Our First Year of the Pandemic

 

I know that the photo above looks like it's from dining out during the pandemic, but it was just a fun winter dining thing we did pre-pandemic.

My husband and I are high-risk, so we've been insanely cautious for this last year.  No dining out, indoor or outdoor.  No takeout food at all.  Groceries are only delivered or put into our trunk (no contact).

One year ago today was our last sort of normal day out.  We did one of our rare Whole Foods trips (everyone in the store was maskless then) and ate at a fast food place on the way home.  We decided that we were going to mostly stay home from then on, and my husband decided to work from home, whether his boss liked it or not.  Soon after his decision, his whole office shifted to working from home.

I've only left the apartment three times in this last year.  Two times were visiting with my mum on our apartment patio (separated by at least six feet), and one time was with Mum and our nephew distanced in a park (for his birthday).  My husband goes out more often, to move the car, mail packages, pick up prescriptions, etc.  

We didn't do that much socially even pre-pandemic, but we used to go to my mum's about once a week to play Scrabble, and we'd sometimes dine out with her or have takeout at her house on those same days, or sometimes we'd dine out with her and our nephew.  So, the change hasn't been too drastic for us.  We just couldn't afford to dine out or shop even before the pandemic, so we didn't do much then either.

I'm grateful that my husband has been able to successfully work from home.  That's two hours a day of dangerous commuting time that he doesn't have to do, and it's worked out fine, so far.  

I'm also glad that we live where we can get deliveries of Walmart groceries.  Our food options are limited, but at least it's relatively safe and simple.

I'm also lucky that I like my husband and he likes me, so we aren't suffering by being together.  I feel bad for people in bad marriages or other rough living situations.

We quarantine our groceries for three days every time we get them.  Refrigerated things go in refrigerator drawers for three days, frozen things go to one side of the freezer, and the rest of the things sit in our entryway until the three days is up.

Many people would say that our behavior this past year has been extreme, but we are doing what we are comfortable with.  Not much is going to change for us for the foreseeable future.  We will continue to do the same things, because we really can't risk getting sick.

Because of our refusal to eat takeout, our limited grocery options, and our various health conditions, our meals are tremendously boring most of the time.  I feel like I'm constantly fixing vegetables, doing dishes, and making other food, and in fact, I sort of am.  I need to work on being a bit more creative with our meals.

We only recently started doing Zoom "meetings" with Mum, so we could play Scrabble.  For very long, the other two were skeptical about how Scrabble would work, but I figured it out.  Mum is one team, and we are the other team, so my husband and I take turns when it's our turn.  We have a Scrabble board at each house, and a whole bag of letters at each house.  We play with nine letters on our rack, just like we used to at her house.  It's working out fine to play like this.  It's fun.

The first time we tried to connect, we were trying to use some Facebook chat thing, because I had seen an ad saying it was so easy to use.  Well, that was a lie, because we spent an hour or more first trying that, then switching to Zoom and trying to figure that out.  If that had been a YouTube video, it would've been pretty funny, because we were all so clueless.  Most of the time we connect easily now, but we've still had some troubles.  I always say that most technology should be easier and simpler to use.  It really should. 

I dabbled a bit with Facebook this year, but it isn't really a healthy place for me to be.  I have enough trouble staying mentally centered without messing around with that.

So, I wouldn't say that we are thriving, but we certainly are surviving.  Mum is doing online Tae Kwon Do classes (she's a second degree black belt) and taking some private TKD classes, too.  She may have done an online tournament today, but I haven't checked on that yet.

I think often about all of the people who don't have the options that we do...people who have to go to work, have to be around people, can't get groceries delivered, etc.  Nurses and other essential workers are saints, though I certainly didn't fault, in any way, the nurses who quit near the beginning of the pandemic because their employers weren't providing the proper equipment to keep them safe.

I know that my husband and I are lucky to have the options that we do.  But then there are the fools that go around maskless and hang out in crowds for no good reason, or who think they have to have their Italian vacation or whatever, and so the virus keeps spreading.  

So many people have lost loved ones.  It's really such a sad and terrible mess.

Okay, I know I need to calm down.  I've been angry way too often this past year.  I need to take charge of my life here at home and keep working on making things better in this, our new reality.

Do You Know Any 83-Year-Old That Can Do This?

This is my mum.  These images and videos are from last year, when she was 82, but she can still do it all now, at 83.

She's a 2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and she can kick, hit, break boards with her hands, and so much more.  If she squeezes your arm, in a friendly way, it hurts a lot (she sometimes doesn't know her own strength).

Sure, a few people might know a person my mum's age who can do these things, but I'm sure that there aren't many.

Two short, but great videos of her doing...

...a dive roll

...a dive roll with a bo (meaning, a staff)

Of course, she can do so much more.  These are just the only videos that I can access at this moment.

She is such an inspiration.  I'd love to be like her someday - healthy, fit, talented, and cool.  She's just amazing and I'm so proud of her!

Happy Mother's Day!

 

I drew this some years ago outside our side door for my mother-in-law and my husband's aunt (also like a mother to us) so they would see it when they went outside that day.

It's funny that I thought I was drawing a cat, because those ears looks more like bunny ears!

It's really a fun thing that kids can do and call it a "present" for their mom.

Anyway, this is my mum a few years ago, doing Tae Kwon Do:

 

She's just an amazing woman.  So strong, so loving and kind and helpful to other people, so smart.  I'm grateful that she's my mom.  That's why I wanted to do another blog and show some of her retro fashions from years back.  This is it:

 

http://christinabambinasmomsretrofashions.blogspot.com/

 

I've only put up a few photos so far.  I will do more when I find the time (or when I can find the photos).  I hope she likes it.

 

This is my sister Juli at her Tae Kwon Do black belt testing a few years ago:

 

 

I love the way her hair is swinging in this photo.  Another strong woman, both physically and mentally.  She's a great mom, too.  She works hard at both her paying jobs and all of the non-paid work that a good mom does.

 

On a Mother's Day weekend like this, we tend to think of the mothers who are still here and the mothers who are gone and that we miss.

 

Our late sister Kim is one mother who we miss, and her son misses her so, so much, too.  It's not fair that she's gone, or that any good mother is gone from a child's life too soon.

 

 

Anyway, Happy Mother's Day to all of the hard-working mothers out there who don't get enough credit for all that they do.  It's a very hard job, and I'm sure that most of the mothers don't get nearly enough credit for all that they do.  People tend to take it for granted, the love and the caring and all of the work, but really you should be getting thanks every day, not just on this one day.

 

Happy Mother's Day!

 

Christine

It's Kim's Birthday Soon

 

Our late sister Kim's birthday is coming up on Saturday (poor Juli has to DJ that day and try to be "up" and cheerful at work), so I've been thinking about Kim even more than I usually do these last few days.

 

I know this is a goofy-looking pic of her and I don't know what she was looking at, but it was from Christmas 11 years ago, so she looks healthy and happy, which is a great thing. 

 

My husband and I were watching an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond a couple of days ago and Ray Romano was playing the piano (it was really him) and he was very good. 

 

This brought to mind the time, many years ago, when Kim and I were at a piano playing and singing this song:

 

KEANE- Brothers Sherry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HEhV_WBLKE

 

Even many of you who are old enough might not remember the Keane Brothers, but some of you might.  They were really talented singers and had a short-lived variety show that we watched back then.



 

The house we moved into after our parents divorced happened to have a piano.  No one ever played it much, that I can recall, but when I got this Keane Brothers album, we loved it so much that I bought the sheet music for that Sherry song and learned to play it, sort of (not great).

 

Of course, our sister Juli is the real singer in the family.  She's sung in plays and shows and even sang the Korean national anthem at a Tae Kwon Do tournament and everyone was so proud of her for learning it and singing it so beautifully.  If it was on YouTube, I'd post that link here, too.

 

Kim must've been a pretty good singer, too, since she did play Cinderella or something in a play during high school.  I didn't get to see it because I lived way across town and didn't have a car at that time.

 

I'm the worst singer in our family, but it hasn't stopped me from singing at various times, like singing along to video game songs when our nephew is playing different games on his new Mario Maker game (and he's shocked that I know all of the different "old school" tunes).  It did, however, stop me from singing when we were forced to be in the choir in junior high.  My friend Tammy told me around that same time that my singing really sucked (she was right), so in order to not throw anyone else in the choir off, I would lip sync all the songs (better for everyone all around, including the audience).

 

Anyway, this is just a fond memory of our little sis Kim, back in the day.  Me trying to play the piano and us belting out that song - Sherry.

 

I will miss her forever, of course.  Everyone who knew her always will.