Quarantine Life - Part I

Today is Day 18 in quarantine, meaning two working adults and two children are confined to the house and when the weather allows backyard for more than 2 weeks. We only went once to Home Depot and I go grocery shopping once a week. Otherwise, all our communication with others has been per social media, phone, Skype or over the backyard fence. 

I'm not going to lie, it is an adjustment and some days are easier than others. The first week of this quarantine was officially spring break for the children and despite the rain, it was fairly relaxed, trying to work full-time from home while the children played and hung out. That Tuesday I also had 7 cysts removed from my head in a surgery and thus, recovery at home has been smooth and easy. After only a few days, I was able to run again. 

Pre-surgery selfie

As it seems normal for TN, it rains a lot during February/ March here. So in between rain showers, we went outside biking and looking for worms. I also started getting my garden beds ready and mulched the front yard. 

Staying dry while playing on the porch:

The children saved their money to buy some Lego sets and once they arrived, it was the most quiet day ever. They love Legos and what better time to keep them occupied.

To get out and moving (and some time for myself), I go on 3-5 runs a week or prep my yard for vegetable season. During my runs, I see cows, dogs, hawks, turkeys and these beautiful magnolia trees. 

Derrick is also keeping busy by taking down the rest of the old deck and installing new lighting fixtures in the kitchen. 

Last Monday, we started "home learning" day 1. I prepare mostly their school work as the school district so far has only provided optional work. But since Derrick and I work from home, we need the children to be occupied in the morning and thus, home assignments it is. 

Here is a snippet of some of our first school week together. Trying to keep it fun with library, PE, and music lessons. Best idea ever was to ask Oma to Skype with the grandchildren daily to teach them some German lesson and keep them occupied for 30 minutes. Both, young and old, really enjoy it. 

There are lots of (free) resources on the internet and we have been regularly using some these past 2 weeks. For example, every afternoon the Cincinnati Zoo showcases one of their animal species on live Facebook and the children and I watch it together. They take notes and later add it to their animal booklet with a hand drawn picture of it. Working hard, mostly in pjs though:

For the adults, we took part in our church's Trivia Night and adult small group via Zoom. Not the same as in person but at least we have some good laughs.

Since it looks like we may be in for the long haul, we also ordered some workbooks, science books and a children's cookbook. Amelia already made us some delicious brownies and can't wait to cook us breakfast on the weekend. 

Day 17 in isolation: I won't lie or pretty it up but today was rough. It seems that realization hit me that this will last at least another month and I was sad and frustrated. 2 hour work meetings, deadlines and children constantly interrupting me and not listening to instructions made me angry. Juggling work (and being productive) and homeschooling (we come up with their assignments as most work from the school district is optional - but we need them to do their assignments so they are occupied/ mentally challenged while we work) is taking a toll on me. Also, the fact that maybe in a week or two I have to go back to the office and my children may not go back until summer break starts. No after care, no family near by...what do we do??? Also, everyone is inundated with social media (kind of necessary as we get lots of school stuff that way), news updates on TV and there is never a quite moment. 

So, when a music video was published by the children's teachers and my son's K teacher send us video messages today, the tears rolled. But I was thankful to see this initiative (even though it took a couple of weeks) and it was so good for the children too. We are all adjusting and the children are as confused, anxious and frustrated as us. So face timing with friends and going on "bear hunts" (people put stuffed animals in their windows and you go on walk counting them) around the neighborhood with my girl and a 4 mile run are life giving at this time. It takes a village!!! Tomorrow will be a better day.

Despite some tough days, I know I'm not the only one feeling that way and more importantly, we are all in this together as a family. Best part of the day: waking up together at a reasonable time and "going" to work only takes seconds and does not require real clothes. 

STAY SAFE EVERYONE!

A Tornado and a Global Pandemic

Just past midnight on March 3rd, we woke up to hail and rain hitting our windows, gusty winds and a crazy lightning show. It was impressive and very scary. We knew that something was off and turned on the TV to hear the weather man talk about taking immediate shelter due to tornado warnings. Not far from us, the emergency sirens also went off. I kept an eye on the radar, ready to wake up everyone in case of it coming any closer. Eventually though the powerful and fast moving storm moved on and we went back to sleep.

We live inside the blue circle. 

Unfortunately, the next morning, we saw the outcome of the what happened that night: a destructive EF-3 tornado carved a path of damage through Downtown and East Nashville and on for many more across East Tennessee. In total that night, 10 tornadoes were reported, the nearest and most powerful one only 5 miles away from our home. The overnight disaster injured scores of people and damaged or destroyed homes, businesses, schools and churches across 4 counties. 25 people lost their lives, including 5 children, and tens of thousands of people were without power for several days. The destruction the tornadoes left behind is horrendous:

But we are #Nashvillestrong: 

As soon as daylight hit and for many days/ weeks to come, thousands of people showed up to volunteer - clean-up, assess damage, distribute provisions- donate supplies and money. I now know why we call this the Volunteer State. It is amazing to be part of this effort and to help each other out. While we were not able to volunteer yet, we ensured that we contributed necessary school supplies and hygiene articles to the cause. 

But despite being occupied with what just happened here in middle TN, we also kept an eye on what is globally going on. The Coronavirus Covid-19 is now on everyone's mind and occupies the entire newscast. While America is one of the last countries to finally act upon this global pandemic - until now testing has been far and few - it is impacting all of us and will affect how life unfolds in the next three, four, even six weeks from now. 

From empty grocery shelves to school closures, events being cancelled or postponed and employees working remotely, social distancing is becoming reality for all of us and while this is something totally new and unexpected, we will have to adjust and be patient and gentle with each other. We can be diligent in following the recommendations of what's expected of us and our community. We can be hopeful and find joy in the small things that will make up our new routine for a while.  

So today (Day 1 of social distancing) we slept in, did some chores and then went to the park for a walk. When it started to rain, we went home to play games and watch some TV together. I already organized a couple of closets and spring cleaning will ensue as well as finishing up certain DIY home projects. This is a scary and disruptive time as there are so many unknown factors. But it may also be a time we all desperately needed...to step away from the hectic lifestyle of working long hours, running from one activity to the next and being busy all the time.  The circumstances of this "taking a step back" may not be ideal by any means and I do pray that we can contain this global outbreak as fast as possible as way too many lives have already been lost/ negatively affected due to the virus but putting a focus on helping each other, need vs want (what do people do with 144 rolls of toilet paper???) and precious time with my family - finding pleasures in the simple things in life and the gift of time - is now what it is all about. So make the best of it so that our grandchildren will one day talk about how the world came together in this time of uncertainty, panic and need and how love and community prevailed thru it all. 

School Happenings

This week has been quite busy at our school. It was Read Across America Week, where the children were able to dress up for different days: hat day (designed them ourselves with what we had on hand), Wacky Tacky day and Book Character day.

There were two Spiderman in class: 

It was also Picture Day:

Action and shot:  

And yesterday, the Kindergartners had their music program. Elliot's class had to wear green.

Ready to perform for all the parents, siblings and family members:

The concert was fun and cute and all the things...and even a tad sad as this is my last baby performing in his last Kindergarten concert. So we savored every moment of this and loved being there.