When I walk around the neighborhood, people wave and smile at me - even teenagers and people in cars. Either I’m now that crazy old woman who walks around the block every day or we’re so hungry for social interaction that we’ve reverted to the kindergarten enthusiastic wave. I’ll take either option.
My job is allowing flexible hours, so I’ve been able to sleep in.
We have more time to do things as a family, and we’ve been trying to do active things.
Now that I have more time to be active, I lost 20 lbs. 
1). Saving money. Don’t eat out as much, don’t shop as much , don’t go anywhere
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more time for doing things for self. No commute or time constraints. Flexible schedule
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appreciate the breaks in routine more
Now that my library is open (for curb pickup), I’m reading a TON.
- Working from home has been great. I had just started a new position for the same company I have been with for 26 years back in December. The new position was strictly NOT work from home as a rule (although my boss is great and didn't agree so he would allow the occasional WFH for snow storms, mild illnesses, and appointments). As of now, it seems like senior management is very happy with the decision and since space will be at a premium in our building it is likely we will not go back for awhile. I have a compromised immune system so my Dr has stated I should be at home until a vaccine is widely available. I am also OT eligible in my job so have been putting 20-30 hours per week in OT. The money is good and while it sounds like a crazy schedule I really love my job so it is easy. Also, without 2 plus hours a day of commute and no reason to take a full lunch hour that is 3 hours per day that would have been wasted anyway.
- I was fostering 4 kittens (one with a serious injury). I have sent two to their forever homes now and we are keeping the injured one because he will need continuous care for awhile. I am hoping to find a home for the other one soon. Downside is I am extremely attached and sending them away has been really hard.
- Without my commute I have had more time for sleep and more time to run. I had been running 5-6 miles a day 5-6 days a week in my quest to hit 1000k by August 31. Sadly I did something to my hip about 3 weeks ago and while I tried to tough it out at first I have had to take the last two weeks off completely aside from a couple of days of walking. It is my bad. I have never been a runner until a year and a half ago and with the gyms and yoga studio closed I just ramped up my distance instead and it turned out to be a big mistake I guess.
This may not be a popular opinion but in a world where kids are so over scheduled these days it must be kind of a relief for some of them to not just have to do school, activities, homework, sleep all of the time and to have more time to just be kids. A lot of the summer sports (and fall sports too already) have been cancelled and the kids who would normally play on 3 baseball teams and slide a soccer team in there somewhere hopefully will also one day appreciate a summer spent like we used to knowing what it feels like to be bored so you actually have to make your own fun even if it is pick up games of ball between friends or whole days in swimming pools that maybe didn’t get used that much in summers past.
This WAPO story is about a fellow in my neighborhood. It’s an uplifting read:
But this isn’t happening. Here, summer camps were mostly cancelled, all summer sports were cancelled and for 6-8 weeks the kids couldn’t even play a basketball game at a city park. Pools are closed, libraries closed, museums are slowly opening. The city Children’s Museum just reopened, but for members only.
Honestly, there is nothing for kids to do especially if they are following the physical distancing rules. They are bored alright, but can’t do a pick-up game of anything and the pools are closed.
@twoinanddone I lived in the country when I was a kid. There were few neighbors my age, no cable or internet, and no pool at all, even in the neighborhood. I survived. I read lots of books, rode my bike all over the place, thought up crafts from things around the house, spent countless hours just hitting a tennis ball against the side of our garage. Kids today have Facetime where they can play games to interact with friends, they can chat at will, play online video games, and maybe even do some of the above (reading books took up half my summers and even with libraries closed you can borrow Ebooks for free through your local library). Also, I have no doubt kids are hanging out together in a lot of places. My friend actually is in Richmond and her kids are going to summer camp. Dance classes here in NY are in session for the summer and there actually are a few baseball leagues going on. Even so, the kids are far less scheduled than they normally would be. I am hoping they actually learn to get creative with their time.
I was responding to the person who said kids are now freed from their soccer and baseball schedule to just be Huckleberry Finn and go swimming and play pick up basketball. Can’t do that here in the city (unless you have a private pool). City took down all the basketball nets and blocked the parking lots to the parks, plus police-taped off the playgrounds.
There are a few (very few) summer camps open in the city, but none of the city park camps and activities which are free to all city kids 5 to 12 years old. The kids were fed at those all day activities too.
- I was working at a longterm Care facility that closed at the end of February. I was due to retire in lieu of lay-off at the end of March. Then we reopened as a Covid Surge facility. We were again scheduled to close at the end of June but had to reopen again. So I was supposed to be out of a job but instead it looks like I will be employed for a while longer.