Things aren’t going according to any plan. What is normal, no longer is stable. There is no status quo. One day we are working out on a Wednesday morning at November Project Amsterdam and the next we are confined within the four corners of our apartments.
Being lonely has become a familiar feeling that we each carry in our own unique way. For some, we wear it heavily as we go through each and every day. Days, weeks, months flow into one another without distinction. Monday’s seem no different than Friday’s. We have gotten used to listening to our own, silent breath on our runs or walks. We scroll through our phones as we sip our coffee or tea without company in the morning. Post-workout Starbucks coffee has become a memory of the past.
We feel rather stuck, bored, and exhausted. The news no longer shocks us. Cancelled races and plans no longer surprise us. Holidays are quieter, birthdays are muted, weekend “events” are predictable, and work life balance has fallen off kilter as our offices have merged with our home life.
For others, we yearn to be alone. Schools have closed leaving our kids wild, free, and without any structure. Our life partners have become our work colleagues. Our pets cling to us, erasing any previous boundaries we may have had. We eat, breath, work, play, and sleep in apartments that seem to grow smaller and smaller by the day.
Covid wasn’t supposed to last this long. Dani and I were supposed to co-lead November Project Amsterdam every Wednesday morning without interruption. We had themed workouts planned, races to participate in, cheer tunnels to coordinate, karaoke nights to propose, birthday booms to give, and challenges to organize.
I for one had planned to lead all the way up until my due date in mid March. I wasn’t going to allow this pregnancy stop me. I was going to continue to surround myself with my Amsterdam family. Boy, was I wrong. My once romantic vision of pregnancy has been crushed by cancelled workouts, closed gyms, restricted gatherings, and shut baby stores.
But just because things don’t go according to plan, doesn’t mean they don’t turn out even better than we expected. 2021 has shown us just how resilient we are as a group. We shared many workouts at the Nemo stairs, returned to Rietland Park for PR Day, recruited new members, had guest led workouts, and celebrated our 5th year birthday. We conducted our very own Olympics and had blast with our many themed days including Disney, Halloween, and Disco. We sweat to tabata, plyometrics, EMOM and AMRAP workouts. We played with words, phone numbers, cards, and dice. We created new tags, energetic bounces, and exhausting burnouts. We celebrated Pride. We continued to show up each and every morning.
Even though we no longer hug or high five, we never stopped connecting as a community. And no matter how detailed or carefully crafted, no plan can ever design such an amazing group of people or unforgettable memories.
So let’s plan to return February 2, 2022 to in person workouts. Let’s plan to meet back at Rietland Park for another great PR day. Let’s plan to have a special PR day medal made so that those that earn a PR can get a special picture taken. Let’s plan all these things and hope that 2022 is as unpredictable and surprising as 2021. Does it sound like a plan?
Heather & Dani
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Love to read your stories, so well written 💖