Dividing the time, Day Seven

I am creating an online journal during the Coronavirus social distancing so I can look back and remember how my thoughts and actions might change during this time. This is Day Seven.

Friday, March 20

Today marked the end of our first week of social distancing. As the hours and days start to blend together, we are noticing it’s getting more difficult to stay motivated to be productive. We don’t have a schedule driving our day. We don’t have to hurry to be anywhere. So we are dealing with the strange paradox that even though we have all day to get things done, it feels like we aren’t accomplishing much.

Alayna walked into the kitchen this afternoon and asked, “What day is it?!”

I had to do some quick mental math to calculate the answer. Then, I grabbed a white board and set it up as a reminder. We joked that tomorrow we get to look forward to changing the sign! Hey… at least it’s something that we have to do each day!

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I’ve been trying to break up the hours by inviting family members to participate in different types of activities throughout the day. I made a list of things we can do each day, just as a reminder of how to stay active when we all feel like binging on Netflix. This has at least been helpful for me and Jayda, who love a list to keep us motivated!

Today, we did school work and worked. We cleaned the kitchen. We took Cooper for walks. We cooked a special treat. (We made coffee drinks.)

We had creative time. And, at the end of the day, we usually play games, work on a puzzle and/or watch a movie.

Most of the family was available today for our creative time so we agreed to do it on Facebook Live. We really enjoyed interacting with the few people who joined us and left us comments.

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Today felt like a tough one as we monitored the news. The governor of Illinois announced that residents would essentially be put on lockdown beginning Saturday evening. Even though we already have been spending almost all of our time at home, there was something about his official declaration that made it feel more intense. We haven’t gone crazy stocking up on groceries, but this announcement did make if feel more urgent to run to the store.

Although we’ve had one or two visitors during the past week, we are only going to spend time with our family now that the governor has issued the order to stay in our homes. I have to say being a parent is really difficult right now. I really want my kids to be happy and to be able to see friends. I wish I could let them do that, and it’s difficult to set these boundaries, especially for Andrew who just got home from college!

Kent and Matt drove to five stores in search of toilet paper. We have around seven rolls left in our home. They weren’t able to find any. We we are trying to stay calm and not let it bother us, but honestly, it does get concerning.

Taylor University sent an e-mail announcing the campus would be closed for the rest of the semester. We already packed up Andrew’s possessions and moved him home. But getting that information still felt like a blow. It’s hard to believe that after devoting so much time, effort and finances into choosing the best school for him, and then seeing him thrive in that environment, that his experience would be cut short. Of course, we absolutely agree it’s the best decision, but it’s still hard to hear.

It’s also funny how small things can become big concerns. A few days ago, I realized that my hair salon is now closed. I know this wouldn’t be a big deal for most people, but I get my hair colored and cut every four weeks. It’s one of the few things that I do to really take care of myself. I’m dreading my gray roots growing in, and have invested way too many brain cells into deciding if I should continue to color my hair at home. I know. First world problems. I admit it’s ridiculous when health care workers are literally risking their lives to save patients!

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Here are a few resources I thought I would pass along if you are looking for outlets during this time:

Pray: OneWay’s Prayercast team worked extra hard this past week to put together a video to help people pray for our world during the coronavirus. Would you take five minutes today to pray along with this video? https://prayercast.com/coronavirus.html

Creative projects: I love the art projects posted each week by Let’s Make Art. Last year, I started doing their weekly watercolor tutorials. Then, they added hand lettering tutorials and now they do art journaling! I love doing creative projects along with the instructors. I feel like it’s a welcome friend during my creative time!

Movies: We are still watching Frozen 2 once a day if we have time. But last night, we watched Stargirl on Disney Plus. It was a cute family friendly movie! We’re also starting to watch The Chosen, which is a series I’ve been following for a while on social media while it was in production. It’s historical fiction that tells the story of the life of Jesus.

Games: We play a lot of games at our house. A friend recently introduced us to the game, Rummikub. It’s a fun and quick game that requires just enough strategic thinking to keep you interested, but not so much that it’s overwhelming during these days when our brains are feeling a little mushy!

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Read my past posts:

Life is canceled: Day Zero

What does this mean for us?: Day One

Sunday morning painting party: Day Two

This isn’t difficult: Day Three

College and corona: Day Four

Working and learning at home: Day Five

It’s getting real: Day Six

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What do your days look like during social distancing? Do you have any strategies for dividing up your day?

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