The garage. I swear every time I clear it out something comes along to take up all that lovely space (a sibling broke up and needed somewhere to stash her stuff, a project that got sidelined because of rain, big toys the little outgrows but it takes us a while to donate...).

I have been exactly where you are since about late October. Every week I ask what people want (and I make them be specific-don't just say chips if you mean Ruffles wavy Sour Cream and Onion, I'm not a mind reader!). But still, by the next day everyone's acting like there's nothing to eat, or sighing about this or that item that I didn't buy. So frustrating.

Happy Planner-we buy from Michaels on sale/with a coupon. DD appreciates the 3 sections set up each day in the vertical layout. Helps her plan her day into chunks of time (hourly planners are too restricting for her).

Yes-we will absolutely go to the stands that are open but aren't doing u-pick. I'm hoping these will be a good alternative to the farmers market (which I only tried once since they opened this year bc there was zero social distancing happening).

I wonder if libraries could start using those uv light sterilizers? Ours already heat treats for bedbugs. I could see them easing in with hold pickups only. I doubt story time or many of the community activities will continue, as those do draw large groups. And the community use rooms would probably have even stricter limits on how many people could be in them. The poor librarians will probably spend large chunks of time wiping down tables and computers. I would have no problem reserving/picking up books. We could always leave them sitting in the garage like we do packages right now.

There was a lot of grumbling out here on the east bay...from the start everyone is being pushed to support local business by ordering takeout and shopping from local businesses first. The last week or so I noticed more comolaints about what people are missing out on. Earlier this week, one mom in our hs group was posting on her FB about constitutional rights, a couple of posts on a local FB group about empty hospitals and lots of complaining about a possible delay to the start of the school year. But now, people are flipping their lids at the announcement that u-pick season will begin as normal. Lots of protesting about outsiders coming in, lack of bathrooms/washing facilities, crowding at local parks, etc. Suddenly supporting local business/opening up is a terrible idea. Our family already decided we won't be going to any u-picks (not even their pre-picked stands since they get fruit from the same area as the u-pick area), just based on how often we see people eating while picking (you're not supposed to but it happens all the time and no one ever really enforces it, or not that we've seen in the dozens of years we've been going) and the crowds they draw. I honestly don't see how they could run u-pick season as usual. Some of the parking lots get jam packed and there aren't handwashing stations...are they going to make everyone use hand sanitizer on entry? Limit entrance? Follow people to make sure they don't sample? Anyway, was a bit like whiplash to get on after checking out for a couple days to see the tide so suddenly changed.

Wonder if this is why we're finally getting drive through testing in Contra Costa County. If anyone is interested in charts, we've got lots of numbers over here. I only wish they would indicate how many are recovered. They recently added this dashboard , too, which I think might be more informative than any of the other stats in terms of monitoring how hard its hitting in our area. There are two sites being set up as covid hospitals (a pavillion, the county fairgrounds) and possibly a third? (a county clinic that used to be a hospital). They set up sanitation stations near homeless camps, masks are now required in public stores/work/etc. Cleaning supplies/tp are still hard to find in stores (as in, you must be there in line at opening if you hope to get some), but the grocery stores seem to be fully stocked (except for yeast). It feels like we're taking a deep breath between one wave and the next. Particularly because I'm starting to see posts on local groups about the "empty" hospitals and people complaining about a possible delay to the start of the school year-our end of the county starts in July, and takes a break in October, December and Spring. People don't want to give up that fall break (where are they planning on going?) or keep their kids home until September.

Far East San Francisco Bay Area here. Went out Thursday to find TP. Only went to Target. Still lines forming at the door hours before opening. Costco is apparently worse. They've started putting up one of those line things like at the bank at the front of the door for about 10 feet. Employee said it helps the employees not get rushed at the door by people coming in from the parking lot right at opening trying to skip the line. They've also started putting up a board with with whats in stock for hot items. Rest of the store looked pretty well stocked, though I just grabbed what was on my list and got out. There were maybe 3 people beside myself wearing masks, but that will change next week (mandated masks in our county starting Wednesday). Local Facebook group posts indicate baking goods (flour, baking powder, yeast) are hard to find, but otherwise it seems things are refilling at the grocery store (at least, I don't see people asking where to get eggs, meat, baby items or milk anymore).

This in particular may be why its been weighing on my mind so much recently. We'd moved onto nice sunny weather and were out of the house almost every morning to the park or the library. We do have a large backyard, where we're starting a small garden and have plenty to play with, but its nowhere near the same as her getting to play with other kids and exploring new places. Graciousness seems a much better ideal than sweet. And I'm sensing a repeating theme of self care. Perhaps I should take some time to figuring out how to give myself some time and space in our current situation. @txk thank you for all your wonderful ideas!

@maize I was going to quote, but really, just everything you said is so spot on. I'm not aiming to be this imagined perfect person who never has a bad moment, but I do believe I can do better.

@Rosie_0801 I'm definitely not aiming for perfect! I think the post just really resonated with me since its something that's already been weighing on my mind/heart. I am definitely going to work on explaining/apologizing better-your explanation sounds a lot better than the "no, i'm not mad" exasperated brush off I gave the 3yo yesterday.

@Paige I have never been (nor do I ever expect to be) described as sweet, lol. Kind, patient and reasonable-that sounds far more achievable. @PeterPan I will bring it up with my GP next time I go in.

@Familia thank you for your kind words and insight. I agree-children learn a lot from seeing us make mistakes and apologize. I feel like I used to be more even tempered, when oldest DD was pre-K aged. I dunno, maybe its nostalgia/rose colored glasses looking back. I'm glad to read that being conscious of it/practicing/reflecting can help.

Funny you mention Vitamin D. In November I switched GPs and my new one did a full work up. Turns out I was extremely Vitamin D and B deficient. I was blaming the fatigue, poor sleeping and general fogginess on "mom brain"/having a little one so late/far after the older one (none between the two, 12 years apart). Lucky me, I now get Vitamin B shots monthly and get to take daily vitamin B and D pills, and I also have a sleeping pill prescription for when I'm feeling like I'm not sleeping well. It helped tremendously. I think I'll start taking the sleeping pill again, see if that helps (I took it for a couple days when this all started up and I was staying up all night worrying and thinking, but I stopped after a few days-I wonder if I'm not sleeping as deeply as I should though, which was a problem before).

I fell down a rabbit hole recently. It started with me trying to figure out if A Year of Playing Skillfully would be worth the price for DD3. The idea of intentionally working on character traits caught my attention, and I soon found Laying Down the Rails. Looking at reviews of that (trying to decide which of the books would be best to start with) I found a review that mentioned the "Top Three Habits for a Homeschool Mom" post on Simply Charlotte Mason. The third habit-the sweet, even temper bit, really spoke to me. I have been struggling with this one, hard. I find myself being short/impatient/irritated with DD3 and DD15 far too often lately. For example, DD3 accidentally knocked over her juice yesterday, and rather than saying "whoops, accidents happen" and having her help me clean, I made her go sit on a chair across the room while I cleaned it up (not a time out, just a get over there and stay out of the way), and I was annoyed that she made the mess (she asked "are you mad?" which made me realize I was being cranky). The other day, DD15 came into the kitchen while I was cooking to tell me about something exciting that had just happened with a story she's reading and I was just annoyed that she was bothering me while I was busy. I keep having these moments where I catch myself in the moment or where I look back at the end of the day and don't like what I see (I use Daylio and the Three Good Things apps every night to track habits and do daily gratitude/reflection on my day). So, how do you cultivate a sweet, even temper? Do you have some resources/readings you can recommend? Any BTDT advice?