Quarantine: Thanks for the (slightly disappointing) Memories

Lisa

Aug 24, 2020

Hello!

Wow am I overdue for a blog! What a busy (but also kinda lazy) summer this turned into, even with all this Quarantine business.

Well, friends. It’s the end of August and we all know what that means: the end of summer. Kids return to school, pools close (you know, in normal times when they actually opened) and the temperature begins to cool.

I don’t know about you, but I’m typically one of those people who’s ready for summer to end by the time mid-August rolls around. Even when I was in school, I was one of those nerdy kids who was like, “let’s read some books and do some calculus!”

In my defense, you can’t really appreciate summer break if it goes on forever, right? I guess I don’t know that for sure, since I haven’t ever been on summer break forever (aka retirement), but I’m pretty sure it’s true.

As I said, I’m TYPCIALLY one of those people, but this year feels a little bit different. Ya know, like usually you have some epic summer story to tell about a crazy adventure you went on, and you took some cute group pictures with the gals drinking wine on a patio or eating brunch or something and you’ve done what you set out to do so you’re good.

This summer though? I didn’t exactly set out to be a crusty lady who rarely showers and never leaves the house, but hey, here we are.

And that brings me to today’s main event, the rant you’ve all been patiently awaiting...let’s talk about all the stuff we’ve missed out on this summer. Cause we all know there’s lots of stuff!

Missed Quaran-tunities

I don’t know about y’all, but last summer for me and Ben was SLAMMED. It was AWESOME - we had our pre-wedding festivities, we got married, we went on a honeymoon and we got to celebrate many friend weddings!

But we didn’t have a lot of time for extra stuff like the farmers’ market, pop-up patio drinking, camping trips, concerts. Ya know, summer stuff!

And just like all the people who were like “2020 IS MY YEAR”, I was all like “THIS SUMMER IS MY SUMMER”. LOL, right?

Pre-covid Lisa, though, she didn’t know what was in store for us. So she planned a boat load of stuff and watched it all slowly crumble away.

Is she just being dramatic or did she really miss out on a lot of stuff?

I swear I’m not being (too) dramatic! This was gonna be my summer of STUFF. So I was planning. And now, I present to you, a detailed list of all the things I missed out on so you feel bad for me (KIDDING!!).

Bye, Bye Vacations, Hello Netflix and Take Out!

Y’all, I sincerely feel like there is nothing I need more in the world right now than a vacation. A tropical, all-inclusive, all the foods and all the drinks vacation. Who’s with me?!

Instead though, I got cancelled vacations with a side of stress. THANKS RONA!

First...our trip to England.

I feel like the world tried to tell me not to go on this trip and I didn’t listen. It was difficult to plan, but I was ADAMANT that I would make it work. And then I made it work. And then...you know.

So not only did I have the misfortune of having to miss out on a wedding in a castle in England, I had the greater misfortune of having to work with a third-party to refund my flight.

I’m not in the business of publicly trash-talking companies, so we won’t go there, but it was extremely unpleasant and the stress NO ONE needs when they’re mourning the loss of their trip and navigating Quarantine life. Anyway, I did get my money back, and I only had to write one extremely angry email, so all things considered, I’m calling it a win.

Before y’all trash talk me because “airlines and travel companies were swamped”, I GET IT! All I asked was for a timeline as to when I could expect my refund, and when I wasn’t given a straight answer, I had to see what could be done!

And then...our trip to Arizona

Ben and I were supposed to go to Sedona in June with my family, and I felt like this trip had been in the works FOREVER. Like even before it was being planned, it seems like we had talked many times about going to Arizona.

Finally, it was going to happen! AND the house we would be staying at looked BEAUTIFUL. And we were going to tour the Grand Canyon. Wow, it was gonna be lovely.

WOMP WOMP. Thankfully, this flight was booked with the always wonderful & trustworth Southwest, so I didn’t have to write any angry emails!

The Bright Side?

By now, you know me friends! I’m a cynic who loves a good rant, but in these times, I always try to wrap up every rant on a good note.

So the bright side was two fold.

First off, ya girl has a pre-paid trip waiting for her one day. That’s my kind of trip!

And we still managed to squeeze in two (mini) trips! All you people who are hurting from the loss of your trips, I recommend you consider camping (or for all you anti-campers, glamping!)

Ben and I snuck away to Lake Anita State Park with friends and had a great time cooking up campfire dishes, playing yard games, drinking and swimming. And all for a whopping $20 (for firewood and the camp site anyway).

We also found time to go visit my family in St. Louis for five days. I’d say it was one of our best STL trips ever!

I am a notorious over-planner, especially around holidays when all the friends are in town. Ben’s tryna relax or squeeze in homework and I’m presenting him with a packed agenda and dragging him all around town, demanding that he enjoy it all while scolding him when he’s not extremely chatty and outgoing. I’M THE WORST.

While that is WONDERFUL and I love seeing all the friends, it’s the kind of vacation you need a vacation from afterwards. So this year we enjoyed floating in the pool, drinking water, I mean Coors Light, and eating food and ice cream!

Who Needs Concerts When You Have Spotify?

It’s a joke!! We all still need concerts! Though I’m not a frequent concert attender, I should be because I’m the kind of gal who gets chills watching people perform live music. Watching artists do their craft and produce something amazing RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES is seriously the shiz!

Back in December-ish, I decided to buy tickets for the AJR concerts in Des Moines. One of the very few concerts I’d bought tickets for in the last few years. But I was like, “GIRL STOP BEING CHEAP AND GO.”

I even started that phase where you listen to the music a bunch and get even more amped. I was so jazzed for this outdoor show!

WOMP WOMP TAKE TWO.

Anyway, I don’t really have a great alternative to offer, but if you’re missing live music, see if you can find any small outdoor concerts or take a look online and see if anyone will be doing a live stream!

And if you just need to jam, turn on some music on your speakers and dance around in the kitchen. My favorite kitchen dancing song? Just got paid by Sigala. My neighbors also seem to enjoy is as they laugh at me through the window.

It’s Just Not FAIR

How many of my Iowa friends are missing the fair?!

If you’re one of those people, I recommend moving along, because I’m about to go on a lengthy rant about why the fair is the worst.

As someone who didn’t grow up going to the fair, I can objectively evaluate it for the unpleasant experience that it is.

Feel free to disagree, but here’s what I think about the fair:

It’s expensive and all you’re really paying to do is get into a place where you have to pay for more stuff.
It’s hot. It’s ALWAYS SO HOT. Why don’t fairs happen in October? I mean I get it, I know why. But October is so much better for outdoor stuff.
It’s so crowded. It’s like anxiety-inducing crowded for people who don’t usually even feel stressed out by crowds.
The lines. They’re so long. And I feel like 60% of the time they’re not worth waiting for. And the other 40% of the time they run out of the thing you’re waiting for before you get to the front (THE COOKIES - I’M STILL MAD, ASK ME ABOUT IT).

And on top of all those things, it’s always the same!! It’s hot and crowded and expensive and it never changes. Is that the charm in the fair? That it’s always the same and it feels like you’re 12 again? I DON’T GET IT (who wants to be 12 again). Then again, I have no fair nostalgia so how could I get it, right?

Here’s what I do like about the fair: I like the big gourds. I like the honey lemonade. I like the free jams and dips you get to try. I like eating the food.

So, I’m pretty sure I just like the farmers’ market portion of the fair.

ANWAY. That wasn’t really the point of this. The point was that I’ve finally figured out how to improve the fair. It’s to cancel the fair and then make your own fair food at home!

For everyone who is silently hating my fair-bashing self right now, I do have an actual good reason for saying this. I’m allergic to ALL THE THINGS. Like actually ALL THE THINGS.

So I was pretty jazzed to have a good excuse to cook up some deep fried, cream cheese stuffed pickles (hold the bacon), some fried oreos (hold all the grease) and some tater tot nachos (hold nothing, give me all the things).

I’m probably a little bit late in saying this, but if you’re craving the classic fair foods, check out your local restaurants for some fair food to go OR make your own like we did! NOM NOM.

So what now?

Okay, I exaggerated, that wasn’t actually an exhaustive list of the things I missed out on (who’s counting?). But either way, missing out on things sucks. I’m sure you all have your own things that you’re bummed you missed. Trips, weddings, festivals, restaurants, you name it. And just like my own plans, I mourn for yours as well.

There is good news though, my friends.

Hear me out. Despite this feeling that we didn’t get to live summer up, I think we’re in for a treat with fall about to start. And here’s why.

The whole thing with summer is to go out and do stuff. Go to the farmers’ markets, go to the pool, go to some drinking establishments. Ya know, not really Quarantine things. Out and about things. The things that make you wish you were in different reality.

But the whole thing with fall is to stay home, enjoy your yard and do lovely fall things like sip cider and have fires and wear sweaters while you cuddle with your dogs. Fall was basically built for Quarantine. And I’m here for it!!

All I’m saying is if we have to be stuck at home, I want to do it in fall. And for all you people who will say, “I agree, but after fall comes winter…”, stop jumping the gun and just let us have this!

After all, we need something to look forward to since all our plans have been cancelled!

Cheers,