We hit another marriage milestone over the weekend! 89 months! Almost to triple digits. (I probably won't be nearly as enthusiastic about reaching triple digits in years of age when that time comes - ha!)
Our monthiversary was Saturday, which was one day after the Indiana governor released the proposed return-to-life schedule from now until July. That press release, when I read it, brought a surprising mix of feelings to my heart.
I was excited to hear that he felt our state is on track to attempt returning to whatever regular life will look like. I'm excited to think about the possibility of someday soon returning to Hobby Lobby for a stroll down the aisles or a trip to the salon to cover these crazy roots. I was excited that he released not just the immediate changes, but the long-term plan, too, because I felt like it gave people some hope. I've sensed that some people really needed a lot of hope. So those were good things.
But I was surprised to discover a great sadness within me, too. I didn't expect it.
As I've said on the blog before, I haven't hated this quarantined life. And as I sat there on the couch Friday night, reading that press release and realizing I'll have to go back to a regular outside-of-home busyness schedule at some point, I just felt overwhelmed with great sadness. Ryan was asleep on the other side of the couch (Friday evening nap), and I just stared at him, wondering if I had fully appreciated enough the time we have been able to enjoy together.
When he woke up and found me all mopey on my end of the couch, I told him that these last two months have been my very favorite part of our entire marriage. I have loved the forced stall in our schedules so we could be home together.
I have loved watching him totally in his element, bringing projects to life in his own house. He spends so much time helping so many other people with so many projects. It has been a gift to me to watch him enjoy his own dreams-come-true.
I have loved late night talks on the sun porch, both of us wrapped in blankets, listening to rain on the roof.
I have loved his stellar breakfast cooking skills, which were always great, but somehow seem to continue improving. His omelet game is STRONG right now.
I have loved evening walks together on nice nights - and I've appreciated the string of nice nights.
Yes. This has been my favorite, and I'm not ready for it to be over. I told Ryan that they say it takes 21 days to adopt a new habit, and we've had about twice that amount of time in our quarantine. I'm used to it now, and I love it. It's going to be hard to go back to schedules of old.
So those are my thoughts on 89 months of marriage. I've loved all 89 of those months. They've all been a gift - even when life circumstances haven't been easy. But these last two in particular have been an extra sweet treat. So I celebrated this milestone even more than usual, I think.
Ironically, Ryan did have to work on our monthiversary (ha!) but when he got home, we took our photo in front of our still-blooming tree. God gave this tree a magnificent blossoming season this year, and I celebrate that, too. It's been the most gorgeous sight for me every single day as I work.
One of our favorite things to do (in season) is visit the ice cream shop, and we hadn't been there yet this year, so that was our plan for our celebration. Ryan suggested we walk, so we did! We don't actually live super near the ice cream shop, but it was a beautiful day and we had the time, so we surely did walk right on over!
When we arrived, we discovered they had a line all mapped out in the parking lot, with spaces clearly marked, six feet apart, so we could all wait our turn. I have to say that though the line was decently long (and we got there just in time before it got REALLY long), people were very respectful and not pushy.
We had our masks in our pockets, and we put them on before we walked inside. The shop had a rule that only two people could go inside at a time, and the people working were kind and efficient. We picked out our treats and got out pretty quickly. I had hand sanitizer in my other pocket and we cleaned up before walking home a bit more slowly (and down a more scenic route), eating our ice cream, talking, and looking at pretty houses!
I loved this day - what it stood for in the grand scheme, and the actual day itself. Delightful.
Love you, Ryan!!!
8 comments:
I feel the same way about resuming normal activities. I have loved my stay-at-home time, and returning to my usual level of activity makes me feel sad.
The bright spot for me, however, is that I plan to retire on June 30 so I have less than two months to go. Plus, I can continue to work at home for a little while due to being high-risk in three categories. It will all be fine.
Oh, Karen, how exciting that you are retiring! I am so happy for you! I'm glad you've been able to enjoy your stay-at-home time, too. I do realize not everyone has had that luxury (some of staying at home and some of enjoying it) so I'm glad it's been a good thing for you!! And happy birthday again!
I have grown to like parts of this stay at home - slower mornings vs up and rushing to work...not packing breakfast and lunch...but oh man I miss my mom!!
That ice cream looks amazing!
I am so glad so many people have been able to enjoy this time. I wish I had been able to stay home. Our weekends have been nice but also I'm usually pretty tired by the weekend. And I'm blessed that my husband has been able to rearrange his schedule to help the kids with school for a few hours during the day. It will be interesting to see what the new normal will be.
Tamar - I bet you do miss her! Any word on when your state might lift restrictions enough so you can see her? (And the ice cream was definitely amazing.)
Heather - I do feel bad for everyone who has still had to continue a normal schedule and not work from home; that is hard! Even though Ryan has still gone in to work, it has been more the letting go of all the extracurriculars that has made such a difference for us. We've always seemed to work all day and then have 100 places to be each night and over the weekend, too. That's going to be hard to return to - whenever (and if) all of that part returns. I'm glad your husband has been able to help out with school! That's great! And I do miss seeing you. :(
I'm so glad you were able to celebrate with ice cream.
I am excited about returning to "normal" life again because our kids miss their activities. Some weeks were hard, but I don't feel like we were generally over-scheduled. I think the people who have enjoyed this time are the ones who felt like they were busy with things they didn't want to do. But our activities were ones we enjoyed. And I miss working so much.
I love that the kids have had so much time together and I know they will miss that when this ends but we miss our friends so much.
A lot of people that can work from home may end up continuing to do that, so you might have at least a couple of days a week where you could work from home. And hopefully people will also realize that maybe we all need to take life at a slower pace. And if a meeting gets canceled or you are unable to attend something, the world is not going to end after all!
Natasha - You guys have done such a great job with your kids, and I bet they will have wonderful memories from this time!
Tracy - I was so surprised (pleasantly so!) when our pastor said we could continue working from home for a bit. I am grateful. It helps to ease back in. Our cases in our county are on the climb and have been for about a week now, so I'm fine with not being out so much!
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