This is Quarantine: Day 55

I don't want to jinx it, so I probably shouldn't say anything. Also, given my self-proclaimed expert status, one would assume that it wouldn't have taken this long...but I must confess.

55 days in, and I think I'm just now starting to settle in to this lockdown.

Truth be told, the first 50 days or so were a bit of a blur. Between homeschooling, housecleaning, meal planning and trying to figure out how to maximize the experience while minimizing the stress...it was pretty stressful. And no matter how I tried to tackle it, it somehow still felt like there weren't enough hours in the day.

E said it out loud a week or so ago, and it really hit me.

"We have so much time, but we still don't have time to do the things we want to do!"

Ugh. How is this possible?!

If I can't make time when we're in quarantine, I'm doing something wrong.

I think that's when my brain made the subconscious shift, and I just started noticing it yesterday.

Stop. Slow down. Stop trying to just get through it and take the time to experience it. Whatever it is. And if you can't enjoy it, ask yourself if it's worth it.

Taxes? Sorry. You've just gotta do it.

But pretty much everything else? Surely you can squeeze some enjoyment out of it.

Today I vacuumed. Do I like to vacuum? No sir. But buying a good vacuum cleaner made the experience less terrible. And taking a few minutes to tackle a couple of problems areas rather than setting aside a couple of hours to get knee deep into cleaning meant that a) I took care of the spots that were bugging me in short order and b) the kids barely noticed I had walked away and by the time they did I was done!

Taking it week by week rather than day by day is also a game changer for me. I think I mentioned the whole toddler diet thing the other day. Rather than a daily checkmark-dependent to-do list, I'm working with a weekly, chip-away-at-it plan instead.

Today was a good day. Besides the vacuuming, I laid down some more rocks in the backyard. I painted with e. I did a spelling test with E. I folded laundry while introducing the girls to Modern Family. I made scrambled egg nachos for lunch, which were awesome, and refried bean tacos without guac for dinner, because grocery days are sometimes disappointing. I didn't knock it out of the park today, but as they say in France, I didn't shit the bed either.

And isn't that what most of us want written on our headstones at the end of the day?

I call this: Cheater Chilaquiles

Lighter than a load of rocks...cuter too