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[quote=Anonymous]I feel like we still spend a good portion of our weekends out of the house. Usually we'll do breakfast at home, then head out to a hiking trail or a park in the suburbs. We'll either pack a lunch and eat out there or we'll find a popular sandwich or taco place for takeout and eat it in a park. Sometimes we'll bring a soccer ball to kick around or books to lie around and read outside. By the time we get home mid-afternoon, everyone is usually pretty ready for down time, so we'll spend a few hours getting cleaned up, relaxing, sometimes the kids will watch a little TV or play video games. Then we'll do a long walk in the city and pick up dinner somewhere fun, take it home to eat and then watch a movie with the family before bedtime. On Sundays we do the same but do a grocery run and make dinner, usually something the kids can help make and that will give us some leftovers, like spaghetti and meatballs or grilled chicken and veggies.

When the weather is bad we struggle a little, but as long as it's not pouring, we usually make it work. And we've been able to keep it varied by doing the occasional socially distanced barbecue at a friend's house, doing a weekend at a lake, and doing a couple weekends where we took longer day trips out to West Virginia or down to Charlottesville.

It's honestly the weekdays that are killing us. I feel bad because I think the kids get cooped up but it can be really hard to get them sustained amounts of time outside. That's why we really go all in on the outdoorsy stuff on the weekend.

I think the key is to just find the pandemic version of what you used to do. If it was organized sports, play pick up games. If it was meals at restaurants, do fancy take-out. If it was socializing with friends, plan a socially distanced get together or schedule some Zoom happy hours.

Also, you never know when you might stumble across a fun, new safe activity. We were out in VA recently doing errands and decided to stop in a winery nearby that was open. We figured if it was crowded at all, we would just turn around and leave. It turned out that they had a reservation system, but they also had a big field adjacent to the winery building where you could sit out at a distance from others, and you could buy glasses of wine at a little tent they set up at the edge of the field. It was great! The kids had fun running around playing games, and my husband and I relaxed in the grass sipping wine and watching the sun go down. It was totally random and lovely. Keep your eyes open for opportunities![/quote]

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