Three weeks ago, my husband and I chatted with his dad about Covid-19.
It was a beautiful Sunday, and while it was a serious conversation, it still had a lighthearted, far off feel. His dad told us about what he bought to prepare for possible scenarios, and convinced us to pick up some supplies of our own.
Jeff and I had a quick “Costco date” that afternoon and picked up enough food to last us about two weeks (if that was all we had available). Still, we chatted casually about the what if’s and shook our heads at some of our silly thoughts.
Then Friday, March 13th rolled around, all schools were closed, (pending an April re-opening), and gatherings larger than 250 were banned.
Inconvenient? Sure. Panic worthy? Nah. I mean, our church could technically meet, and my MOMs group could still meet. Then more restrictions came in, and our “normal” life crumbled. I felt grieved; I had all of these plans coming out of my immediate postpartum period, and I had to pause them all.
I know so many people are grieving this sudden change and not knowing the end makes it much harder. I also know that this virus is devastating for those losing loved ones or their jobs and businesses. I know too, that for some this virus is incredibly scary, maybe they are older, have pre-existing conditions, are pregnant, have a newborn, or have children who are high risk for this virus.
To combat my anxious thoughts, I decided to list the things that social distancing has given me.
- Motivation to cook what I have at home. This is something I have promised myself (and family) that I’d do; that I won’t go to Target AND Chick fil a three days in a row, and I’ll FINALLY cook what we have at home.
- Baking! I used to love baking, and would do it often. While I want to expand a bit beyond chocolate chip cookies and banana muffins, I’m also trying to only use what I already have at home. So this is still a win for me, three dozen cookies and two dozen muffins later!
- To start cloth diapering. We used cloth diapers for a year with our middle son, and loved it. We planned to do the same with our girl, but I kept finding excuses not to start yet. Staying at home took away all of those excuses. We still use disposable at night, but as soon as she gets up for the day, it’s cloth diapers!
- To do a home school practice run. Seriously, this is something I had promised Jeff for months! It was his idea to home school before we even had kids. Covid-19 has forced us into trying it out, and I like it! I’m still figuring out our best schedule/approach, but it’s giving me confidence that we can actually do this come Fall.
- Plant a garden. This might be where I get some hate, because I did go to Clegg’s, but they have curb side pick up, so you don’t have to go inside!
- Intentional communication. A lot of my family members are in two different states right now, and because we’re no longer allowed to travel between states, video calls have been our go to method of checking in. We’re also so thankful for the amount of zoom calls our church sets up. I’m getting to know people I may never have known prior to social distancing and zoom.
Once things go back to “normal” (whatever that may look like down the road), I hope to keep the above list as a part of our everyday lives. I hope that I remember how to prioritize life at home and to enjoy what I have within these four walls and backyard. I also hope to finally visit my best friend in Alabama again and to buy plane tickets for our bucket list trip to Hawaii.
