Well…we’re one month in on the social distancing experiment. I call it an experiment because it’s becoming real clear that the even the experts aren’t quite sure what’s going on. Numbers, predictions, charts…they all change daily. What hasn’t changed is the fact that our kids really haven’t left the house or been in any contact with the outside world for a month. Sure, we see our neighbors (from a long distance) as we bike/walk through the neighborhood but that’s the extent of the socializing.
A couple things I want to remember:
We go to the grocery story once a week. That’s it. If we forget something or it’s out of stock, we’ll try and remember it the next week. The stores list what is out of stock on a board outside the store so you don’t have to waste time searching the store.
My car is on the same tank of gas since it was filled after spring break.
I had to buy yeast in bulk online because we were running out and no stores had it in stock. I can not be stuck at home and not be making bread. Our friends and neighbors are very well stocked with yeast if anyone needs any!
We are doing online school. It’s a little bit of a joke because nothing is counting towards their grade – everything is really optional. For my sanity, we’re doing school even if their teachers haven’t sent anything over. It has been a great opportunity to see what areas my kids can use enrichment. And thank heavens for Khan academy (math) – that website is saving us right now. And I always joked about common core math and now that I’m teaching my kids and I watched my third grader spend 1 minute on a math problem, grouping and adding and regrouping and adding new numbers…you better believe I taught him to carry the one and his life is forever changed. That 1 minute problem is now cut to less than 8 seconds! 🙂 I’m sure his teachers are going to love me when they go back next year!
Life has normalized in a weird way. It’s normal that we’re all together ALL THE TIME. It’s normal that no one is asking to play with friends or heading off to sports. Steve is loving this aspect of our current situation – I tell him this is exactly what summer in Idaho is. There’s a reason we love it so much. But we also love returning home and seeing friends and sports and everything else that comes with life.
I don’t think we’re alone in lamenting the fact that we have all this free time and no where to go. Yes, we would love to take the family to Zion National Park or the Grand Canyon. But they’re closed. This would be a perfect time to roadtrip to see family and friends or see the country – but that’s not an option.
My work has tapered off considerably and it’s a little weird not having a full plate of things I have to design. Of course with my new job as a school teacher its perfect timing.
There are times it’s a little lonely. Hard to imagine a house full of people and still feeling lonely, but it’s true. And knowing my friends and family members are probably sitting in their homes feeling the same way is hard. I don’t necessarily love groups and socializing but I’m recognizing the strength I draw from my inner circle. I find strength in our “village” and I really miss them.
The days go surprisingly fast (and yet at the same time this has been the longest month of our lives!) There is never enough hours in the day to do everything we want to do. Some days its hiking. Other days it’s been drawing videos on youtube, or cooking, or sports outside, or stop motion videos, or cleaning, or face timing friends and family. We have not been bored.
One of the largest rewards that I’m recognizing is our relationships as a family. Yes, there is still fighting. But for the amount of time we’ve spent together the fighting has been minimal. Instead they play games and jump on the tramp and make treasure hunts for each other. We’ve gone from running a hundred different directions to being home and present and it has its advantages.
And as great as some of this has been…I still ask myself every day, “How much longer can this go on?” We had our first cancellation of our summer plans and it was hard to swallow. It makes me wonder how many more things will end up on the cancellation list. When this first started, never in a million years did I think summer would be affected. And yet, I’m now hearing of our city programs that have been cancelled through the summer and so many other events/venues closed indefinitely. And we have no idea when we’ll meet for church again with our neighbors.
So many changes. So many challenges. Thinking about it makes my head hurt. We’re taking it one day at a time.
