Family Photos: I’ve Ventured Outside…to Our Patio

Well, we’ve officially hit three months of quarantine!! That’s three months of bagel lunches and sleeping far too much and wondering every day about what was happening to our world. But look!! Today, I did something very special…I ventured outside to sit on our patio!!

I know this probably seems pretty small and, yes, in the grand scheme of things, it ranks low. After all, there are such big and heavy issues right now. Still, I’m proud of myself, especially since I’ve been in my house for almost 100 days; seriously, the only times I’ve left have been to either sit in the driveway or take a quick zoom around the block.

So I can’t help but consider this a win today! Not only did I get outside, but I woke up before noon! As my mom will tell you, me waking up before noon is a BIG DEAL. Like, a really, really big deal. This quarantine time has completely messed up my sleep schedule, but it was actually nice to be outside in the daylight hours for once!! We enjoyed a delicious snack of tomatoes and Diet Coke and it was refreshing to feel that warm sun!

When it comes to the art of relaxing, though, it’s my mom who has truly perfected it to a science! This hasn’t been easy for her because she’s active by nature and hates to even sit down for five minutes. Yet she’s adapted to our new slower normal and I’m so proud of her.

Here’s her take on all things patio lounging…

If you ask Melissa, she will tell you that I am not a sitting-on-the-patio type of person. But, something has happened to me with this recent stay-at-home thing. I’ve got myself into a nice little routine, and the surprising thing is that I am enjoying it!

I get up in the morning, shower and then eat when I look at the paper. Then I go out on my daily walk. I started these on March 14th, the day after we found out we were e-learning from home for the rest of the year. At the time, I was still feeling really bad from whatever I had in late February and I felt I had lost a lot of my strength, especially in my back. I think not swimming has caused a real tightening of those pesky back muscles. Anyway, for about the first month, I only walked about a mile each day. Then a funny thing happened…

Those walks started seeming too short. So, I picked up the pace and added some distance. I’m not where I want to be, but I’m farther than I was. Anyway, I digress.

Here is where the patio comes in. I come home from my walk, grab my one lonely 12-ounce can of Diet Coke (that’s all I get because of the caffeine), slice a tomato and head out to the patio, where I enjoy my snack (sometimes with a piece of Dove Dark Chocolate!).

And, here is where it gets even more like the Twilight Zone….I read a novel. This is unusual for two reasons. First, I never read fiction during the day — no particular reason, but I don’t. And two, I’ve been reading really silly books that are similar to a Hallmark movie, which we have been watching too. What has happened to us? I think that the world is too much for us right now and we can’t think about it 24/7, so we take breaks with escapist things that make us smile. I’m sure I don’t want to do this forever, but right now it is hitting the spot!

And, I haven’t missed a walk or a patio session since March 14! Try it, you’ll like it!