I can’t even believe that this is life. We are currently being quarantined and the world has shut down due to the Coronavirus. Just two weeks ago, Marcus and I were coming home from a beautiful vacation in Cabo, so excited for Spring and what was coming up in our lives these next few months. Little did we know that just a few days later, everything would start shutting down because the Coronavirus would make its way to the USA and start infecting others at a rapid rate. Now, in the big scheme of life, these are not life or death end all be all things, but to us and our family they were certainly some very important events. Some of those things included: Sonoma’s State Gymnastics Meet that she has been training for and looking forward to for a year, our family trip with all 5 of us, the first time we were taking the girls out of the country…a trip we had been planning for and talking about almost daily for months, the Kentucky Derby, Marcus’ biggest event for his work that he pours his heart into, Sonoma’s 10th birthday party, a big milestone and a big sleepover party she has been planning, the end to Cora’s basketball season, and a big banquet, Blakesley’s last 2 months of dance class to prepare for her big dance recital she has been working on for 8 months, my end of the year cheerleading banquet to celebrate our fantastic basketball season and all my seniors I coach, a big 2nd grade field trip for Cora, Sonoma’s very last year at her elementary school before moving on to intermediate school ( 4th grade talent show, a huge field trip that Marcus got picked to chaperone and travel away to )…..and those are just a few special things that were on our calendar. Not to mention all the date nights we had lined up to go to Pacers games, the Big 10 tournament, March Madness events, among other work events for Marcus. Talk about #Marchsadness 🙁
We will be fine. We will persevere and get through these tough times. There are so many others way worse off than we are. And, we keep trying to tell these sad stories to our girls. I am grateful to have a job that allows me to stay at home with my babies. However, it doesn’t make it any easier. It’s not fair that my girl have to spend their days in their childhood stressed out, anxious and worrying about what will or will not happen with their school, activities, etc. Again, in the big scheme, we are healthy, we have a roof over our head, food for our bodies and a loving family. But that doesn’t change the fact that I hate to see my kids disappointed and scared and confused. They are looking to us for answers, which we do not have. We continue to be real and honest with them, while also trying to make homeschooling as fun as possible. I am not cut out to be a homeschool teacher. I never wanted to. And, I also realize my kids never wanted to be homeschool kids. They adore school and their hearts hurt not to be at school with their teachers and friends who they love so much. My childhood was very happy and boring. I never had any bad memories or moments like this. I never had to worry about what is going on today in my children’s world. There is no handbook for this, and we are doing the best we can. My heart hurts for so many others. For all the seniors, for all the athletes, for all the people who have lost jobs, for all the kids who went to school to get meals, electricity and love and now have nowhere to go and nothing to eat, for all the people who are sick and without work, for our entire world. However, I have faith that after this, our world WILL be better. I know it.
Until then, we all sit at home. We will stay safe and smart. I will try my best to do homeschooling with 2 elementary aged kids who have to do E-learning all day every day mixed in with other activities, and a 3 year old who just wants attention she is not getting. We will spend quality family time together and play games and eat more meals together than we ever have. We will catch up on sleep and emails and house projects. I will finally catch up on my blog, photo albums, scrapbooks, and hard drive photo and video storage. We will continue to get exercise and fresh air ( please, sun, just shine a few days a week!!!! Please!! ). We will try to give each other space and respect and stay sane.
When this is all over, I hope we will never again take being busy for granted, or complain about a crowded restaurant or bar. I hope we enjoy every single moment of those great sporting events, vacations, crazy weekends and that our kids soak in all the precious moments of their school days and childhood.
