We did go to “Mingo Gardens” yesterday (as G calls it), and it was pretty glorious. We met up with friends (my close friend from Miami Beach + her two kids — also solo parenting while dad worked) and didn’t even bother to see many of the animals. We just avoided any crowding by letting the kids run around in a big empty field for something like 2 hours.
They played in the dirt and ate popsicles and it felt almost normal.
I really really really can’t wait for COVID to be less of an issue because I really miss casual playdates. At this point, the hardest part about solo parenting weekends isn’t the parenting itself – it’s feeling lonely. Getting together with a friend who is in the same boat makes everything better.
And it used to be so easy. We could just have some people over for bagels or meet up at the children’s museum. Those were the days, and yet we had no idea how lucky we were. So interesting to reflect on. Plus, G is finally at the age where I can basically let her roam around with the big kids and almost carry on a conversation! Greatly hoping things look closer to normal this fall after widespread vaccine rollout.
I got everything done on my list yesterday except organizing. Heh. Going to attempt now before we head to the playground for hopefully hours. I just did my longish run (50 min) in the weather below and it was glorious. I’d love to live here just from December – March . . .
PS: Yes, you can schedule grocery delivery for the next morning! This worked out well.
This Week’s Meals:
S: Leftover black bean soup (from Dinner Illustrated – one of my favorite most-used cookbooks by the way!)
M: Kale and chickpea soup from Dinner Illustrated w/ bread
T: Greek salad with grilled chicken + pita
W: Assorted leftovers
R: Broccoli lemon carbonara from How Sweet Eats
F: Leftovers and/or frozen pizza
S: Takeout (kids have already decided we are doing Chicken Kitchen. Fine w/ me as it helps balance out the sushi we had this week budget-wise!)
6 Comments
Glad you were able to do a safe outdoor play date. Those make a huge difference. We are sledding with best friends who have kids in the same daycare. So we are in the same immunity bubble. We haven’t done a play date with them for months as we had restrictions about seeing other families when our Covid numbers were so bad. But things are much better here now so we can get together again! I’ve also started to do outdoor masked walks with friends and that has made a big difference – especially since maternity leave can be isolating and is especially so during a pandemic!
My husband also works a lot of evenings/weekends and I agree 100% that the loneliness can be tougher than the parenting at this point (youngest is also G’s age). We are in a colder climate, but our parks have been opened since summer. Getting outside is great for everyone and even better when another mom wants to meet! It has been in the 30s, but we’re all living in a pandemic trying to make the most of it, right? So glad you are feeling better & thanks for encouraging all of us to plan out our weekends!
Hooray for outdoor playdates! They were banned here in Western Canada for about a month. Very much looking forward to some sledding and skating with kids in the same daycare class on weekends.
Definitely hear you on the casual socialization. And also on being on the horizon of less intensive parenting. My younger child is just a bit older than G – turns 4 in April and I have been thinking about (and kind of mourning) that slow move more parenting freedom – at least less of my physical self. The week before everything shut down I had taken the kids to our neighbourhood pub while my husband was stuck in bad traffic. And normally I would never have entertained taking them by myself but it was fine. They were enjoying. I actually got to drink my own drink and eat my food. Dare I say it was fun? Anyway, it felt like there was a new world of possibilities. My kids are great and we are so fortunate to be healthy … we will get there …but it was an awesome feeling while it lasted
Outdoor play dates yayyyyy! You must be loving that weather. My brother lives in FL and my parents are there visiting this weekend (Tampa area). They are raving about the sunsets and balmy weather. Barely 40 degrees here in Boston today, but sunny, so we went on a group hike around the local park trails with other families. Fresh air + kid socialization + adult socialization = magic….that I will never ever take for granted!!
Also missing some more activities for the kids on the weekends, even though I am not solo parenting. At first I really enjoyed the decrease of social obligations on the weekends. Ours used to be very full (family lives nearby and we often had to visit) and having to cram all the housekeeping in the remaining hours available left little for my own activities (hardcore introvert here so in deep need of alone time!). I am not missing that level of activity but a bit more external entertainment would be welcomed! Crappy winter weather here in Belgium and not much outdoor experiences available for the moment. Counting down the days… :-/