New Normal

So here we are, adjusting to our new normal...a normal, that we really don't want to be. It's been 3+ weeks since we were told to Shelter-in-place, but only the end of our first week in Illinois. To say we are missing Arizona and our family would be an understatement. It's hard to be isolated to our house. Thank goodness for Instacart. It's been an adjustment to plan your shopping cart over the course of a few days instead of just running out to the store whenever you feel the need. But we're doing our part! The one time I did venture out the the store it felt very dystopian. You have to stand in a line, 6 feet apart. You can't just go in. There is tape outlining where you need to stay. More and more mask are starting to appear on the shoppers. Surreal!

I'm functioning in a blur. Mitch is working from home. He's pretty much taken over our entire kitchen dining area...and when he's on a call we all hear it. I'm beginning to recognize the voices of his co-workers before any one on the conference call even uses their names. The girls have taken over the dining room. It's a hot mess, but it's made a pretty good make shift classroom. I need to give the girls a little credit. And Mitch too. He has created in depth spreadsheets outlining the girls daily schedules. In addition to the packets of work that the teachers are sending home he's built in time for Piano, recess, chores, Rosetta Stone Spanish, and other workbooks that we purchased on our own. And the girls are doing it!!! Their day starts at 7:15 when they wake up. They have to be dressed and eat breakfast by 8:30 and that is when their academic day begins. They have a morning "PE" (recess) and then they get an hour for lunch and a break. Sure its different from school...and it's hard because they sometimes need more help than we can give them, as we are working from home, too...but they're doing it. Our girls thrive with routine and schedule so it works for us.

I keep trying to think of things that I should be documenting for them during this time. But it's all lost on me right now. How will they remember this time? How will they recount the time of Social Distancing and Quarantine when their kids ask them what it was like. I just don't know?!?!

We're doing the things that other people are doing. We chalked the walk, in Arizona and here at home. We filled our window with hearts for healthcare workers. I've seen some pretty tremendous heart art all over social media. We did a bunny, since it's nearly Easter. I'm doing the best I can to document this time in our lives, but I feel like I'm falling short. It's hard when you're just HOME...ALL.THE.TIME.