Planning for the unplanned...

Day 20

Planning...

It consumes me lately.

Planning things for the little boys to do.

Planning things for the big kids to do.

Planning each meal. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and the snacks in between.

Meals consume a big portion of the planning.

Before the pandemic hit, going to the grocery store was no big deal. Forgot something? Just grab it the next time you are out. Decide you don't like what you had planned? Run out and switch it up. I pre-planned dinners only and made sure there was at least cereal for breakfast. Sometimes I would grab something for lunches on the weekends but I always banked on there being leftovers.

If the girls didn't find what they wanted for breakfast, they could grab something at school. Everyone was at school or work during lunch so that was easy. But now...

7 people are home 24/7. For every meal. For everything they put in their mouth. And they eat, a lot. Not a crazy amount but enough that the full refrigerator is empty by week's end.

I picked up canned goods and a few boxes of Mac and Cheese a month ago. I'm afraid to use it. Afraid that if I get sick, if Chris gets sick, that the kids will need easy to grab things.

So I plan.

Breakfast is the easiest. Eggs, Cereal, Yogurt, Toast.

Lunch requires a bit more planning because if I don't have enough of the same thing for 7 of us, I become a short-order cook.

Dinner is always preplanned. Main dish and sides. Written out in a neat and organized list.

But this time forgetting isn't as easy as jumping into the car. This time, planning means realizing I have to go out in a public space. Where germs are. Where I don't want to be.

So I write my list. Sort everything by aisle the best that I can. Wish that I was the type of mom that could serve my kids processed crap for the next two weeks so that I could grab some cans and run but I'm not. So I plan.

And this time I plan for two weeks. Two weeks' worth of groceries so I don't have to go out to a public space for two weeks. Plan for "longer lasting" vegetables. Plan for 7 people for 14 days. And when Chris acts surprised when he sees how long the list is I cringe. Cringe because the grocery bill has been astronomically high.

The planning keeps my mind off the situation at hand so maybe its been beneficial and I just don't realize it. Let's see how I feel about not having all this planning next week.