I recently saw a post from KQED. Yes, KQED. 😉 It popped up in my feed. In the post, it asked a very interesting question. If you could travel back to just before the pandemic hit, what would you tell your past self? For me, I would say Buckle Up, Buttercup. You’ve been preparing for this your whole life, as has most Gen X’ers. The TV was my sitter/comfort alot growing up. Still is. My mom was a very hard-working single parent trying her best to provide for me. And she did. Above and beyond. So what would I say to myself? I would say to ease up on my son with regards to school. Be aware of the dreaded school loop email showing their grades, but don’t fixate on it. Students will pass this disastrous year. As a bestie said, no kid left behind. They were not prepared for being home for such an extended period of time. They need to see friends, teachers and socialize in person. They will be stronger from this experience, for sure. And probably ready for the corporate world with all of the executive functioning skills they learned and used. But it wasn’t easy on them (or us) by any means. It’s all wild when you think about it. We all share in being a part of historic times. Making it through a global pandemic! Being recipients of a brand new vaccine!

Looking back, I personally wouldn’t change a thing, though. All the baking, cooking, dancing along to DNice in virtual dance parties, mixing cocktails on the daily which probably helped add 20 to my 2020 😬, new found love in Schitt’s Creek, watching all 6 seasons of Dawson’s Creek with my son and having good conversations about it, seeing him wrinkle his face when Joey & Pacey kiss 😆, hearing he actually digs some of the 90’s music, playing board games and just spending QT with our little trio and sweet cat Lily. It was sad and depressing some days, absolutely. We missed seeing our family and close friends immensely. But, luckily, we became stronger and closer sheltering in place together. And boy did we appreciate the little things like eating out when we were safely able to do so. Not having to clean the kitchen, do dishes. And our son was beyond excited to get back to basketball. We all will look back on this time and say wow. Remember when? So, what would YOU tell your past self? What advice would you give?

As a parent, I’m constantly picking up after my son. I know I’m not the only one. I tell him, please look around before you leave an area. Take your dish to the sink, and wash it. Hang up your wet towel. Pick up your clothes off the floor, etc., etc., etc. Parents know the drill. The other day I found the straw plastic wrapper for his Capri Sun on the table. Again. I usually buy bottles of juice but every once in awhile he enjoys Capri Sun “Pacific Cooler” which always was my favorite as a kid too. So I see this wrapper lying there, looking a bit sad for being the discarded boring part of a tasty juice box. And it hits me. Pretty soon, there won’t be these little reminders lying around the house that a tween lives here. So I decided to start collecting all those plastic wrappers to save as a memento. Nah, I’m just kidding. I’m sentimental but that would be a bit nutty. 🤪 But I do take a deep breath in and out. As irritated as I get at having to constantly “nag,” him to clean up after himself, I will miss seeing his things around. The days are long, but the years are short. Except for 2020 which was equivalent to 5 billion years. Hang in there. Try not to sweat the small stuff. I’m still trying. I wonder how Pacific Cooler is with vodka? 🤔🙃