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!