Thoughts I’ve had the past 3 weeks: “WTF germs?!” “So the whole country is being confined to their houses. Every day now feels like it’s a week long.” “How are my kids not teenagers yet? It’s been years since they were both occupied at the same time.” “‘Mommy, can you chase me?’ is the most frequently uttered phrase of the century.” “What day is it? Thursday?!?”

We are in the midst of a pandemic, something that hasn’t happened in over a hundred years. There are few, if any, people alive today who remember the last time something like this happened, and globalization certainly wasn’t part of regular conversation back then. Given that this virus originated on the other side of the world, it’s easy to blame globalization for starting this thing in the first place. However, I want to come to the defense of our increased interconnectedness because holy geez, what would we do without the internet right now? Thank you, internet. 

I live in a state that is currently under a shelter-in-place order. I see my neighbors in passing, but that’s it. We go to the store one at a time wearing homemade masks and gloves, and there’s always anxiety surrounding those trips now. We fear the grocery store. In-person contact is actually scary. I have never been more thankful for FaceTime and Google Hangouts and wtf are the other things I use? Zoom and BlueJeans? House Party? I’m actually talking with friends that I usually only have occasional catch up calls more regularly than I have in years! Again, thank you, internet. 

At the moment, the main challenges are keeping the children in my house entertained while also figuring out how to encourage the older one to entertain himself – in a way that doesn’t involve the tv. But Legos are life-saving, so thank you, Legos. 

In my work-life, I work with high-school-age kids. This virus will define their lives and future in a way that is different than it does adults. They will go to college in a post-Corona world, much as I went to college in a post-9/11 world. My kids are probably too little to have real memories of this. As of now, the older one just knows that we’re both home, and while we have to work, he’s thrilled we’re all together. He’s starting to get a little bummed about not being able to go to the library and museum and invite friends over, but one silver lining is that he now voluntarily washes his hands without a battle! This is a tiny victory in a battle I’m annoyed we had to fight to begin with, but I’ll take it. 

In the process of trying to make sense of all of this and find some normalcy in daily life again, I find we’re forced to face facts and then find the positives wherever we can. I have wanted to start a blog and have some outlet for writing for YEARS, and now, for better or worse, I have some time to do it. We are in a very solid sleep routine, which is helpful for everyone, especially the 5-month-old in the house. Thankfully our midwestern weather is starting to turn for the better as well, so we’re able to spend a lot of our time outside in the yard. I’ve been able to run more consistently in the past few weeks than I have in years, mainly because our family schedule is so easy to coordinate. “‘What do you need to do today?’ ‘Meetings at 11am and 1:30pm.’ ‘Great, that leaves THE ENTIRE REST OF THE DAY. Fabulous.'”

Looking around the internet, it’s easy to find examples of kindness and support for healthcare workers, grocery store employees, garbage collectors, postal employees, and so on. (I googled “honoring healthcare workers and got over 2 million search results, like this, this, and this.) What would we do without these people? Sincerely, what would we do without Amazon delivery workers right now? With all of the bad things happening right now: the crazy economy, politics and the upcoming election season, potentially having pay decreased and millions of people in this country who recently lost their jobs, etc., finding positives to keep going in daily life seems very important.

Running is helping me immensely. Yoga also helps a lot when I’m able to do it. Running is great because it actually gets me out of the house. My lovely boys can’t interrupt my workout because I’m actually gone. Yoga videos have been a really nice addition to my workout routine of late because actually getting to a studio was tough with our schedule anyway, and now none of them are open, obviously. I’ve done some Yoga with Adriene on YouTube, as well as use the Down Dog app because it’s free until the beginning of May. The only issue with yoga videos is that the 3-year-old in my house sees that as an invitation to climb on me while I try to get serene.

I hope you’re finding ways to get out and exercise (or stay in and exercise!) and that you’re keeping your sanity in whatever way works for you! Sending you love and support from Illinois!