It has now been a little more than two weeks since we’ve been living our best self-quarantined life. Whether we like it or not, this will be one of the defining moments of our lifetime.
On the 15th of March the provincial government mandated that all schools and daycare close to help stop the spread of COVID-19 (a.k.a. novel coronavirus) in an effort to “flatten the curve” in our province. I knew that our lives had taken an unexpected turn and even now I am not sure what the next day is going to bring or even what it will look like.
I work as an assistant director at an amazing early learning centre and I love it. Partnering along side families is one of my favourite things to do. And now, it all just sucks… I understand the importance of closing down daycares but the feeling of loss is still there.
We found ourselves with a skeleton crew sanitizing, de-cluttering, and closing down our centre for the unforeseeable future. Early learning centres are vibrant, busy places full of children’s laughter, songs and lots of learning and exploring.
When you take away the children… it’s eerie.
The week before we were already starting to experience the stress of getting groceries from emptied out stores and staying healthy during such a chaotic time. Toilet paper was unavailable. Canned soup, pasta, beans or rice next to impossible to find. We don’t have hurricanes or extreme weather where we are and we don’t really know how to prepare for a pandemic because we have never experienced one. Many people are hoarding basic necessities and trying to turn a profit. It’s sad, but I want to make sure that a year from now I remember exactly what it was like.
In the past week all non-essential businesses have now been shuttered. The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way we live: Restaurants are closed to dine in experiences. No one can get a hair cut or catch the latest movie and experts are recommending “social distancing.”
We collected our children’s belongings from tables outside in the bus loop making sure to adhere to “social distancing” and keep far away from the teachers supervising the tables. Parents created our own classroom and set up for learning online.
Our Fernie trip was cancelled just days before the ski hills were closed for the season. Hard to imagine not having one more weekend away to the mountains.
How we’ve been living our best self-quarantined life.
Working from home isn’t an option for me so, I have been laid off but that doesn’t mean I am not working. I wasn’t prepared to become an instant homeschooling Mom. I’m thankful for the available online resources and our teachers have been streamlining everything from in the classroom to online experience. The older two are able to manage their schedules and are finishing and submitting their assignments online but, I have been working with the youngest to make sure she doesn’t fall behind.
I am sure that there’s a little fine tuning that will happen over the next few weeks but things were going smoothly.
This week we find ourselves on “Spring break” so the kids are binging on Disney plus and enjoying sleeping in. It’s been snowing and cold which makes self-isolation easier.
With all the news of COVID-19 it’s overwhelming and sometimes I feel anxious. So, I am finding new things to do around the house and different ways to keep me offline.
Knitting the infinity scarf that I started working on ages ago. Washing, folding and putting away a mountain of laundry. Teaching my children how to prepare new side dishes in our kitchen. We got sucked into the sordid, rubbernecking allure of the Netflix true crime docuseries about big cats and the human trash who keep them temporarily distracting a family stressed out by dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. To be honest I am looking forward to moving onto something new. With Easter just around the corner maybe we will do a little Easter baking.
We are taking this time as an opportunity to rest, laugh and reconnect. I wonder when this is over what life will look like and if this quieter, simpler way of life will be our new normal?
I posted this to my private facebook page:
5 things that I am thankful for during this season of #socialdistancing during the #covid19 pandemic.
1.) My husband, my children and myself are healthy. Maybe a little bored at times but we are safe and healthy.
2.) Unhurried Family dinners & the ability to take the extra time to teach my children how to prepare new side dishes.
3.) The ability to use zoom media so I can still participate in my favourite ️ F45 workouts. (plus it makes homeschooling so much easier!)
4.) Using this time as an opportunity to rest and recharge as my “normal “ daily schedule was really busy.
5.) Thankfully for the reset.
Life was very different just a week or two ago, wasn’t it?
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