Weekending it

Happy Monday!!!

Today, New York City enters Phase 1 of reopening! But, you wouldn't know it as a good portion of the population has been behaving like life is normal for the past several weeks while the other portion remains stuck inside and petrified. I would be in that second group. Okay, maybe not petrified but we will likely stick to our quarantine routine for the foreseeable future.

I am on parental leave until early August and I still have no word on whether or not we will be able to return to the office.

Dan has to go back to his office with the start of Phase 2.

We have a scheduled date to "meet the teacher" for Kip's preschool in the fall but we will likely pay tuition to hold his spot but not send him in the fall.

Mandy returned to living at her place in New Jersey a couple of weeks ago but she still comes over on her regular days and we spend every weekend together. I miss having her around daily for the laughs and her infinitely valuable help with Kip and Ivy. But, she has to go back to her part-time nanny gig in Jersey starting next week.

Summer weather has arrived and we are grateful but also conflicted as I know this, my favorite season, will be far from what we are used to or hoped for. Our summer bucket list is empty and our weekly adventures will likely only be picnics at mostly-empty parks without playgrounds. What a life...but we have our lives and that's what is most important.

I know it's hard for people in other, less hard hit, areas of the country to really understand and follow all the Covid-19 restrictions when it feels like an infringement on their freedom. I get that. But we are in the city at the epicenter and we can't have that luxury. Over 17,000 people have died in our tiny big city. A quarter of the nation's death toll in our state alone. How do you quantify 17,000 lives? At my job, we are all familiar with what 2,983 lives looks like. That is the number of people killed on 9/11. But now that number seems so small compared to what we've seen in the last three months. Yet still, 17,000 is a hard number to grasp.

For a moment, consider the population of your town or perhaps several neighboring towns. Now imagine every single person from that town was gone. Like someone took their thumb and forefinger and just pinched that town and removed it from the map. 17,000 lives. It's unimaginable. And, yes, we personally knew some of those who have died. And, yes, we personally know others who had the virus and recovered. This is a global tragedy. Not a joke. Wear a mask. Consider the lives of those around you who have compromised health situations. Think about the newborn babies who can't help themselves. Be smart.

Okay, that's my soapbox for the day. Now for our weekend recap.

Every weekend since the start of the pandemic, we've driven over to New Jersey to hang out at Mandy's apartment and get a change of scenery. Now that the weather is nice and some of the parks have reopened, we've picked-up lunch somewhere at a drive thru or curbside and had a picnic. It's hard for me because I worry but I'm trying to weigh our risks. We wear our masks and distance from others. Kip doesn't touch the playgrounds and we try our best to make the best of the situation.

This weekend we went to the park by Mandy that we visited the very weekend the whole pandemic hit. Warmer now...one more baby in tow...and making the most of it.

Ivy turned three weeks old on Sunday and it's felt so fast and yet so slow at the same time. I'm really soaking-in these snuggly newborn days with her but also eager to have her wake-up to the world a little more and engage with us. More update posts on her coming up I promise! She is such a sweetheart.