The last four weeks have been a blur. School has been closed. Our family has been working from home and practicing social distancing to slow the spread of the coronavirus. We miss playing with friends, wandering the toy aisles at Target, sitting inside a restaurant, and playing on the playground equipment at the park. We grieve the trips and events that have been canceled, including our road trip to see Grandma Judy, the Daddy-Daughter Dance, and Savannah's chorus performance.
Our calendar is empty. We don't have anything planned. We have no idea when our lives will return to "normal." We don't know when we'll be able to hug Grandma again. We don't know if we'll be able to go to the beach or pool this summer. We don't know if Savannah will have a 5th grade graduation...or if Hadley will be able to return to preschool before she starts Kindergarten in August. We just wait. To be honest, it's rather depressing.
However, during this stressful and uncertain time, our family strives to count our blessings and find joy in everyday moments. This is probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the four of us to spend so much time together at home. We have everything we need. We are healthy. We have a safe home and plenty of food. We are thankful for our stable income, the ability to work from home, and an emergency fund, as well as health insurance and high-speed Internet.
During this season of social isolation, our family has enjoyed the 5 blessings below:
1. Treats--To avoid cabin fever, we've been baking and picking up sweet treats.
Eating Duck Donuts in the back of Tal's truck
Sno Cones
Brownies
2. Creative Play--Savannah and Hadley often sit with me at the kitchen table while I do schoolwork.
Painting
Slimy Sand Cake
Painting Rocks
Blanket fort in our living room
Do you see Savannah?
3. Low Gas Prices--Tal paid $1.51 for gas in our neighborhood.
4. Nature--We have been exploring parks, spending more time in nature, and enjoying some fresh air, sunshine, and exercise.
Park #1
Our family walked the two-mile trail around this lake:
Park #2
The girls and I picked-up some food from McDonald's and had a picnic at the park:
Throwing Rocks
Throwing Rocks
Park #3
The girls and I walked the 1-mile trail around the lake and past the old mill:
At the park in our neighborhood, the girls collected rocks, as well as rode their skateboard and scooter:
5. Outdoor Play--We play, relax, and do schoolwork outdoors.
Playing in Tal's Truck
Relaxing on our Porch
Sunning in Our Driveway
In other news, on Easter Sunday, Savannah and Hadley asked me to measure them and to see how much they'd grown since December:
This is our beautifully imperfect growth chart. Over the last four months, Savannah has grown an inch and is now 5 feet 2 inches tall!
Last week Hadley celebrated her half birthday. She is now 5.5 years old!
Hadley is now 3 feet 9 inches tall!
This week Savannah and I started online teaching and learning. From 9-11 AM each day, Savannah has been completing two core subjects, a special, and independent reading.
I've been teaching for 21 years, but this is my first time doing virtual teaching. I've been pre-recording my teaching videos and then posting my library lessons in Google Classroom for my K-5 students.
Over the last few weeks, a small group of teachers and I have prepared and distributed 160 Chromebooks to our students to use for virtual learning.
A couple weeks ago, our family received some disappointing news. The school board denied our request to transfer Savannah to our preferred year-round middle school. As a result, starting in August, Savannah will attend the middle school in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, this means that Savannah will follow a traditional calendar, while Hadley and I will follow a year-round calendar. Our family is devastated that we will be on different schedules and have limited vacation time together. However, we trust that Savannah will have a positive middle school experience.
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