Skip to main content

Life as we know it...

The last few weeks have been odd. We've gone from the usual, somewhat hectic pace of running a business, homeschooling, a gamut of kids' sporting activities and jobs, church, and other social gatherings, to a much slower and isolated existence. As homeschoolers the bulk of the work/school hours haven't changed significantly for us as we're used to be home during the day but the sudden half of extracurricular activities has been more of an adjustment. The introverts are definitely less bothered by this time of social distancing and/or self isolating. My resident extrovert has been less than thrilled with this development. We all understand the why though and so we are committed to doing our part to "flatten and plank the curve". We've developed a whole new vocabulary in the last month - "social distancing", "flatten the curve", "plank the curve", "covidiot", etc. The dictionary will have some new additions in its next edition.

Then there's this whole dance of preparing in case the worst happens but not dwelling on that worst case scenario. We're all working on looking for the good and the positive, and trying to make the most of the extra time we have at home. That doesn't necessarily mean being productive, sometimes that means we all sit around together and play video games or watch a movie or YouTube. We're trying to maintain some semblance of routine, though not a strict one. More along the lines of basic building blocks that make up the day but they don't necessarily have to be completed in the same order or at the same time each day. Things like making beds, schoolwork, chores, helping with a bigger home project, doing something creative, playing video games with friends, contacting friends and family via phone/FaceTime/text/Messenger/Skype/ZOOM/Telegram/Instagram/etc. How fortunate are we to live in the internet age where we can be so connected to our loved ones even when we can't physically be together? How about the amount of information and entertainment that is at our fingertips? It's amazing.

So many things remain the same and so many things are so different. Psychologically, I find this whole thing a bit fascinating. Why does it seem easier to do things now when I had the same amounts of time and resources as I did a few weeks ago? Why are other things more difficult? Changing our perspective can really alter our lives.

I'm hoping to post here daily in an effort to keep in touch with family and friends and perhaps provide a bit of a distraction or comic relief from the stresses that may be felt in these uncertain times. Looking for small mercies daily, reminders of God's faithfulness and love...

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end; 
they are new every morning; 
     great is your faithfulness.
~ Lamentations 3:22-23

Comments