I will be documenting our experiences, during the COVID-19 pandemic, to preserve this time at home together. Although the world is a very scare place at the moment, I want to be intentional about our days at home together and provide my children with the story of what it was we lived through. Day One for us was Monday, March 16th (I’m counting down starting with the first day our regular schedules were disrupted) — the first day the girls didn’t report to school.
I cried in the grocery store yesterday. I was wearing latex gloves and picking out a birthday card for my almost ten year old daughter. Everywhere I looked there were people in masks and yellow tape on the floor marking six foot distances. There was a repeating message on the loudspeaker warning of close contact and the robotic words reminding us to remain socially distant. It was the real-ist this pandemic has felt to me, so far. People were scouring shelves for toilet paper and canned goods and I was trying to piece together a milestone birthday “party” and three Easter baskets.
We’re insulated in the bubble of country living. My parents and my aunt live adjacent to us and we’ve been socially distancing together. My parents are still using our laundry room and kitchen, so it was impossible for us to remain apart. Their unfinished house has been the biggest blessing in disguise. I know that the world looks very different beyond our home and I’m trying hard to keep some perspective on how this is playing out for everyone. I’m terrified of losing someone I love, desperately trying to protect my family, and also very much enjoying this time we’ve had together. This will forever be the spring Sophie turned ten. The year we renovated our home. The summer we spent vacationing at home. I’m doing my best to fill the girls hearts with memories they will love to remember, not news stories they hope to forget.
I was really worried that not having regular time in the gym would negate all of the hard-work I’ve put in. Instead, I feel stronger and my waist line seems smaller and I’m still enjoying shortbread cookies fresh out of the oven. Instead of studio workouts, I’m running outside and chasing a toddler and lifting logs and removing staples. I joked that my office job is extremely sedentary and this new role of work-from-home, stay-at-home mama, with a homeschool gig on the side is decidedly not sedentary at all. I’m not sure I’ve ever moved so much and when we finally climb into bed at 8 o’clock, we’re asleep in minutes.
Things I want to remember about the last few weeks: Polly using the potty before bath time, the way she says “bumbeebee,” watching tractors work the cotton fields behind our house, family movie nights and finding shows that we can all enjoy together, jigsaw puzzles and board games, family Bible study time in the mornings, that Polly learned to open the new french doors and lets herself out on the porch to wave at my parents.
Since I’m struggling to write here every day (or every week, for that matter), I’ve been keeping a few notes in my phone of how we spend each day. They are the briefest of snippets, but such a wonderful thing to look back on.
Thursday, March 26 (Day 11): Today we found out school are closing indefinitely. Our neighbors, Katie & Kallahan, came to play with Polly at the water table.
Sunday, March 29 (Day 14): We worked upstairs in the girls’ rooms all weekend. We pulled up carpet and removed the tack strips and staples from the floor. Polly played in the dirt at my parents’ new house/foundation. We took a family sanity drive and picked up Wendy’s for dinner and went through the local car wash.
Monday, March 30 (Day 15): We cleaned and organized Ella’s bedroom and closets. We cleaned up her new furniture and put everything in place — even though we’ll have to move it to paint baseboards and install the new flooring. We had Greek Chicken and salad for dinner and finished Locke & Key (Such a great PG-13 show on Netflix, if you need one.)
Tuesday, March 31 (Day 16): It rained all day and we declared a pajama day. We watched Frozen II and three Nicolas Sparks movies. Polly boycotted nap and we had pimiento cheese and crackers for lunch.
Wednesday, April 1 (Day 17): We cleaned and organized Sophie’s (& Polly’s) bedroom and closets. We moved a new piece of furniture upstairs and tried to eliminate 50% of her wardrobe — she’s a clothes hoarder!
Friday, April 3 (Day 19): Alabama’s governor finally ordered us to shelter in place. It doesn’t really change anything that we’re doing at home, but I hope it will make a difference in those communities where they are ignoring the CDC’s recommendations. I snuck out to Walmart first thing, for Easter basket goodies and a few birthday surprises for Sophie. Polly tee-teed on the potty for the second time in a week (I wish I could remember which day was the first) and we cheered for her like maniacs.
