I was looking through the notes app on my phone the other day and found a note from May 19th detailing everything we did that day. I think my idea was to copy it into our daughter’s baby book, because I’ve been thinking a lot about what we will tell her about the year 2020 when she’s old enough to understand. The only words I can think of to describe this year right now are disorienting and intense. And with the way things are going, that’s not going to change anytime soon. We’re still so “in it” it’s hard to fully wrap our minds around what’s happening in the world, but I wanted to capture this moment in time for posterity’s sake.

First, I want to note that everyday is different for us. Before the pandemic, I was pretty careful about screen time with Sage and tried to limit it as much as I could. But there’s been times in this where we’ve pretty much cuddled and watched movies all day. We had a lot of days like that in the beginning of quarantine, and honestly, I needed that. It was cold and rainy in PA in March and April and we were just in survival mode. I just didn’t have it in me to be a super-engaged “Pinterest Mom” who does all the crafts and educational activities. We found a little more of a groove in May as the weather got better and we spent more time playing outside. But since then it’s been ups and downs. I don’t think anyone expected we would still be in the midst of this, five months after the initial lockdowns. We still have some days where we watch two movies before lunchtime. We have others days where we craft and bake and go on walks. This summer, Sage has spent time with her Gammy on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays so I can get some time to myself to work which has been such a blessing for all of us. All this to say, it’s absolutely normal to have good days and harder days in regular life, let alone during a global pandemic when life is in a constant state of change and upheaval. It’s a lot to take in and we’re all just trying to do our best and take it one day at a time. This was more of a middle to high functioning day, because I doubt you’d be interested in reading about a lower functioning day - i.e. it would be mostly a synopsis of our Netflix queue and what we ate.

May 19th, 2020

6:30am | Sage wakes me up around 6:30, then I bring her into bed with us because we are all savoring the extra cuddles these days. And usually that means I can lay down for an extra 10 minutes or so. Then we head downstairs and I heat up leftover quiche for breakfast and make her some chocolate milk. Sage and I eat in the kitchen and Anthony heads off to work.

7:00am | I carry my cup of tea into the living room and turn on Little Einstein’s for Sage. I watch with her for a little while then go clean up the kitchen while she’s occupied. She eventually gets bored and comes to “help” me wash the dishes.

8:00am | I change Sage out of her soaking wet clothes (from “helping” with the dishes) and we go outside to play. A little plastic slide and baby swing were two recent additions to our backyard that have made quarantine with a toddler much more manageable. We go check the mailbox then walk around to our front porch to see the baby birds whose mama built a nest in the wreath on our front door. Sage plays on the porch while I get three minutes of weeding done.

10:30am | We come inside and eat a snack. It was probably pickles, olives and a cheese stick because that’s what Sage was loving to eat back in May! After that, Sage keeps me company me around while I spend 10 minutes tidying up the dining room and vacuuming. Then I turn on a movie (probably Frozen 2) for Sage and do a little work on the computer.

12:00pm | We eat lunch then watch a sing-along video (Super Simple Songs on Youtube - Sage loves them and sings them on her own now!). Then my sister Frankie calls us on Facetime and we catch up.

12:30pm | I put Sage down for nap then make myself a cup of peppermint tea. I go outside and say hello to my sister-in-law and nephews who are eating a picnic lunch in our backyard for a change of scenery. At this point, we were still keeping our distance but now we’ve formed a “quarantine pod” with our immediate family.

12:45pm | I go into my studio for some work time. I draw the final floor plan for an interior design client project and email my book publicist. That’s about all I have time for before Sage wakes up.

2:00pm | I go get Sage then take her into our room to cuddle for a few minutes before going downstairs. We Facetime my mother-in-law and then Sage eats another snack.

3:30pm | Anthony gets home! Sage plays in the sink (again) with him and I water my plants. I put a frozen pizza in the oven because we are both tired and neither of us feels like cooking the meal I had planned. We eat dinner pretty early these days.

4:30pm | We watch a little bit of Ponyo (Sage’s new favorite movie) together then go upstairs to play in the “junk room”. Our front bedroom has become our holding area for things I’ve decluttered but can’t donate because the thrift stores are all still closed. We also had Sage’s extra toys stored up there since we try to limit and rotate what we keep out in the living room. The junk room has become another play space for her, which is nice when we just need a change of scenery.

6:00pm | We give Sage a bath (which we try to extend for as long as possible to take up time!) and then cuddle and play in our room. Sage and Anthony made up a game called “Floppini” that’s pretty much just Anthony holding Sage up in the air and her flopping over. We brush teeth, then play some more and then it’s bedtime.

7:45pm | Sage is asleep and Anthony and I come downstairs. I stopped taking notes here, but I can assume we probably watched an episode of Community together and then Anthony took some separate time to unwind. Anthony likes to play interactive video games (is that the word for them? I’m not sure) with his younger brother that’s away at college. I probably either came back to my studio for a little bit or just went upstairs and read until I fell asleep, probably before 9pm.

It’s now August and Pennsylvania is in the green phase of reopening but honestly, our days look pretty much the same. The green phase didn’t bring as much certainty or comfort as we had been hoping. We are still choosing to mostly stay at home, wearing masks when we do go in public and keeping our circle of who we spend time with in person small. We haven’t taken Sage into any indoor public place since early March, but she still asks to go to the grocery store all the time. We’ve adjusted to this new normal as much as we can, but it’s still difficult many days. We have a lot to be grateful for - that Anthony’s job is secure and I can continue working from home. It’s hard to imagine what this next year will hold for us but I’m hoping sooner than later, things will start making sense again. I hope each one of you are staying healthy and safe and hanging in there as well as possible.