Houses, Racing, Mother's Day, Random Pictures

We have spent 7 weeks now in this post-COVID-19 world. It was an uneventful week. We did a drive last weekend and finally checked out Celebration. Everyone remarked that they would like to move there, but when I checked housing prices, we all agreed that it was not worth the premium. We have heard chatter that we will likely be teleworking until July or August and even when we go back, it may be modified to something like 2 days in the office. We chose the location we are in for its proximity to work and everything else we enjoy. We are about 30 minutes to Disney, 20 to Seaworld, 25 to Universal and 25 to work. And, an hour from my family and the Lakeland Tigers. We had an ideal location, but it was about 45 minutes to work (15 minutes to all the parks and 45 to Winter Haven). We had set our maximum commute at 30 minutes and stuck rigidly to it while house hunting. Our neighborhood was the best we could find that met our parameters (and had decent schools).

But, with the potential of lots more telework and even the possibility that Thomas and I could stagger our schedule so one of us was always at home, I started thinking about moving to that ideal location. In reality, it is likely just a pipe dream. I am not going to ask the kids to change schools again and we would lose so much money. I did the math one afternoon and thanks to the kitchen remodel, we have a while before we hit a break even point. But, I love to look at houses and think about which ones I would purchase. That and planning vacations are something I do constantly--even when I have no intention of moving or traveling.

In other "news," Thomas did some running challenges with the kids. We have a little loop near our house that is probably just under a quarter mile. He told the kids they could run one lap at a time and whoever beat him would win. He had to run continuously, but thought he could outlast them. Kara went first and she was pretty speedy, but Thomas won in the end. Then, Luke was up. He took off at a pace that I just knew was completely unsustainable. And, he did slow down. But, it was still really fast and Thomas was done. He could have pushed it out and beat Luke, but he knew he would lose against whoever ran next so he decided to lose to Luke since he had run so fast. He did another challenge, where the kids ran an inner loop of the neighborhood (just over half a mile) and he had to run the larger loop (just over a mile). They all participated and had fun. It is hard to find ways to get them outside sometimes and the challenges help (especially when prizes are offered). We still do bike rides, and swim, and Thomas plays in the park with them, but not everyone is interested every day.

Mother's Day was okay. Kara and Luke made me a card. And Kara cooked breakfast. Thomas got my chosen dinner (Cracker Barrel pancakes). And, I made people play a game with me (which Jack and Anna quit). But, I feel funny about Mother's Day. Why do we need to designate a day to honor mothers? Shouldn't everyone be kind to their mom every day? It is like Valentine's Day to me, kind of a meh "holiday." But, I guess it's not a bad thing to have a reminder for people to honor their mothers. I do like the papers they make at school where they talk about what their mom is like. But, I miss having my own mom on Mother's Day. And, I posted something on Facebook that led to hurt feelings. So, it was not a great day for me.

Kara helped Luke, so I am not sure how truthful the answers are :)

Mexican Train before Jack and Anna quit. I came in last.

And, two random pictures:

Luke and Jack worked on building elaborate towers and then bowling them down and taking slomotion videos. Some of them were pretty exciting. At least in the opinion of people who have been self-isolating now for 7 weeks.

Kara has been working on increasing her flexibility and puts herself in some strange positions.