As I recently said, I just rediscovered my blog... Man I wish I would have remembered last year that I used to do this... I would've loved to have been blogging throughout 2020. February/March of 2020 was pretty much when everything stopped. Not knowing what was going on, not knowing what was happening... Explaining it to the girls without having them be scared. It was all new territory.
We have always homeschooled. So lots of people would say, "Oh, being home and doing school at home, this isn't much different for you guys!!" But that couldn't have been further from the truth! We were used to finishing our lessons and going to the park, meeting up with other homeschoolers, etc. We, just like everyone else went from normal, to doing absolutely nothing. We had the news on a lot and while it was on, the girls and I would normally play board games, we would pause the news at times so they could ask questions, etc. They would hear their daddy say how empty the store shelves were, there was the whole toilet paper shortage, etc. It was pretty crazy. I worked a lot of puzzles to keep my mind busy. The girls and their daddy would ebb and flow helping me with them. As the weather got better, we would get outside, play frisbee, play catch... I feel like things slowed down a lot and became simple in a way. The simplicity was nice though. I feel like during this time, all 4 of us reconnected in an amazing way. I feel like it was a time of greater family exploration! We had to start thinking of different things to do. Things were just less busy. We missed family, BUT from this aspect, things just weren't that bad. We had each other and we were good. As time went by, the girls would go through hobby list to find new things to do. Amazon helped a lot with getting things to us. L has been sewing over the last couple of years, she made blankets for her friends, and we delivered them to their porch. Lots of things were passed back and forth on people's porches!
When all of this was just beginning, I would put daily post on FB about what I was grateful for; just to keep some positivity out there. You would hear about a lot of people getting depressed. We missed going out to eat and we really missed seeing our family. I worried about my mom a lot because we had recently had a death in our family and she was still processing that. She went straight from dealing with death to not seeing anyone at all. I was constantly worried about her. I would do mental check-ins with L and M so we could keep them right in their heads. Talking honestly with them, wanting them to understand the best they could, and not be scared. With my big concerns, I would talk to my husband at night, because I was scared and worried about what was happening and the unknown; he would keep me right in MY head.
Travel bans, mask mandates, 6 feet apart, getting takeout (which was the only to have restaurant food)... So many things were changing and we were trying to keep things normal for the us and the girls. We were supposed to go on vacation in April and had to cancel... we are used to traveling quite a bit.... What do we do? We get a puppy!!! 10 hours roundtrip in the car to drive to Illinois for the girls to pick out which one they wanted and drive home! But we were going to be sitting at home anyway! May as well sit in the car with a reward in the end. As much work as a puppy is, I do think the puppy helped the quarantine year!
Things started to get to me around May... we all needed to get away. I thought it was going to be harder than it was to find a dog sitter in a world that isn't supposed to be traveling or doing anything. But it wasn't. So we were heading to Florida! We planned this in just a few days and had to get some things before we left. That meant taking girls to stores which they really hadn't been shopping at all recently. We had to stand in lines to get in because they were only letting so many people in at a time. Having to wear the masks took a lot of getting used to for the girls. Once inside Wal-Mart, M (she was 9 years old) had a huge meltdown. Was she too old for that? Yes! But things were so off at this point that we were just making it through with all the "new adjustments"... But we made it, got what we needed and we were off to Florida! Just to swim in the pool and play in the ocean. We were around less people during this trip than going in anyplace back home. Our first night we were there, our dinner conversation was all about the obvious differences while traveling. Differences in the hotel especially! But it was good. It was nice to reset! It was really nice to be away! Oh and at the age the girls are, road trips are starting to be really enjoyable!! This was one of our favorite road trips, even with the drive everyone was just so happy to be out of the house!
Back to reality... back home... with warm, nice weather, pools, parks and everyplace you would go during the summer months were all ALL CLOSED! Although we were finally able to be in groups of 10 or less... The kids could finally see some friends! This changed some things a bit! You still tried to keep your bubble of people small because there was still a lot of things unknown... Unanswered questions about the mask were everywhere, did they work, did they not? Do you wear them or not? I definitely don't want to debate that here... these were just thoughts going on in our heads at the time! We did lots of hikes, family bike rides, and had lots of time outside. One of the most fun days for the girls started as a family fun day... we played, they washed our cars, then asked if they could hold up signs to see if anyone else would let them wash their cars!! They had a car wash in the neighborhood. They made about $30-$40 each. Some people came and sat in their cars while the girls washed them. Some brought their cars and walked home then came back to get it. As small as this was, this was a huge thing for them. They worked hard, made some money and had fun doing it!
Half way through the year, the girls were saying, "When this first started, we were told everything would be closed for 2 weeks... when is it going to end?" We kind of went into "make your kids happy mode" (within reason). The girls have been wanting skateboards for a couple of years and we had resisted for different reasons. One thing I learned from this quarantine time was that I should be more involved with the kids and their hobbies. Explore more things WITH them! I feel the girls and I have always had a good relationship; This one thing I've learned has taken us to a whole other level. I need to explore new hobbies with them, find something they love and engage with them... M and I have actually bonded over her skateboarding! L and I have bonded over cooking and nails. I don't really like having my nails done, but L does! My husband does most of the cooking, so L gets a charge when her and I take on a new recipe together, with her choosing it and her doing most of the work. I'll make a whole other blog post about kids and their hobbies!
This is getting long... What do you remember about the first 6 months of 2020? What memory sticks out with those first 6 months of Covid with your kids?
