watched a little tv. I am now back in my room with Pumpkine snuggled up next to me. Potatoe is laying next to her, sound asleep.
I definitely over did it on my run this morning, but I will recover. That recovery will start with a great night of sleep. I am working from home tomorrow. As of right now, going to the office is optional. That is one thing that has not gone back to the way it was pre-pandemic. I personally like a balance of some days at home and some days in the office. Given how sore I am in from my run, I am thankful to not have to put on work clothes tomorrow. I also need to keep a close eye on Pumpkine.
The week is off to a solid start. I did not realize how much I missed the way Sundays were before the pandemic until today.
It is the little things in life…