Good afternoon! It is Day 2 of Operation Stay Home, Stay Healthy!
The rest of yesterday went very well. The kids ate lunch together, did their chores (Alan unloaded the dishwasher and Nora picked up shoes that were scattered in the hallway). I also was on a laundry spree for hours yesterday, I think I did at least 4 loads, and of course, whenever Alan empties the dishwasher, I load it back up again! Since it was Saturday yesterday, and the kids did so well all morning and all the way through chores, they were basically allowed to chill the rest of the day and have screen time until dinner. We did brave a quick trip to Family Dollar to check out their stock and get some things that were needed (we did NOT buy anything in bulk!). It was not too crowded, and only a few things were low stock (baby wipes, bread, milk, and canned goods. And weirdly, plastic hampers). We observed National Potato Chip Day yesterday by eating potato chips, of course! And also celebrated National Learn About Butterflies Day by watching a few life cycle of butterfly videos on youtube. Nora really enjoyed the live time lapses the most from egg to butterfly. I thought Alan would enjoy observing the national days each day, as I did as a child, and it looks like I was right. I made ground chicken chili for dinner.
I am getting my list of national days here: https://nationaldaycalendar.com/march/
The youtube videos we watched yesterday:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5RSpMQQOpw
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocWgSgMGxOc
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jivWeOrCaeI
and of course, we had to finish with The Very Hungry Caterpillar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75NQK-Sm1YY
So this brings you up to speed from where we left off. Today after breakfast, the kids and I went outside for almost two hours! It was under 40 degrees out and damp. The kid had a blast and dug through the dirt finding worms and grubs. They will be doing their chores soon, but otherwise, since in is Sunday, the rest of the day is going to mostly be chill. Nora is having tea on the couch and watching Pokemon right now.
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So let's talk about social distancing. Right now, the phrase going through my mind has been "better safe than sorry." I am fine with staying home. I am fine with my kids staying home. Sticking to our schedule has been keeping us on track and feeling productive, and going out to the yard has been still giving us that "going out" feeling. I told the kids to think of it like it's their recess time at school. Yes, we went out to the store yesterday, but we had plans to just leave if it looked crowded or picked over. We went home and immediately all washed our hands after. Right now, we are going on what we need to do to feel safe. Sure, we are not at the greatest risk for the virus to do much harm to us. But none of want to be sick, either. It has been a very sick winter for all of us. I was recently in the hospital for tonsillitis, so yeah, I'd like to stay healthy now.
Here are some of the resources I have seen and shared, and find helpful to keep in mind. Be smart, and do what is the best for everyone!
This article: https://medium.com/@ariadnelabs/social-distancing-this-is-not-a-snow-day-ac21d7fa78b4
I can't get the image I found to upload here, but it basically summed up the points in the article by saying:
AVOID: -group gatherings -sleepovers -play dates -concerts -theatre outings -athletic events -crowded stores -malls -workouts in gyms -visitors in your house -non-essential workers in your house -mass transit systems -playgrounds (I added this one because I saw it in other posts)
USE CAUTION: -visit a local restaurant -grocery store -take out -pick up medications -parks -library -church -travelling
SAFE TO DO: - Take a walk/hike -yard work -play in your yard -clean out a closet -read a good book -listen to music -cook a meal -family game night -go for a drive -group video chats -stream a favorite show -check in with friends, elderly neighbors.
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What do you think of this list?
I agree with the avoid list. The only thoughts I have there are the biggest challenges for me will be keeping my in-laws from visiting. But they are in the at-risk category for the virus making them very sick. My father in law also travels a lot, and they live and work in DC, so we think we should all be cautious. Good thing phone calls and emails still work!
I think I would still put restaurants under avoid for us. Not worth the risk, in my opinion. Same with library and church. Our library has closed, anyway, and we don't do church, but before the library closed, I had plans to avoid going there for the time being just to be safe. I would do the same with church, if I went, because of groups of people being close together like that is not worth the risk to me.
I like the ideas on the safe list. As you know, we have been going out in our own yard every day, and doing chores here at home, of course. I am so encouraged by seeing all the fun ideas and support people are posting on Facebook, things like streaming dance parties, dance classes, art lessons, read a book and video it for others to tune in. An online book club would be so cool! I also saw something about writing letters to people in nursing homes or hospitals, since they can't have visitors right now. I love that idea. I had in our plans for this week sometime to write a letter to a community helper to thank them for their help and hard work during this time, because all of them have to keep working!
I will leave you on this note. No matter what your situation is, embrace what you DO have, and do what you CAN do. We'll get through this, and normalcy will return sometime soon. Until then, I'd rather be safe than sorry!
Stay healthy, happy, and safe!
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