Wow. The only word to describe posting this is surreal...looking back at the pictures before and after Santa Clara County's 'shelter in place' order that landed on March 16th.
It's odd seeing all these images since Dec (jeez! it's been a long time since I made a normal post). How strange and unsanitary we were. How we had so much fun without proper PPE. How close our personal bubbles got to one another.
Click for Feb & Mar slideshow
Click for Jan slideshow
Click for Dec slideshow
- a fantastic Christmas (though, talk about the opposite of distancing)
- entertaining the Vetsch family during their visit (yes, the kids even slept in the same bed)
- going to Six Flags (with only a pocket-sized hand sanitizer)
- celebrating Papa's big 7-5 with a trip to Alcatraz
- skiing in Utah (and even flying on an airplane, non-essentially)
- eating in restaurants to celebrate J's bday with the family (that's right, INSIDE the place)
- having big family gatherings (and we're barely 6 inches apart...forget about 6 feet)
- dropping by the grocery store several times a week
- going to school and work and games and playdates (and all those were face-to-face)
And then...like many of you...we weren't.
Our situation is that Lisa and I companies are considered essential businesses (medical devices), though we're working from home. The kids' school closed on March 12...and naively, we thought that the grandparents would be teaching, until the shelter in place happened and we realized that it would be best if we could keep the grandparents isolated... meaning Lisa and I become a responsible to kindergarten and 2nd grade overnight...as well as doing as much of the essential shopping as possible for all three households (I almost cried at Sprouts after standing in the checkout line for 30min and being told I only got to have TWO egg cartons despite the fact I was buying for THREE families).
We've finding the groove over the last couple weeks. The teaching at home thing intimidated us at first, and it's still hard, but we're thankful for the effort and speed that our teachers put into it. The structure makes things complicated, but -- more importantly -- gives the kids something to focus on. Lisa makes fun of me, but I've been slaying the complexity with good ole' project management. There's still parts of our "before" life that we need to start working back in (working out? alone time?), but bit-by-bit, I think we're finding ways to sustain this mode of being for what might be a long hunker down. Let me just say, my experience of this is FAR from the sheer boredom of so many others (he says, words seeping with jealousy).
That got me thinking how this shelter order has been so different for so many people with an almost amplifying effect. It is hugely stressful/busy for us. My parents are almost done with their "random house projects" list and the in-laws' turn all those groceries into dinners for us . Others are totally isolated. All difficult. All different.
Besides making me cringe at how unsanitary we all were, looking back at these pics and videos from weeks ago, reminds me of the reasons why we're doing all of this. That the world is a beautiful and fun playground that's currently closed for cleaning.
I've been trying to think of all the amazing things happening too:
- We communicate with family & friends weekly that we normally happens every few months
- How creative we can be to establish human connection (e.g. right now I'm listening to the kids play Battleship over FaceTime their cousin)
- E & I read all of Harry Potter 3 and diving into the fourth
- Lisa & the kids have been cooking ALL of their monthly cooking activity box recipes
- People make a LOT less fun of me for my large hand sanitizer jugs in the house
- We're spend so much good time with Penny
- I'm a lot more thoughtful about the food we're eating and the TP we're using
- Lisa & I are able to actually talk more -- despite all the busy -- since there's no commutes or quick errands, etc.
So until next time, for those of you who are bored (again, I only sort of hate you), please enjoy the slideshows and pictures. For the others who are homeschooling or are on the frontlines of this pandemic or are caring for someone other than themselves, I doubt you've even made it this far and you're totally excused for not watching the slideshow. I totally get it.
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