one month of quarantine
What a (crazy) time to be alive. I wanted to write a post about what this time of quarantine has been like for our family so far, as sort of a time capsule.
We have been social distancing for a little over a month now (and we are happy to do so as we believe it is the right thing to do). We are healthy and for that I am extremely grateful.
Eric and I are both working from home, and are very thankful that we can, as difficult as it can be at times to manage everything and everyone since the kids’ schools/daycare are closed and they need attention, supervision and schooling.
The kids have seemed to roll with it all fairly well — of course they have hard days just like we do and would love to be able to go to school and see their friends and family, but they also both love having less structured days and more family time at home. I am praying they come out of this without trauma — as hard as I try, I am not perfect at handling their big emotions when they come.
We have not seen any of our family (thank goodness for video calls so we can still “see” each other and catch up). We have seen our neighbors from a distance and some friends who have delivered surprise goodies to our doorstep, but overall it’s just been us four hunkered down at home. We order takeout a few times a week, and Eric goes out for groceries about once a week. We still haven’t been able to find toilet paper, and that will become an issue at some point!
We’ve been managing better than I thought we would, but we definitely have ups and downs. Hearing the official news that schools will not reopen this year (even though we expected it) made it a reality that we’ve got at least six more weeks of this. Probably more. And Finch’s 5th birthday will likely be celebrated different than we wanted.
EMOTIONS
My emotions have been as varied as the Iowa weather. (We had an 80° day closely followed by snow.) Hard days seem to come out of nowhere. Today was a hard one, and I can’t even explain why. The closest I have come to crying was when I thought about how I just want to give my mom a hug. I have felt weary. I have felt energetic. I have felt blessed. I have felt scattered. I have felt productive. I have felt unproductive. I have felt mentally exhausted. I have had days where I don’t want to get out of bed. I have worried that we will get sick. I have worried that my parents or nana will get sick. I have had nights where it takes me hours to fall asleep. I have gone from checking the COVID numbers multiple times a day to just once, realizing it was making me feel crazy and that while I want to stay informed, I also need to protect my mind to stay sane.
I know all my feelings are valid and normal. We are all grieving. At least three of our weekend trips have been canceled, and probably more will be. But it’s a small price to pay for our safety.
I find that being creative (painting, drawing, making a TikTok, doing Rooney’s hair, getting dressed) really helps me to feel more like myself. The weather is also starting to warm up here, which is brightening my spirits.
FINANCIALLY
As I said before, I am so glad we both still have jobs and that we are able to work from home. I know that is not the case for everyone. We are saving a lot of money on fuel, travel and child care, and offsetting that by spending more on food and household supplies. Our income could definitely take a hit depending on how long this continues.
POSITIVES
There is always something to be grateful for. While many things are hard, some things are even easier and better than before.
Family and sibling bonding
We are getting some home projects done, including organizing our pantry, toy/craft closet, laundry room and coat closet.
It’s easier to keep up on laundry when you’re always home
Our kids are learning to do more chores
Rooney begs to help make supper — she LOVES to cook
We have family movie night almost every night and have made a good dent in our list of movies we want to see
We have gotten creative in many areas — charcuterie lunches, indoor hopscotch with painter’s tape, playing trivia with friends via Zoom, etc.
Spending more time in our basement
If you haven’t been tuning into John Krasinski’s Some Good News, I highly recommend it. I think it is my favorite thing that has come out of this.
SCHOOLING
One month ago we never could have imagined that Rooney would leave school for spring break and not go back. She loves school, and has mostly loved homeschooling so far. It was a highlight to see her teachers and school staff during their teacher parade a couple weeks ago. The “last day of school” photos this year will definitely feel different.
As far as Finch goes, it has been a joy to see his knowledge grow firsthand (before this we rarely did any schooling activities with him). He now knows all his letters and is working hard on numbers. We had already planned on sending him to Transitional Kindergarten next year instead of Kindergarten, and now we are even more grateful for that decision.
WHAT WE ARE MISSING
I am surprised by how little of our normal life that I miss, but a few things do some to mind:
Riding bikes to an ice cream shop (we actually might be able to do this this week — while practicing social distancing measures)
Not thinking twice about germs or getting close to another human being
Seeing family and friends
Running into the grocery store for just one or two things
My commute home from work
Going to church
Getting my hair done (it’s getting very gray over here!)
Office chatter with my coworkers
Routine
Personal time and space
WHAT I DON’T MISS
I don’t consider myself someone who gets jealous often, but there is definitely less FOMO — no scrolling Instagram and feeling envious of what someone else is doing. We’re all in this together!
GOING FORWARD
I want to look back on this time and be grateful for how close it brought us together. How well Eric and I coordinated our work schedules and tag-teamed parenting. How the kids learned to do chores, solve their own problems and entertain themselves because we weren’t immediately available to jump in. How quickly we decided 50 degrees is not too cold for a walk around the block.
I know we’ve likely only just begun, but for now I am choosing to see this time as a gift (although if my kids were any younger I’d for sure be pulling out my hair).
I find myself wondering what “normal” will look like after this. Will we be afraid to leave the house? What will we decide we don’t want to go back to normal? How long will this stay with us? I shared this quote on Instagram when we first started to quarantine, and it still depicts how I feel:
“When this is over,
may we never again
take for granted
A handshake with a stranger
Full shelves at the store
Conversations with neighbors
A crowded theatre
Friday night out
The taste of communion
A routine checkup
The school rush each morning
Coffee with a friend
The stadium roaring
Each deep breath
A boring Tuesday
Life itself.
When this ends,
may we find
that we have become
more like the people
we wanted to be
we were called to be
we hoped to be
and may we stay
that way—better
for each other
because of the worst.”
—Laura Kelly Fanucci