Blessings I find in quarantine

As we move one day at a time through this new life experience I find myself counting my blessings. I have enjoyed utilizing social media to see what others are doing with this change of pace that many find themselves experiencing. I find myself more than ever thinking about and appreciating first responders, medical professionals, grocery store employees, and many others whose pace either hasn’t changed or has become more chaotic. All of these things and many more are on my blessings list. Here are a few of the blessings I am finding in quarantine. 1. Virtual storytime with Grandma and all of the cousins a couple times a week. Typically it would be almost impossible to find a time where 19 cousins between four families, plus an adopted part of the family with two more cousins, could all be on a video chat at the same time for story time. It was sweet to see all of the kids faces and hear Grandmas voice reading to them.

2. Family hiking and mushroom hunting in the woods. Spending hours in nature exploring and playing together. There have been three different outings since quarantine began and each presented us with many things to make us excited and want to learn more about.

I often find myself struggling with the societal pull to give kids all the experiences through structured classes, team sports, and activities. Yes, I see value in doing some of these things but I believe that for us it had gotten out of control and was just busyness. The value was not worth the cost to the family and we were feeling that but uncertain how to reset or how to show the children, the older ones particularly, why this is important. This quarantine has encouraged us all to re evaluate what is important to us for our family and to get feedback from the kids on what provides real and lasting value. It has been very good conversation and we have been encouraged by the depth of the discussion at times. Our schedule had become so hectic that we were running every day of the week and it was truly exhausting. Between five of the six children having extra curricular activities, the older two participating in a tutorial class, Ethan volunteering one day a week, and all of Alex’s many appointments we were constantly on the go. At home we were schooling each day until we were running out the door, coming home exhausted with just enough time to eat dinner and put kids to bed. We have all discussed through this last few weeks how we would like life to look when this is behind us.

This past two weeks we have purged a lot of things and It has been hard. We have gone through rooms and gotten rid of things that were cluttering up our physical spaces and we reduced screen time to almost none to purge and restart with some healthier goals. This past year with everything that has gone on with Alex there were a lot of things that have become cluttered and this was a wonderful opportunity for a fresh start. We have had several meltdowns and moments of frustration and even anger during this time over different things being cut out but we knew it was healthy in the long run and hoped and prayed the children would see the value in their hard work. That brings us to these last few days. We have had a breakthrough and everyone was back to building and exploring, reading and writing, and playing games together inside and outside. Last night as a thank you for all of their wonderful attitudes and hard work we gave the older four some screen time. What was most interesting was this morning two of them came to us and said they were surprised that they didn’t enjoy the screen time like they used to and don’t really feel like they need it like they did before. This was wonderful for a parent to hear and we thank God for continuing to work on all of our hearts.

3. I am thankful for time learning together in the kitchen. We made sausage/cheese muffins together and LaRue made her first red velvet cake from scratch and both things were delicious! Kyle, Paul, and Alex all wanted to help in the kitchen as well and we had fun together. The older three have taken days that they are responsible for dinner from start to finish and have had fun figuring out what to make and getting it done for us. The only rule is that they must use what is already in the house or garden. They are all very creative in the kitchen and have produced wonderful meals.

4. I am especially thankful right now for the signs of spring we are finding everywhere. Quarantine would have been much more challenging for me in the dead of winter. We built a hoop house over one of our raised beds and planted our early garden. It is fun to go out and see tiny plants sprouting. We have weeded flower beds and transplanted many flowers to new areas of the yard. Alex picked out some beautiful snap dragons and planted those. Paul has spent more hours than anyone weeding the gardens. He loves to have his hands in the dirt as much as his mama and grandma do.

5. This past year has been full of changes and difficult situations surrounding Alex’s medical situation and even with all of that as we look back we see beauty woven all through the tapestry and that is no different with this last two weeks. We have seen good habits return that had been dropped the last year, children spending much more time playing together outside and arguing less as time goes on. Spending most of the days outside, schooling on the lawn and patio, getting the early garden planted and flower beds weeded, flying kites, building forts, lots of crafts, Model building, and acting out history lessons. My heart has been full.

6. I am thankful for Virtual doctors appointments which save me a drive to Vanderbilt and long waits in waiting rooms. I could get used to doing doctors visits this way. Our doctors are wonderful and have been good about keeping as many appointments through telehealth as possible and keeping open communication. We are trying to work out the safest way to get Alex’s blood work done since her dose had to be adjusted up several weeks ago due to her chemo level being too low. So far she seems to be pretty sensitive to these medications so we want to try to keep these level check appointments but doctors don’t want us coming to Vandy right now. The pediatrician told us he can do it at his office and make sure we come straight in to a clean room with no wait but they can also come draw at the car if that is safest for Alex at this time. We have gotten approval from Vandy doctors to do this and are awaiting a scheduled appointment.

How are we praying during this time?

We pray for health and safety.

We pray for those grieving the loss of loved ones.

We pray for our nations leaders as daily they make difficult decisions that affect millions of lives. We pray for medical professionals, first responders,

and others who are working to save lives. We pray for the families of those on the front lines

of this disease. We pray for those who have lost jobs.

We pray that people would feel God’s presence

and comfort in this difficult time.