Sunday, 31 May 2020

A Good Sign

It's been an interesting few months. Kiddo's last day of school was March 13th. (Friday the 13th, in fact, but let's not read too much into that 😏) It's finally been made official that schools in Ontario (like pretty much everywhere else) won't be opening until September. Right around the time everyone is saying the second wave of COVID is going to hit, so we'll see how that goes.

It's hard to be optimistic about things, in no small part because I tend to be pessimistic by nature. But I'm working on it. I'm telling myself that Kiddo's school life won't be normal again until September 2022, when he starts grade one. Anything sooner will be a bonus. I wouldn't make a good kindergarten teacher. Kindergarten teachers are basically saints. I'm not. That said, I think my husband and I can manage teaching one kid to count, add  2 + 3 on his fingers, and hold a pencil properly. 

I'm sad Kiddo is missing out on the social aspects of kindergarten, but with zero active cases of COVID in Kingston right now, there's hope the rules will relax enough for him to get some kid interaction over the summer.

My husband still has his paycheck. We're not worried about our bills. That makes us very lucky. 

I'm still able to go for walks on the path around our neighbourhood. I'm starting to add short runs, which will eventually become longer runs. I'll at least be able to look back and say my fitness improved during this time. 

I'm not big on signs, omens, and the like. Coincidences are coincidences, weather is weather. But on my walk last night I saw this and I've decided to take it as an excuse to be optimistic:

And, though it may feel like it, there is some evidence that the world isn't really cancelled:

Saturday, 28 March 2020

Well That's Depressing

This is the park closest to my house. Locally known as the Spider Park:

In the fall, this was a common stop on the walk home from school. Only a few weeks ago, I was looking forward to having this park, and the handful of others within walking distance, return to our regular routine.  

On one hand, I'm glad the signs are up. It'll be good to have the simple visual when I have to explain to my four-year-old son why he can't play there right now. "Sorry, Kiddo. The sign says closed." But I've gotta say, it's a depressing sight. Especially as perfect park-going weather is starting to appear.

Saturday, 21 March 2020

The Simple Life

I found these pictures I took while on a walk back in the fall:

They made me think of a few things:

1) Back in September, I had no idea what life would look like in six months;

2) This snake, my cat, and basically the rest of nature are still business as usual;

3) I could really use a warm and sunny day outside;

4) At least I can still go for walks (as long as I and the other walkers veer as far away from each other as possible and don't cough).

Saturday, 14 March 2020


First there were teacher strikes, now the schools are closed until Apr 5th (hopefully not longer) thanks to COVID-19, and people are shopping like it's the apocalypse. I hope everyone has all the toilet paper and Advil they need. The stores are also out of hand sanitizer...but there's still plenty of hand soap 🤔 

Kiddo and I have three weeks of 'social distancing' and no school ahead of us. Good thing I learned how to make slime! Today's batch was rainbow:

Saturday, 7 March 2020

Cat Communication

This is the look my cat gives me when I stop petting her and start typing:
Suppose she's trying to say something?

Saturday, 29 February 2020

(Trying to) Appreciate Winter

Happy leap day.

As February rolls into March, we reach that point in winter when I'm just over it already. Really I'm over it by New Years, but have come to accept that January and February are cold and I have to deal with it.

March however...somehow I always get through to the end of February by telling myself March won't be so bad. I've lived in Ontario long enough that I should really know better by now.

It doesn't help that this year, between strep throat and teacher strikes, there have been a lot of days of Kiddo and me at home trying to find things to do that don't involve YouTube, Netflix, or the tablet he got for Christmas--I had no idea how grateful I was going to be that we decided it was time to get him a tablet. I'm also adding Lego to the list of things I'm thankful for. I'm running out of strike-day ideas and there's no deal in sight.

In an attempt to appreciate the beauty of the winter months (and avoid descending into dreary depression) I found a couple of pictures that show winter's nicer side:

And a reminder of what there is to look forward to:

Tuesday, 7 January 2020