Friday, March 20, 2020

Day 7 of social distancing

I’m up early for my morning picture and coffee and while early morning is not my thing, I do enjoy the sunrise. Evolution does not explain why the sunrise is beautiful, it may explain how but not why. I could go on asking such questions but I’ll spare you the rabbit hole my brain takes.

It is a glorious morning! The birds are singing. The air is sweet and warm. The sun is waking up the world. The rain is gone.

This morning I’m up early because my 3 younger children all have Classical Conversation Classes this morning. Normally we meet at a little church down the road but they aren’t meeting because they follow the public school closings. Instead, today we are meeting via zoom. This seems great but, the boys are in three separate classes. That means three devices with audio and camera, which I think I’ve figured out—I’m gonna have to use one of the teen’s phones. The other part of this is, my boys don’t own their own device or computer nor get to use either very often. I’m old fashioned, I guess. So I’m hoping my teens who are home from school can each sit next to a little brother and help them if something goes a wry.

The “baby” seems to be recovering but concussions are invisible. He lost it and started crying during game night, which isn’t completely unexpected but it seemed a little more sudden. He ended up sleeping in bed with us, which isn’t the norm. So I didn’t sleep much but dreamed so much it felt like I was awake all night. I hope screen time via zoom classes today won’t be too soon for him.

Thankfully I don’t feel tired at the moment, so here goes nothing. 😉

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Thursday March 19, 2020

Day Six of social distancing

It’s still overcast but its WARM–no need for a coat, a snuggie, or a blanket! The stone porch floor is damp from condensation. The air is still but not thick. There some kind of shrub with tiny white bell-shaped flowers covering it that have a faint sweet fragrance growing next to the porch. It’s like a hint of flavor. I wonder what kind shrub it is, the flowers cover it kind of like snow might blanket a bush or shrub.

Yesterday was good day. I think my kids are getting lonely. I need to contemplate the previous rules of social media–not something I relish. 😒

I also have to figure out what devises are optimal for classes tomorrow on zoom for my (actual) homeschoolers…plus the six year old isn’t supposed to be looking at a screen right now–more tech. 😒

My less modern and less tech contemplations are an idea I’ve had for a while but not been able to implement. I’m thinking once a week (probably Sunday) we will have a formal dinner, with the china my mom gave me recently, and real silverware that I never use because it’s too nice, and cloth napkins and etc. I’m thinking everyone has to dress up for dinner. I’ll print in inventions for each of the kids. We can learn (together because I don’t know it all) dinning etiquette.

It seems like a nice way to punctuate our week and get us out of our pajamas or in my case a sweatshirt I have had for 20 yrs (I seriously wore it in college).

What are y’all doing to delineate the time?

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Wednesday March 18, 2020

Day 5 of Social Distancing

Today opens as another overcast morning. The air is chilly but it has that promise of warmth behind it that Spring air has that Autumn air does not. The birds sing even louder–it seems. A rooster crows, a dog barks, and the chime dances but only rings for a moment and then plays with out making a sound.

I drink my coffee out of a Dr. Who mug that’s seen better days. I finally found a real blanket and not that silly snuggie.

This morning, I’m reminded of a verse in the Old Testament that God’s mercy is new every morning.

Yesterday went well, until it didn’t.

After dinner all the boys were playing around and the youngest hit his head. At first it felt par for the course but then he couldn’t remember how he got hurt and seemed a little confused about other things.

One fear has a way of waking up the sleeping and dead fears–logical and irrational alike. I suppose each one has own set of fears. Each of us had some or all of them bubble up–financial, health, job security, relational stresses….. Problems don’t go away just because you sequester yourself. I’m reminded of the movie “The Villiage” were people isolated themselves from society trying to avoid the pain and problems of society only to have tragedy find them just the same. Yet they didn’t give up.

There were some tense fearful moments trying to decide what to do. An Er Doctor friend was gracious and helped walk us through the concerns of the virus and the possible injuries and what we ought to do.

In the end the Lord’s mercy renews not just in the morning but at night too. He gives us the word of God over us, the Holy Spirit in us, the family of God around us. We aren’t alone even if we aren’t together. I’m so thankful for friends to call even late at night who care about our kiddos.

Matthew 10:29-31
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

A friend of my once told me that they decided to spend the day, acting like it really was true that God numbered the hairs on her head, and noticed how it changed how she viewed life.

How would that have changed our fears last night?

Would that change yours?

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Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Day 4 of Social Distancing

The rain increases its volume as I sit on my front porch swing. The fog is “yucky soup” today.

“Yucky Soup” is a family joke from a few years back. When the baby of the family was about two and a half (I think). We had the chance to go to the beach. The ‘baby’ was just learning to talk and whenever he was swimming and water got in his mouth he would spit it out and say, “That yucky soup!” Something about the way he pronounced it was really funny. Later he would even look at pictures of the ocean and say, “That yucky soup.”

 

Yesterday, in the end it was fine, but there was yelling. We spent the afternoon looking for spelling tiles. [Homeschool Mom problems, don’t disappear cause of coronavirus.] I was so fed up with how long the spelling tiles take to find and set up I hot glued magnets to them and they are now decorating my magnet-chalk board in the dinning/living room wall. The 9 yr old didn’t do spelling….or math because of it. The school room wall would be a more logical place, but the the tiles are in perfect order.
Its fine.
Dinner got started late because of chores and last time errands that my husband needed to take care of. The younger boys acted up and went to bed later than we would like, but the rest of us managed to get to bed roughly on time. In the end, it was fine.

Today will be the first day all seven of us are home to work and do school, there were errands and work things to settle at the office for my husband. He says he is looking forward to being able to work near the family again. I’m sure that as in all families we will start to push each others buttons. Yesterday is evidence.

I’m thinking sometime this morning I will randomly call a dance break. I’m thinking today’s song will be “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now).” Maybe that will break any tension, especially since the rain will keep us in today.

I’ll let you know how it goes— I’ll settle for less yelling and more spelling. 🤣

Oh woe! To red cardinals just started fighting in front of me and then went away!

Have fun, y’all.

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Monday, March 16, 2020

3rd day of social distancing

The air is cool and still, the birds seem to celebrate that it’s not raining. A fog curtain hangs just beyond the trees. I have the same green snuggie as yesterday.

Yesterday we streamed the church services. And while it wasn’t the same, it did add joy to my heart and felt like worship. In fact it felt nice to bring that worship to our living room for a change.

I like staying put and especially when I homeschooled my older to kids as well I relished the days we didn’t have to go anywhere. I feel like the President has written my excuse note. I do wonder will I get tired of it? I’m sure I’ll miss people and seeing friends. But I have zero angst about having been home since Friday afternoon and looking at not going anywhere for all week.

Today is the first day I’ll be “homeschooling” all 5 kids at the same time. The youngest wasn’t in school when we homeschooled the teens last. But since the burden of assignments and grading aren’t on me for them, I’m kinda looking forward to it.

Homeschoolers often say, the hardest part of homeschooling is never actually being home. (Insert Sheldon Gif “Its funny because its true.”) So maybe that’s why I’m looking forward to this.

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Sunday March 15, 2020

Day 2 of social distancing and I’m sitting on my front porch with coffee, a fleece coat, and a green snuggie–yes one of the crazy blankets you can wear that is really a backwards robe. Though I’m just using it like a blanket this morning.

The air is chilly and the rain calming and gentle. The birds chirp but the wind chime is silent.

I’m not worried about getting sick. In fact if it were only me, I just assume to get it now and get it over with while life has slowed down. But I see the need to flatten the curve, so I’m enjoying staying home and limiting exposure to and from others.

And just look at this place why would I want to leave?

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Saturday, March 4, 2020

Day one of social distancing where I’m expected to not go and do anything today. I’m expected to stay home.

I sit on my front porch drinking cofee. Birds chirp, a gentle breeze wakes the wind chimes.
–so grim, so bleak.

I read a lengthy email from the school filled with vague info on how to homeschool my kids, telling us to use the tech platforms we have used all year for assignments and checking grades and the oh so helpful edict to “take their phones away during learning times”
—So helpful, so wise, I wouldn’t have thought any of that.

Stay at home, don’t go out in public, homeschool my kids—
Oh, however will I bear it. 😉

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