Apr 29, 20203 min read

A Quarantine Within a Quarantine. Coronavirus Update - Day 48 and Counting.....

The table still sits empty today and the photos are still in their boxes off to the side. It's been 50 days since I touched the photo project, so what's another day or another week? I have to start practicing what I preach -- Accept the things I cannot change..... challenging as that may be. The kids were more agreeable than yesterday (thank God), so I am feeling less exasperated. Admittedly, I had hopes that I might be able to move the photos to the table today, but they were not high hopes. They weren't even medium hopes. Any hopes were dashed early in the day, so that was that. I realize that one of the main challenges I face in being productive is that I cannot leave the family room/kitchen for more than a few minutes at a time. In our house, these rooms serve as the schoolhouse. Last I checked, teachers don't walk out and leave their kids in the classroom unattended, for extended periods, as much as they wish they could, no doubt. Consequently, anything I hope to get done has to get done in those two adjoining rooms. So not only am I quarantined to my home but also quarantined to only two rooms of my home. That makes for a challenging existence. Whether I am trying to be productive or just have a little peace, those things are not going to happen in the middle of a classroom. So I have to lean in and embrace unproductiveness, as much as I despise that notion. I did make it to the nursery this morning to buy some flowers for the front garden. I suppose that was productive? I showered, got dressed, and put on makeup. That was more productive than I have heard a lot of people are during an entire day of quarantine. The key seems to be to set the bar very low to avoid feeling like a slacker. I hung out with the kids for the entire day in my two quarantine rooms. Miles made a pretend cake, using small rations from my pantry. That turned in to a full-blown birthday/tea party for Slothy (Graham's beloved stuffed animal) and every one of his stuffed animal friends that live our home. Watching that was a delight. The kids' imagination seems to have no limits, under these circumstances. Each day there are new and intricate make-believe games. Outside, they made good old-fashioned mud pies with pie tins I gave them. I had to explain what a mud pie was. They thought it was one of those coffee/chocolate monstrosities you eat at TGIF, not that they've ever been to a TGIF nor had mud pie. They thought they could eat the one from the yard. It seems we have some remedial work to do on twentieth-century childhood fun. The Beatles played, much of the day, on Sirius XM, which brought a wonderfully happy vibe to the house. It seems that the quarantine roller coaster ride continues, with some days that are up and others that are down. Similar to my own perceived lack of productivity, I suppose these ups and downs are par for this course as we navigate these challenging times. I wish I could come up with the magical formula to make every day the best it could be. No crying, no whining, no fighting but just pink fluffy unicorns. However with five peoples' different needs and moods, not to mention the general unpredictably of each day and the world as a whole right now, I think I better give up on that goal. I am just grateful that today, we went up on the roller coaster instead of down.