Living in the time of COVID-19 has its burdens. We trashed our plans to go to New Orleans for a long weekend in March. We’ve put on hold plans to visit family in Virginia, indefinitely. We call in our orders for groceries and meals and have them delivered curbside, rather than spending time roaming around stores. And yet, we’ve adjusted. Our family is even prospering because we’re doing so many things together rather than running around to drop off kids for all sorts of activities. We haven’t had huge blowups from being cooped up together. Instead, we’ve had tons of “projects” we’ve all pitched in to do, like building a fire pit, getting the pool ready for swimming, lawn cleanup, building a goat pen, painting rooms…
Today, my dd is hitting the Sherwin Williams store (in a mask) to pick up more paint for two more projects, and the kids helped with the grocery list so they’d have ingredients for cookie recipes they looked up on Pinterest that they want to try. There’s been lots of cooking/learning going on. Here’s a pic of the 16-year-old making his first meatloaf…
The kids did make a trip to the dentist, en masse, because it was easier for the dentist’s office to schedule them back to back since we’ve been isolating together. The 6-year-old had some help losing her first tooth!
We plan movie nights with popcorn made in our theater-style popcorn maker because the kids love to watch it overfill the kettle then add their own flavorings, just like at the theater. We swim every day it’s warm enough to do so. They have their “animal” chores: feeding, walking, and washing dogs, goats, and horses. We gather on the back porch in the evenings under the dim solar lights to watch the fireflies and catch little frogs and lizards (yes, we release them!).
And the house stays cleaner. Imagine that. 🙂
I’ve been deep in editing and writing—all my usual tasks. However, I’ve added art projects to keep my time filled. So far, I haven’t convinced any of the other inhabitants of the house to join me. I’ve painted, made some jewelry… Tonight, I’ll start work on a set of potholders. My dd wants a set in red-white-and-blue for July 4th. I’m agreeable because I love making things people actually use.
And I’m rambling. But this is my outlet. Sharing what’s happening here and hoping to hear what you’re doing because then I feel connected to the outside world.
Outside politics, which have weighed heavily on me and my family, what are you doing this summer to keep busy and inspired?
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I am glad that being together is creating deeper family bonds for you guys. That’s fabulous! It’s doing the same here, honestly. We’ve even spent more time with the family back in Phili, with regular Zoom calls. We’ve had to cancel all sorts of trips: Rachel to visit me, us to visit Phili, birthday explorations for DH in Feb and me last month… The list goes on.
But we’ve been doing a lot. DH is studying to become a commercial drone pilot. I’ve been studying herbalism and just for fun, I’m taking a class in the Tarot of all things. 🙂 And we got a community garden patch – and I got mentioned in their most recent newsletter! That was a pleasant surprise. It’s our first year with the gardens here; I was active with them back in Chicago. I’m bummed to not meet and hang out with the rangers and other gardeners due to COVID, but we’re having fun weeding. (I imagine myself uprooting bad things in the world; it’s immensely cathartic.) 🙂
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Well I have my first hive. I’m hoping I’ll have a queen bee 🐝 move in naturally. I don’t want to buy my queen or the workers. So my project will be to be planting lots of bee friendly flowers in new flower beds. I’m having a friend make me large raised flower beds and my son will be rototillering new beds in other areas. The home I bought last year have some flowers but not enough.
I still have a bum knee so I have to rely on others for a lot of the work. So it’s been slow going and late in the planting season for many of the blooms.
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We are in the same boat as you, we stay home and rely on grocery delivery and no contact pick up at Walmart. We have food delivered once a week so that we are supporting the restaurants. Grandson is on a swim team but hasn’t had practice in months and it’s going to be a while before they can start back up so we also opened our pool early and he spends 1/2 hour every morning practices his strokes and that leave the afternoon for playing volleyball and badminton in the pool. Finally got to get my hair cut because they would open on a Sunday for those at risk and those caring for at risk people. One customer at a time on Sundays in the building with one hairdresser.
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How wonderful! Hearing how you and your family are prospering brings me joy! Me? I live alone. My daughter lives about two hours away with a guy I want nothing to do with. I have to let her do her own thing, but man is it hard. I worry. Otherwise, I let her know I love her and I am here when she needs me. I just hope she too is prospering and won’t need me. I want her happy, even if her choice isn’t mine. So, I live alone. I do hear from my siblings via the internet. And my niece is amazing at doing my shopping for me. I have adjusted to this current ‘normal’ so I am content. I do my crafting. The kids are going to be so cozy next winter. I make mittens, hats, and blankets for needy kids. It helps make me feel useful as I am disabled and can’t do a lot. While I craft, I listen to audio books or watch movies. I avoid the news like a plague. I don’t need that negativity in my life. I work very hard to stay positive as much as possible. So blogs like this one are my lifeblood. You keep me inspired and hopeful. Thank you.
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Drone pilots, bee-friendly gardens, swimming, crafting! I loved reading what you’ve all been up to!