"Mom, have you lost your mind?!"
(everyone bursts out laughing)
"Mom, what does 'Have you lost your mind' mean?
(everyone laughs even harder)
-Henry, age 4
How are you all doing?!
It's hard for me to imagine that just over two weeks ago, my kids were playing at their friend's houses, Kyle and I were at a dinner party, and I had toilet paper. I feel like the shock of everything has warn off enough now that I've been able to process my feelings.
I can remember Juliette's first prayer when everything changed. We were sitting around the dinner table when she said, "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for all our blessings. Please help the people that have the corona virus that they can get better. And help everyone who is sick that they can feel better. And in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
First, can I just say, what on earth has happened? I, a stay-at-home-mom and assistant director of a private school opening this fall, had absolutely no idea that there was anything actually wrong---until the world suddenly shut down. There are people with degrees in epidemiology, infectious disease control specialists, international health organizations and committees --- why didn't we know that corona was THIS bad? Even when the nightly news made references to the virus a few weeks ago, I rolled my eyes at the whole thing because I'm sooooooo used to every single thing on the news being "breaking news" and "disastrous" and "unprecedented". I had become so desensitized to the media that I completely missed the warning signs. I wish that someone---anyone with any authority in the matter had said LOUD AND CLEAR, "Listen. I realize that none of you have any knowledge whatsoever about pandemics, so I would like to provide you with some information that
will be helpful in the coming weeks and months. Be prepared for the possibility that travel will be halted. Be prepared because there is a possibility that the schools will close. Be prepared because we might close non-essential businesses and your husband might lose his salary. You might have to distance yourself from people who don't live in your home for a few weeks. We are doing everything we can to stop this from spreading across the world, but if we are not successful, your life is going to look really different for a while." See? Not. That. Hard.
Life is so strange now. No schooling, baby showers, weddings, PTA, doctors appointments, orthodontist appointments, dance classes, play dates, book clubs, church meetings, youth groups, ---the things that have absolutely filled every spare moment of my life are suddenly non-existent. There is so much time to do all the things that there was never any time to do before, like teach my kids piano, bake, garden, and play games together. I feel guilty with relief on one hand, and desperately lonely for dear friends and loved ones on the other. I long for human connection, while fearing that any connection at all might risk the life of someone I love. Each time I run into someone (from 6 feet away) that I know, I always give the same answer to "How are you doing?"
I'm fine...We're okay! We're just making the best of a difficult situation!
Life with five kids sheltering in place looks like this...
First thing in the morning, the kids get dressed, clean their rooms, make their beds, brush their teeth, and I do their hair [except for Henry--- who just started doing his own hair and it's ADORABLE!]. For my own sanity, I have to maintain this small sense of normalcy.
We begin each "school" day with Cosmic Kids Yoga, basically the cutest kids YouTube channel I've ever seen. There is Star Wars yoga, Moana yoga, Frozen yoga, Pokemon yoga, the list goes on and on. My kids take turns and pick which adventure they'll have each day. Then, we have a writing lesson. I say a word that relates to our mission for the day, and Henry and Juliette sound it out and write it on their white boards. Elle writes a sentence using the word with one adjective, and London writes a paragraph about the word using 4 adjectives. The kids each share what they've written, one at a time, and congratulate one another on their excellent writing abilities. Next is snack-time. After the snack, the kids have a mission to accomplish together. I line the kids up in a row and they all giggle and salute me, and then carefully follow my instructions. The missions originally started from an Instagram account called #happytotshelf, and I've now adapted my own missions for the kids. The missions involve them looking up facts and finding answers to big questions together, doing science experiments, art and design skills, me reading related books aloud to them, and finally cleaning up everything they've used throughout the mission. After the house is clean again, we have lunch. Following lunch, it's silent reading for London and online apps for the twins and Elle. The younger kids choose between Homer, Starfall, ST Math, and Freckle, and then London joins in with Khan Academy. The kids love doing crafts or puzzles in the afternoon, and we take walks when the weather is nice.
side note: I am actually really enjoying teaching my kids. They're learning, challenging themselves, and having fun, all while working from completely different places academically. It's remarkable how they're able to help one another with their schoolwork, which prevents them from getting lost or too frustrated. Despite being uprooted from everything they've ever been used to, there is light and joy in their eyes as we learn together. Elle misses her teacher and her friends the most of all, and I hope that being away from them will get easier for her in the weeks ahead.
One or two or four of the kids always help me make dinner, while Reid watches in his swing. We eat around the table, each person shares their favorite part of the the day, and then it's time to take a bath and read the scriptures. Kyle and I usually wrap up the day with an episode of 24, except last night, when we binge-watched 3 episodes of Tiger King on Netflix (ohmygoodness!). There are NINE seasons of 24!!! That's- like--- a whole lot of episodes, so I'm fairly certain we'll be adequately entertained for the remainder of this whole pandemic! Thank goodness for Jack Bauer.
(everyone bursts out laughing)
"Mom, what does 'Have you lost your mind' mean?
(everyone laughs even harder)
-Henry, age 4
How are you all doing?!
 |
| Charlie wants to know. |
It's hard for me to imagine that just over two weeks ago, my kids were playing at their friend's houses, Kyle and I were at a dinner party, and I had toilet paper. I feel like the shock of everything has warn off enough now that I've been able to process my feelings.
I can remember Juliette's first prayer when everything changed. We were sitting around the dinner table when she said, "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for all our blessings. Please help the people that have the corona virus that they can get better. And help everyone who is sick that they can feel better. And in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
First, can I just say, what on earth has happened? I, a stay-at-home-mom and assistant director of a private school opening this fall, had absolutely no idea that there was anything actually wrong---until the world suddenly shut down. There are people with degrees in epidemiology, infectious disease control specialists, international health organizations and committees --- why didn't we know that corona was THIS bad? Even when the nightly news made references to the virus a few weeks ago, I rolled my eyes at the whole thing because I'm sooooooo used to every single thing on the news being "breaking news" and "disastrous" and "unprecedented". I had become so desensitized to the media that I completely missed the warning signs. I wish that someone---anyone with any authority in the matter had said LOUD AND CLEAR, "Listen. I realize that none of you have any knowledge whatsoever about pandemics, so I would like to provide you with some information that will be helpful in the coming weeks and months. Be prepared for the possibility that travel will be halted. Be prepared because there is a possibility that the schools will close. Be prepared because we might close non-essential businesses and your husband might lose his salary. You might have to distance yourself from people who don't live in your home for a few weeks. We are doing everything we can to stop this from spreading across the world, but if we are not successful, your life is going to look really different for a while." See? Not. That. Hard.
Life is so strange now. No schooling, baby showers, weddings, PTA, doctors appointments, orthodontist appointments, dance classes, play dates, book clubs, church meetings, youth groups, ---the things that have absolutely filled every spare moment of my life are suddenly non-existent. There is so much time to do all the things that there was never any time to do before, like teach my kids piano, bake, garden, and play games together. I feel guilty with relief on one hand, and desperately lonely for dear friends and loved ones on the other. I long for human connection, while fearing that any connection at all might risk the life of someone I love. Each time I run into someone (from 6 feet away) that I know, I always give the same answer to "How are you doing?"
I'm fine...We're okay! We're just making the best of a difficult situation!
Life with five kids sheltering in place looks like this...
First thing in the morning, the kids get dressed, clean their rooms, make their beds, brush their teeth, and I do their hair [except for Henry--- who just started doing his own hair and it's ADORABLE!]. For my own sanity, I have to maintain this small sense of normalcy.
 |
| The girls treated us to a spa day :) |
 |
| We learned about birds, and then the kids made their own! |
side note: I am actually really enjoying teaching my kids. They're learning, challenging themselves, and having fun, all while working from completely different places academically. It's remarkable how they're able to help one another with their schoolwork, which prevents them from getting lost or too frustrated. Despite being uprooted from everything they've ever been used to, there is light and joy in their eyes as we learn together. Elle misses her teacher and her friends the most of all, and I hope that being away from them will get easier for her in the weeks ahead.
One or two or four of the kids always help me make dinner, while Reid watches in his swing. We eat around the table, each person shares their favorite part of the the day, and then it's time to take a bath and read the scriptures. Kyle and I usually wrap up the day with an episode of 24, except last night, when we binge-watched 3 episodes of Tiger King on Netflix (ohmygoodness!). There are NINE seasons of 24!!! That's- like--- a whole lot of episodes, so I'm fairly certain we'll be adequately entertained for the remainder of this whole pandemic! Thank goodness for Jack Bauer.
