Welcome to May! A month that is usually known for parties, graduations, weddings, anniversaries, and lots of springtime fun. Now, here we are living in our new normal with none of the May events happening in the usual way. In our house, we have some important events that always happen in May including the boys’ birthdays, Mother’s Day, and our wedding anniversary. But of course, nothing feels the same.

The best way to describe the 9 weeks so far is like a roller coaster. One day we are all up and laughing, and the next day we are all down and crying. I am going to share with you all a few ways we are staying sane and positive, and some things that have been helpful for us. Optimism is key these days!

I started running again. I used to run years ago. It’s challenging at age 47 because I tend to get injured easily with running. But I am starting to run again and it feels really great. As for Jeff, he goes for a long walk every day by the beach. It helps him to clear his head, get in his extra steps, and he gets to take full advantage of enjoying our coastal neighborhood more since he is working from home now.

Blaine learned how to ride her bike during quarantine, and she is biking like a boss now. It’s been awesome to watch her confidence grow as well as her sense of independence. Charlie is loving our new quarantine puppy, Coco. She has brought him and our whole family so much joy during this time. Charlie also got new rollerblades for his birthday, and he is loving using them.

We have also been binge-watching “The Office”, which makes all of us laugh. We spent the first weeks watching family movies (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” was everyone’s favorite). Now we’ve moved our TV watching to Scranton, PA and the office antics at Dunder Mifflin. 🙂 

Who else is loving TikTok during quarantine? My mantra when it comes to this fun social media platform is, WHY NOT?! Who doesn’t want to show off all their dance moves and lip-syncing skills while bonding with their kids as we are all stuck at home? Sign me up…oh, I did!

Have you done a drive-by birthday celebration this quarantine? We have done a few, and they are a super festive way to celebrate birthdays in our “new normal”. When the boys’ birthday was approaching (they have the same birthday on May 7th), there was definitely pressure to cheer them up. I knew we had to do something big for them. Blaine and I decided to throw a surprise parade for Jeff and Charlie to help them feel special and feel loved. It was a big hit! They both said this was one of their favorite birthdays ever.  It was so sweet to see so many friends wave and beep as they drove by our house. We captured it all on video, courtesy of @theorganicproductions. I truly think this 2020 birthday will be one that the Clarke boys will never forget.

Nothing is easy right now, but I do feel like we are getting closer to the other side of this. We are learning so much along the way about what really matters. These might be tough lessons, but they are valuable ones. Of course, the biggest silver lining is slowing down and spending more time together as a family. Brighter days are ahead! Thank you for all the support. Stay well and here’s to more good news!

xoxo NBC