SCHOOL
School quickly evolved from cancelling for two days to clean the buildings, to online schooling for two weeks, to online schooling for a month, to online schooling for the rest of the year.
Our first week was rocky. If I were to sum it up in one word, overwhelm would totally cover it. Trying to juggle the explosion of emails, the variety of online programs and log-ins felt like my brain was ready to explode. But as with all things, each step got a little easier, and as the schools adjusted the workloads and streamlined so much of the teaching, we found a flow that has been working well. But gosh, that first week was pretty crazy.
That first week I quickly realized I'd need to supplement significantly. With the libraries closed, it wasn't long before the kiddos had drained all of our books, so Easter timed well with some new books for each kiddo. And, we figured it was an opportunity to "seize the day" and ordered a handful of math manipulatives, restocked on some art supplies and ordered something I've wanted for ages - a microscope! It's been fulfilling from my role, to not simply cross off their online learning for the day, but to spend a short amount of time together learning and doing something intentional. We've done collages, mosaics, watercolors, microscope discoveries, yoga, writing prompts, virtual tours of places, cooking, Petri dishes and science experiments like the pepper/water/dish soap to learn about germs. In many ways, it's been our "cheetah school" again but with the whole crew together. And we spend lots of time outside! Basketball, bike rides, golfing, bubbles, building fairy houses, sidewalk chalk (when we can find it!) and teaching Vern how to play fetch!
We've had some super thoughtful teachers as well. Mailing handwritten notes and sending messages through email and Marco Polo and chatting on FaceTime. Abby's kindergarten teachers even dropped by one day with treats and a wave!
And while school in this way is something we never expected, I am so grateful for the time I've had to teach each kiddo in this way.
WORK
Mike's been tasked with working from home during this time and played around with some spots in the house until he settled in the master bedroom for the bulk of work and then popping outdoors when possible for calls. He's been a rockstar with the juggle and transition and we've been so grateful to see him for lunch, or for little windows of time here and there. While we know he'll be getting back to the office the middle of May, we are SO grateful for this added time we've been able to spend together.
HOME
As it turns out, having all six folks at home all the time (and one puppy) has definitely made for a lot more messes, a lot more food, lots more dishes and lots more of everything. But everyone has been awesome at stepping up and helping with the extra work (well, except for when they don't!).
CHURCH
We just wrapped up our 8th week of "church at home." We've found a rhythm that's working for us, and we've really loved the simplicity. While it's ever evolving - this week was the first week we actually split the kids into two groups - one for "primary" and one for YM/YW, rather than keeping everyone together the whole time - we're learning and growing with the process. We sure do miss seeing those faces of friends and growing from the light and strength of others, but we are so grateful for the guidance and direction of President Nelson who truly prepared us for a time such as this. We are so grateful for his direction and how it has impacted our family - not only on Sundays, but each day of the week with the Come Follow Me program. Some moments are small and woven in a whole bunch of crazy, but they are there.
VERN
Countless times, I've thought how much of a gift Vern has been for all of us. He wakes up joyful, excited and so full of excitement in each day. When we picked him up the middle of February, we had no idea that we'd get to spend so much time with him and it's been amazing to see him really connect with each one of us, and get all the puppy play time imaginable. He's been a light, a comfort and a clear friend, especially when any one of the kids is having a hard day.
SHOPPING
In the beginning, it was interesting to observe the community reactions to the initial phases of the process. It's hard to describe how eerie it was taking those trips to the stores and seeing inventory completely depleted, signs up on limits, and people walking with panic in their faces. Fascinating to see what went first - toilet paper (ha!), paper towels, all types of soaps, disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, oatmeal, rice and over the counter medications were the first to go. Then it rolled into other areas - canned foods, bread, any type of packaged pasta, meats, milk (!), eggs, flour, yeast. Shelves completely empty. Lines to get into stores. I remember looking around Costco and for the first time seeing the bulk of their upper shelves empty, and section after section just empty or with only a pallet of product. Going from a safety net of walking into any store pretty much anytime for anything to suddenly standing in lines, choosing from what was available and seeing limits on so many items felt awkward and surreal. Mike and I tag team with who goes to the store, and we online order where possible.
FAMILY TRADITIONS
In some ways, some of our regular traditions have become more frequent and less rushed. FAMILY DINNER every night has been a normal and we haven't had that since the kids were littles. It's been SO wonderful. We love reading questions from the game TABLE TOPICS during the week. Such a fun conversation that breaks up the "what'd you do today?" repeat question. Even with the shelter in place ruling, we maintained our family dinner out. When it was still an option, we'd pick up dinner and eat it at a park, otherwise, we'd bring it home. Last week was the first week in over a month that we've been allowed to eat at a park again, and it was SO WONDERFUL!
CONNECTION
We've been striving to connect with each kiddo in some way one on one each day. It's been simple and short, but there is so much value in even a few minutes of eye contact and time together. We've loved connecting through games, challenges (who can run the hill), puzzles and watching the amazing race series. FaceTiming or zooming with friends and family has been such a gift!
DATES
We've kept our "daily dates" strong - where we bookend the days together. While we've been waking up early together, it's been awesome to have the time to exercise, read scriptures and chat without either one of us on a time clock to buzz out the door. We've spent some time on house projects, most recently staining our back deck and getting some seating for the covered porch, complete with lights! We often wrap up the evenings listening to birds, owls, coyotes (or the occasional bear!). Mike and I have been able to enjoy a weekly Friday night date consistently during this entire thing and it has been the most frequent we've been able to do that in YEARS! Between work, school and church commitments, we seem to always have something somewhere that makes the juggle of dates a once a month occurrence. We have LOVED going out together once a week. And during the shelter in place, we built a little routine of picking up take out, eating it together (in the car for a few weeks!) and pick up "essentials" at a store together. So simple but we love the intentional time together and it's something we both look forward to each week!
SERVICE
We've sought out some intentional service opportunities within our community. It seems that anytime we can step out of our own "space" and step into someone else's, our life feels a little brighter. We reached out to the nursing home we'd visited before, and were able to drop off notes and homemade cards to their door for residents. We joined up with a local Atlanta group for making face masks. The kids were awesome helping to cut and prep the fabric. The sewing was a bit more technical than we'd originally thought, and it took some serious time on the sewing machine, but we were able to finish them and deliver them! We also found a local food bank that was in need of some staple supplies and were able to go drop those off. At first I thought it'd be really hard to find service to do as a family but once we started looking around, the needs were all around. And while we can't control or fix all the hard things happening right now, we hope in some small way to be a drop in the bucket. That a little offering, combined with so many other little offerings adds up to something great.
MINDSET
It's fascinating how much "routines" and "plans" completely shift. Things we "thought" were happening at the first of the year went to being postponed and then went to being cancelled. Fascinating to see how the mind processes what we thought the future would look like to stepping more fully into embracing the present moment for what it is. Interesting too to make "plans" in this season. Everything seems a bit like a plan A (go to do the thing) or plan B (stay home) which hasn't been something we've juggled before. But I believe we're learning a lot about flexibility and hope. And so much gratitude for our health, which really is what all of this is about anyway - not only for our family for for (hopefully) helping other families stay healthy as well. Overall, we feel really grateful for this time. While I won't write all of the details of the struggles, they've been there. Hard things have come up, disappointments, fears, uncertainties and anxieties. But, we keep taking the next breath and settling into the next step. We trust God's hand in all things. And that's okay. And there have been some amazing moments. Ones that I know I will hold in my mind for this time and season of life of motherhood. We've been able to spend time together in ways that would have been impossible otherwise, and while the reasons for this opportunity are complicated, hard, and heavy, it's our hope to grow the good, keep finding purpose in this place, and remember that God's hand truly is guiding all of us.
The kiddos have had a blast jump roping
