five things Friday: covid life lately edition

I mentioned recently trying to remember to take some snapshots of some of our "new normal" during these covid-times. Right now I am honestly feeling quite pessimistic about things - the status in our country is a complete mess, and it doesn't have to be this way - but the bit of optimism in me is thinking about when someday it'll be interesting memories to look back on with Hendrik about how we did things differently during this time in our lives. Here are 5 things new/different/unique to the current era:

1. Library curbside pickup: so grateful to the librarians for coming constantly in and out of the building for us, because some well-placed requests (I'm looking at you, Lego Harry Potter compendium and Lego Movie Guide) have provided some fresh entertainment - and quiet time - after the library was fully closed for so many weeks. At our library, they have 4 parking spots with a bookshelf at the end; you call when you arrive, a masked librarian comes out and places your requests on the cart, and then you retrieve your items. Since we live so close, we walk instead of take the car, and we always wear our masks for safety and to show consideration to the librarians!

2. Grocery pickups: I haven't been inside a grocery store since early March - so weird, when I used to stop for groceries at least twice, usually 3 times per week. We use the local grocery chain's "pick" service to order our groceries online, and then they get put in our trunk when we pick them up. While we sit and wait, Hendrik usually entertains himself with the Lego catalog in the back seat. He seems to prefer this method to actually having to shop with me, and now that I'm used to it, I don't mind saving a bit of time in this realm myself.

3. Outdoor visits: meeting up with people outdoors (and still spaced out from each other!) definitely is the safest way to do it, so we are taking advantage of summer weather in that way. Dinners in Peter's parents' yard, beach visits with some of my extended family, and here a Starbucks drive-through run and coffee + chat time on my grandparents' lawn.

4. Online camps: I continue to be so impressed by (and grateful for) some educators' creativity and skills over Zoom. Hendrik has done a couple of online science camps with our local college with supplies that they dropped off on our doorstep; here, he is doing his Junior Ornithologist camp with the Cornell Ornithology Lab (an organization he is obsessed with, as a little bird nerd). On this day they dissected chicken eggs to learn about bird eggs in general. While we were bummed to have all of his summer activities cancelled, this camp was especially cool to find, because it's an opportunity he would never have had otherwise, since the Cornell Lab is located in New York.

5. Backyard bookclub: my bookclub is actually meeting more often than we used to - there are just 3 of us, and now we pretty much don't have evening commitments, so we can get together more often! Mostly on Zoom, but now that the weather is nice we are rotating backyards, with our hand sanitizer, distanced chairs, and great book chat.

Now that I've done this, I realize how nice it was to take a look at the positives of the situation, some different experiences or ways of connecting with people that might not happen otherwise - and as a salve to the terribleness of the news and my pessimism/anxiety right now, it turns out it was just the thing I needed today. I recommend it as a useful exercise if you're feeling the same way!