Blessings of a Quarantine

Never would I have imagined our entire society would shut down and all our activities would stop! The things I thought I didn't want to live without I am happy missing, and looking for the silver lining. On this 14th day of Quarantine, I wanted to share my Top 10 list of blessings for which I'm most thankful:

1. Family Time and meals together - Since when do we eat EVERY lunch and EVERY dinner together as a family of five? And having home cooked dinners not rushed between so many activities...NEVER! I love that I now have time to prepare meals WHEN we want to eat them rather than planning ahead to have something for us all to eat when we finish our 1-3 activities of the night, and typically eating @ 8:00 or after so we can all eat together. For the last year+ the boys have had one or more activities EVERY night, including Sunday. This doesn't work well for family dinners when we are both rushing around driving them. Sure it's a lot of dishes (oh, the dishes), but I am really appreciating this slower pace of life, and being able to enjoy each others' company, even if we have been around each other all day and I know what they've done in school :-)

2. Being involved in their schooling - Yes, this is a lot of work to stay ahead of them and plan what I want them to learn, but I love that they're being challenged in ways like never before! Being able to have Spanish class each day and typing. Choosing what we learn for Science and Social Studies. Involving prayer and religious education in our school day. While it does certainly involve a lot of my time, I am thankful for being able to be actively involved in teaching and guiding them. 

3. Boys learning more life skills - From time management and organization, cooking, sewing, changing a bike tire or even learning how to clean toilets, I know this time spent in "At Home Learning" will be invaluable for the boys long term! I struggled in college a bit coming from a very structured school day and many activities to a unstructured college life with much more time to complete harder tasks. I pray this time the boys are able to independently decide what to work on next and how to prioritize their tasks will serve them well in college and beyond!

4. Having Mike around more - Sure, he's on calls/Zoom meetings much of the time...in the dining room... and it's sometimes hard for us all to be quiet, and for instrument practice to be properly timed, but I love that he's not spending so much time in the car and that I can hear more about his day-to-day work.

5. Outdoor Free time - Since we are usually rushing from activity to activity, it is rare the boys have time to play on their own, and play outside of organized sports.  This is the life we have fallen into, or chosen by default or to "keep up", but will we return to all of it, or will we be more selective on our activities, going back to setting strict limits on # of sports per kid per season? Time will tell, but in the mean time I LOVE seeing families on bike rides, couples walking the neighborhood and more people on the bike trail & white rock lake than ever before (as long as their social distancing).

6. Creativity/Independent Learning - How I love to see the creativity that occurs when we have time to think, write, draw and music! Each day I give the boys a writing prompt and they spend 10-20 minutes free writing. I take that time to write too, which I almost never take time to do! And, it's been really great to see what the kids are most interested in when they have the option of choosing what to learn and spend their time doing (as long as they're not allowed to play video games or Youtube).

7. Non-rushed Morning time - Not having to wake the boys up early to rush out the door to school, I have a good few hours each morning for yoga, quiet time, reflection/planning, and Bible Study. It's so nice to be able to think, and be intentional in setting my day. Having almost everything slow to a halt has allowed me to focus on what's most important and beter live a prioritized life.

8. Learning new Technology and ways of life - So many new apps and resources I now know compared to a month ago! Some intergenerational, like watching my parents talk to their grandkids on Marco Polo, or teaching them a class via Zoom. Connecting Virtually with friends from all over  - being intentional on with whom we intereact. It's not just who we happen to run into during our daily lives (oh, but  I do miss that!), but on purpose setting up a Houseparty HH with friends no matter the distance. Social Media is also a connection to others I'm particularly thankful for during this time.  Even, Gardening which I've not done for years! Who knows what supply chains will look like for vegetables, but I know I'm not going to the grocery store as often, so it's nice to have fresh herbs to pick from the garden since I can't just easily pick them up at the store.

9. Keeping the Sabbath - For once we can actually get all our "work" done on the previous days and not have a million places to go on Sundays (or anywhere for that matter)! If it weren't for COVID we would have baseball games, soccer and tennis matches on Sunday in addition to serving at church and teaching/attending Religious Education on Sunday nights (at dinner time). I love that we have Sunday dinners and days together! While it's odd not to get dressed up for church and see friends and receive the Eucharist, there are some good things about being able to watch a church service together in your living room while we aren't able to do the other.

10. Relying on Faith - What else can we do? So much is out of our control, and we have been reminded of this. God is Omniscient and Soverign and He has promised that He works all for good for those who love Him. How? I don't always know, but I am seeing blessings in this time I would have never imagined.    

Certainly there are things I miss. Playing on my tennis team (we were in 1st place this season), watching my kids' ball games, professional sports (we missed the last several of our Stars games in the suite, and an awesome Cardinals/Rangers game in the new Globe Life Field), concerts, gathering with friends, Bible Study in person, Travel and normalcy.

But I wonder after all this is over, will our view of normalcy be forever changed? As a family and culture... we been reminded what's most important (for me - family time, faith, enjoying life and the outdoors, and connections with close friends) by being forced to slow down. I wonder what aspects of our culture will be forever changed when we are able to come out of quarantine?