At first my anxiety was completely out of control. The news kept changing and policies would change overnight so you never really knew what the next day would look like. Can we go to the park? Can we get food to go from restaurants? With all the schools closed and everyone staying home from work how will people afford their rent or feed their families? Each day I was barely hanging on and I cried a few times. Some days I still cry but it is getting better. It has been almost 7 weeks of "quarantine" life and I feel like my anxiety is better because things have sort of stabilized.
My kids are now doing what they call "online learning" which means they have assignments and things to complete online but it's definitely not the same as being in school full time. Last week the high school announced that if you had a passing grade as of March 13th you WILL NOT fail any classes no matter what you do or don't do...so that means my twins now have no incentive to do anything because they were getting all A's on March 13th. Julian's 5th grade teacher is still grading his work and he has a class meeting every day at 11 online with his teacher and classmates so I feel like he is at least doing something for school. My twins...not so much. But what do I do? Do I force them to do lame busy work online that isn't even new to them just so they have something to do?
We try to get outside every day for at least an hour. I have cut back on getting food "to go" from restaurants and we do that only twice a week now. We still eat dinner as a family every night. We watch movies together, go on family bike rides and hikes. Yesterday we drove 45 minutes just to get lunch because I was craving Costa Vida and the closest Costa Vida to us is in Washington State! At least we have the freedom to be outside, to get some fresh air. We have enough food (and toilet paper) and Hyrum can still see his patients via online video chats. We are blessed so much more than so many people because we don't have to worry about how we are going to pay for things and keep a roof over our heads. And yet I'm still living at a low level of stress everyday. It affects my sleep and it affects my mood. I watch a lot of tv, I feed my kids lunch and get them off their screens for a few hours each day. I keep the house clean. I watch more tv. It's lame but seriously all we can do.
*Non-essential businesses are closed
*Churches are closed
*Concerts, parades, sporting events...even the 2020 Olympics are cancelled
*Panic buying led to a shortage of essentials like toilet paper and sanitizing wipes
*Outdoor playground equipment is closed off for kids
*At first we couldn't gather in groups of 50 or more, than 20 and now 10
*Weddings and Graduations have been called off. Funerals can only be attended by 10 or fewer people
These are just a few of the crazy things that have turned my world upside down. And it doesn't help that the United States has a crazy person (Donald Trump) as president. The idiot even suggested the idea that people should inject themselves with bleach to wipe out the virus! It's not good!
So...What have we been doing during the last 7 weeks??
Using our back yard more. For chilling and hanging out or for roasting hot dogs for dinner
Hiking, the boys complain but it's still allowed so we make them do it. This was a 4 mile hike out to a light house on Sauvie Island
Played lots of games together
I got so bored one day I even baked carrot cake cup cakes...I hate baking!
Took the family snowshoeing through the forest near Mt. Hood
Fun times in the snow
I watched all three episodes in the Lord of the Rings trilogy in one day!
Made the family drive 45 minutes to Costa Vida for my birthday lunch. We had to eat in the van because the restaurants are only open for take out
Katrina organized a "drive by birthday" for me. About 20 people drove by my house and threw chocolate and other treats from their cars. It was so much fun and I felt so loved. I still miss hanging out with my friends for my birthday but this was the next best thing.
All the loot I got from my "drive by birthday" I especially appreciated those that gave me toilet paper:)
Happy birthday to me. Just the family could celebrate but I still had a fun day
What the toilet paper isle in my local grocery store looked like
We have pulled out toys the kids haven't played with in years!
Hyrum bought a game called Kubb for Christmas and we finally got it out of the box and played it
This is what "hanging out with friends" looks like
Playgrounds are roped off so kids can't play on them
Julian's 5th grade teacher packed up all the students things they had left at school on March 13th and we went to the school to pick them up.
More hikes, this one is at Jackson Bottom wetlands
Our Easter tree trying to bring some joy to people that pass by
The Easter Bunny still came by for a visit. We had to order all the treats online this year because chocolate stores were all closed.
My Johnson family having a chat on Easter Sunday
A hike at Fernhill wetlands
We took the canoe out for the first time in a few years
Made my boys ride their bikes to the library just so we could feed the ducks
And finally, this is what my view is everyday while I sit on the couch and watch tv. At least Peter is loving that I'm home more:)
I asked each of my kids to write a little about how they are feeling about this whole situation.
Emerson:
Quarantine shut down everything. We aren't allowed inside other peoples houses. You wear a face mask to the store. School is also shut down. We are doing online learning. Staying in school would have been better, because my teachers were good this year.
Townsend:
There is a pandemic right now and everything is shut down. Literally you can't do anything. I'm away from school for at least 5 months. It sucks not being able to see people. The whole situation is just a long boring summer break!
Julian:
I don't care what's happening much.
