It's happened. My house, minus my husband; our dog, Jane Austen; and our cat, Dudley; is empty. My children are now both at college. It's been a full week with both of them officially gone, officially not around, officially not HERE.
I gave myself until yesterday to stay stuck in the wallow. Chocolate. Binging. (Ted Lasso is fantastic, although my husband refuses to watch more than 4 episodes at a time...BOO!) Wine.
No one is here anymore to go on walks with me (My husband has to ride a bike to keep up with my pace...and he has short legs. My dog is 10 and is still experiencing "over-walked Covid drama" and refuses to be walked past the end of our garage.) No one is here anymore to drive to Costco with me (There are 3 Costcos near me. They are all an hour and fifteen minutes away...I'm not joking...it's a day long trip which has to involve for obvious reasons a hot dog and Dunkin Donuts ice coffee). No one is here anymore to make the best chocolate chip cookies (You may have seen these displayed on my Instagram account-- my daughter could sell these for midnight snacks at college and pay for her tuition in its entirety.). No one is here anymore to play chess or go with me to see the latest Marvel movie (I've seen the last two by myself.)
Yesterday, I bucked up. The week had ended. I did what I'm good at (Type A all the way!) and made a list. The list of "how to get through the fact that they are gone and what do I now do with my time so I get through this." It looks like this.
4:15 Get home from work and change (Take my gummy vitamins...they DO taste like candy, don't they?)
4:30 Treadmill for 2 miles while doing 30 reps (3 different ways working all aspects of the flappy arm musles) on each arm with 3 pound weights (Don't be over "wow-ed" by this. My husband set up an old tablet on the top of a music stand and attached it to the treadmill. (I'll give you a minute to logistically think that through and visual. And no, there is no duct tape involved!) I watch NETLIX as I walk (because who could really JUST walk on a treadmill?). At the moment I am watching COLONY. It's okay. It has 3 seasons, so it's a brainless decision when it comes to what I'm going to watch; I just get on the treadmill and touch the screen for the next show.
5:10 (I walk at around a 3.5 or 3.6, so my math may be off by a few minutes) Go upstairs to use the Weider All-Body resistance gym for 70 leg presses (I'm not quite sure what has happened to my ballerina thigh muscles other than they pas de deux right off the stage.).
5:20 Work on Paint-By-Number (I ordered it on line during the first Covid shut down in March of 2019, but it didn't arrive until July of 2019. It's crazy complicated,and super small and now some of the paint pots have dried out!) for 20 minutes. I tried 30 minutes yesterday but got bored, so today I set the timer for 20, which was much better. (Yes, I set Alexa and also ask her to play some Crosby, Stills, and Nash or The Jonas Brothers--it's a mood thing.)
5:45 Start unthawing what I need for dinner.
6:00 Sit down and write a long overdue Book Recommendation for this website and a long overdue Blog post!
I know. It's crazy. I'm aware. Lists can't take away my missing them (and I do miss them, so very much). But for now the insanity of my plan keeps me sane. And I guess, that's all I can really ask for (and I'm sure my husband appreciates it.).
I obviously can't write a book recommendation or a blog post every day though. We have one of those twisty boards that made its debut on Shark Tank...a board that you stand on and twist (That about sums it up.). It's supposed to burn calories and strengthen your core.
Maybe I'll add that to the list tomorrow...6:30?