I haven't written here in nearly two years. That makes me kind of sad! The kids LOVE to look at the two blog books I had printed during the time when blogs were what all of us moms did. I'm so, so glad that I wrote down as much as I did. Those funny memories are absolute treasures. Henry seems to be growing up in another generation of mom-record-keeping. He's mostly recorded on Instagram. I may have to have an Instagram book printed at some point!
Since we're here living out history with the COVID-19 Pandemic, I thought it might be nice to record what the world looks like through our windows so that I can remember. It turns out I don't remember anything unless I write it down! So, here are my random observations and ramblings regarding life today:
*Things change every day. For awhile there in mid-March, things changed every hour (or at least if felt that way). I'm sure I said, "There's no way they'll actually ______, will they??" at least five times only to find out that yes, they actually would. One example is close schools. Another is keep them closed for a month. Another is keep them closed for the remainder of the school year. Another is close every single business/restaurant/etc except grocery stores and hospitals and Home Depot. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Right now, things don't seem to change every hour or even every day. But we wait to see what Governor Walz will say whenever he is set to make an announcement because, whether we fully comply or not, his announcements really do affect our daily lives.
*The kids came home mid-March and have not returned to school since. Shandy began working from home the week of March 27th, working some hours each day at school. By the following week he was working from home 100% of the time because masks were required whenever entering the school building. He has gone back twice: once to get some equipment from his classroom and once to finish closing it up. I'm surprised how much chaos he can work around. The first day of distance learning, the kids were pumped. They all woke up bright and early and were at the table with their school work and ipads by 8:30. I still had to work in the mornings the first week, but they were rock stars, even taking turns making lunch and cleaning up! Once the novelty wore off, school work got a lot less exciting, but they have each pretty much found their grooves. Lily has the most work, which makes sense. Her teachers, for the most part, are continuing to teach and she is submitting work digitally. Mason & Nora are mostly doing review on paper and checking in with their teachers for attendance each day. It doesn't take them long :). After school work, chores, and music practice (if applicable), they get screen time. My kids live for screen time, which is both a powerful motivator and an annoying thing to manage. I've found it works best if I collect all the ipads whenever they're done with screen time and put them out of sight (HIDE THEM).
*It was funny, at first, the world - as in parents suddenly schooling their children at home - was excited by all the fun and interesting things they could do with their kids. Authors were offering free livestream readings of their books, illustrators were offering free drawing lessons, musicians were putting on daily concerts from their living rooms. Everyone was making quarantine bucket lists and pulling out their craft bins. All of those things are still going on, but it's calmed down quite a bit. We have done some fun things. There has been a plethora of art, drawing, painting, and projects. Shandy's been playing guitar and the kids have been joining in with their own instruments (Henry on the harmonica, Nora on violin, Mason is showing an interest in guitar, and Lily on guitar or drums). Mason purchased a dirt bike the last week in March and has spent HOURS with the neighbor tearing up the ditches and jumping dirt piles in our yard. We hiked around Tettagouche early in the quarantine with friends. We've played board games. But now, it feels a bit like mid-summer. The kids have kind of established their own routines and interests. Henry sits and looks at books, goes outside and walks around, talking to himself and exploring, draws a LOT, builds with legos, and never wants to go anywhere ever again. Nora wants to bake cupcakes every day, visits her grandparents, hugs me a lot, and ask when she can see her friends. She also has enjoyed drawing and painting. Mason rides his dirt bike, plays Mario Bros, pesters his siblings, shops for things he can't afford on Amazon, watches Dude Perfect videos, plays We Are Going to be Friends on the guitar, and pesters his siblings (did I already say that?). Lilia reads, texts or video chats with her friends, plays with and pesters her siblings, exercises, goes on bike rides, practices the drums or plays guitar & sings (Be True to Your School of late), cooks supper and bakes. Shandy and I have been tackling the last of the house projects (curse you, painted trim). And we've recently started watching The Voice as a family. Good stuff.
*I am usually a person that pretty much enjoys running errands. Or at least I don't mind it. The first 6 weeks of COVID-world, I disliked it more and more every week. I try to only go to town once a week for errands. And the fewer, the better. The strangeness all started with toilet paper. Before any of this even got serious, somebody somewhere decided that the world was going to run out of TP and started hoarding it. Then everyone else decided that it must be true and suddenly the entire world had no toilet paper on the shelves. I had just bought a big package from Costco so I have yet to actually need toilet paper when there wasn't any. It seems like there's usually some in the store now. From there, stores suddenly had a lot of things that ran out. About the third week in, there were a few things I couldn't find, but they were weird. Like sesame oil, frozen peas, and the kind of peanuts we like. I tend to buy staples in bulk (flour, sugar, meat, etc), so I haven't really been desperate at any point or felt worried that I wouldn't be able to get food. I did make one trip to Costco with the two things at the top of my list being TP and chicken breasts. TP was limited to 1 and there was no chicken in the store at all. Anyway, from the shortages we moved on to plexiglass panels up in front of the cashiers. Everywhere. Like sneezeguards on a salad bar. Weird. Then there were arrows on the floors of the grocery stores creating one-way streets. That first day, I backed my cart into an aisle to create the appearance of going the correct direction. Then there were masks. And gloves. Everywhere. Science tells us they don't really work. People still wear them and "they" say that everyone should wear them for safety. I'm still not sure what kind of safety they are referring to. People wear them all kinds of different ways (nose out, nose in, take it off when you talk, pick your nose or feed your dog with your gloves on, handle others' food with the same gloves, masks around your neck or dangling from one ear...). People do give a few dirty looks if you're not wearing a mask, but so far I haven't felt hated. That's good.
*Everything is cancelled. Dentist and doctor appointments, church, sports, music lessons, conferences and workshops...everything. I saw a meme today that said the worst purchase anyone ever made in 2020 was a planner. That's hilarious because this was the first year in the last decade that I actually purchased one. Seriously, I started writing what we're having for supper on our calendar because there is literally nothing else on it. And you know what? It has been such a strange, wonderful, unique gift for our family. I know it won't last forever. Life will return to the bustle eventually, and there are things to be grateful for in that. But for now, I'm soaking this sweet and strange time right up. We made Easter bags and gave them to all our neighbors. We made May Day baskets and did the same. I've sat and drawn, painted, and watched goofy videos much more than normal. The kids don't go to bed until between 9-10pm and sleep in until 8-9:00. It's glorious. Shandy and I stay up until 11:00, which is super late for us. We've been sleeping in too and haven't had an alarm clock at all in a couple months.
*I always hesitate when people ask how we're doing. I don't want to make it sound like we're doing too great because, you know, for some people around the world this has been quite serious. People really have lost loved ones...a lot of people, in fact. Some people are living with a great deal of fear and anxiety. Others are stuck at home in difficult relationships and situations. Still others have lost their jobs or their livelihoods because of the pandemic. It is serious in many different ways. We pray for those people and try to help practically when it's an option to do so. But in every way, I am grateful to know Christ and to know my security in him. Not because we are able to enjoy certain aspects of this strange time and have all of our immediate needs met, but because I know that no matter what the future holds - even the worst I can imagine - God is still God. And I am His. And heaven is infinitely better for the Christian. So I am able to rest in that. And I'm so grateful. It's been strange not going to church and worshipping and learning together. I miss that. But it's been incredible to see and hear how many more people have access to the gospel because every church now has it's sermons online. From New York City to Huslia, Alaska, God's word is actually spreading with more efficiency than before. Our God never wastes a thing.
These are my thoughts on things today. Maybe I'll add more later. Like, tomorrow when everything changes again. Or maybe I'll reflect on how fascinating human behavior in general has been during this time. Who knows? At any rate, I'm glad I at least recorded this much to look back on and remember.
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