Yes, this has been hard! So hard. DH and I have been in a good position to deal with it, but it's taking a toll on everyone. I'm a SAHM; DH is WFH 100% and we have the space to accommodate a makeshift office for him, but I feel pressure to keep the house calm and quiet, especially when he's on the phone or zoom. We have a TON of parks and green spaces nearby so the kids and I go hiking, biking or swimming almost every day. One silver lining is that we've discovered a dozen wonderful new places to explore nature within 30 minutes of our house. That part is awesome, but it's exhausting work for me. I have to prep, pack and haul all the gear for my 4yo and 2yo (lunch, water, diapers, sun screen, bug spray, picnic blanket, hand sanitizer, towels, wet bag, etc etc etc), and run around after them in the ever-increasing heat for hours and hours each morning. Then unpack and clean everything when we get home.
The biggest loss for me has been the gym. I joined a gym last summer (thanks, in part, to encouragement from people on this forum because I was feeling overwhelmed) and it was a lifesaver. Being able to drop my kids at the gym childcare and take some time for self care (while they are AWAKE) has saved my sanity and been an important strategy for regulating my mood. That's gone and I don't know when it will return. I've switched to early morning runs which leaves me very tired by mid-afternoon.
One of my strategies for coping with the hot weather is indoor play places with climate control. We have a children's museum membership so we typically go there once a week and I usually pay for an indoor play place one day per week. Those options are gone and no clue when they will return. Same for splashpads and our neighborhood pool.
And to top it off, my 2 yo has started refusing naps, my spirited 4 yo has had a sleep regression during the past few months and a very difficult period of defiance/aggression/limit testing. We finally got word from our school district's early intervention department that they are referring him for a psych evaluation to look for emotional disturbance or possibly autism. They can't do the evaluation until they are cleared for face to face interactions so we're just sitting on that joyful news.
As I write this, I can feel my blood pressure and despair increasing. It's going to be a long summer.
We are starting to do more with grandparents and friends who live in the neighborhood. A county just to the north of us has apparently reopened playgrounds, so we will brave the dirty looks and go play there, especially since the risk of outdoor surface infection has been proven to be quite low. I've also bought some Magnatiles and a wooden train set for my son in the hopes that they will buy me a few hours of peace at home. We've managed to keep screen time to a minimum (less than 30 minutes a day) which I think is heroic given the circumstances. We're planning to send DS to preschool in the fall and DD in the spring after she turns 3.
Our oldest has developed a troublesome separation anxiety, more than you would expect a 5 year old to develop. We have to be within his line of sight at all times and if we're not, he hunts us down or calls out for us.
Interesting to read this. My neighbor has a 6yo DD who is experiencing the same thing. My theory is that their separation muscles have gone completely soft with both parents home 24/7 and no opportunity for school, daycare, camp, sports, etc.
I hope everyone hangs in there. We can do this, one day at a time!
