This is a strange, strange season we’re living in. Never in my life has the entire world shared one single focus: the eradication of the COVID-19 virus. Here in Canada, we’ve been practicing social isolation for close to a month, and counting. As a family of six with a newly minted teenager, we have already had our share of intense, angst-ridden moments. The extroverts are bouncing off the walls and the introverts are craving some real alone time. We miss our extended family and our friends. And I really, really need a haircut.
And yet, I cannot forget that we have it better than most. My husband has been working from home for years and we have always homeschooled the kids. So those routines have not been affected much. But not being able to enjoy our regular activities outside the home, and not being able to go to Mass on Sundays and receive the Sacraments – these losses are keenly felt.
Still, I’ve had some time to reflect, and there are many unexpected blessings that have arisen as a result of our new cozy normal. The infamous, overused excuse “I don’t have time” no longer applies. For those of us (and we are legion) who complain about not having enough time to do A, B, or C — well this is no longer valid. In my normal life, my heart rate is continually elevated from all the running around and rushing. In fact, transitioning the kids to their next activity throughout the day really stresses me out. While I miss the activities, I sure don’t miss the anxiety that accompanies them. In the absence of all these commitments, we actually have time to…
Live together
Never has my family been so together. We have more time to prepare meals, enjoy them together, and clean up afterwards. We share in the weekly upkeep of the home (though I sure miss my cleaning lady). We have more time to work on habits and manners in a constructive manner. Because of our togetherness, we have to work on resolving our differences and conflicts in healthy ways – or else we kill each other. We should be addressing these things all the time, but when life gets too busy and we are too tired, we let a lot of important lessons fall by the wayside. Now is the time to focus!
Pray together
I have a confession to make: our family prayer time often gets sacrificed in the altar of extracurricular activities. At the beginning of every school year, my husband and I always have the best intentions to pray together as a family. Then piano, swimming, hockey, robotics and gymnastics happen, and the best we manage is to pray a decade of the Rosary in the car. Well, now we have time! We’re praying the Rosary every night, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet every Friday. I admit that it felt a bit awkward the first couples of nights, but now we’ve gotten into a nice praying groove. Offering our prayers for the many needs of the world helps us feel connected to our suffering brothers and sisters. We also receive precious spiritual nourishment in these dark times. For excellent suggestions on how to pray the Rosary during COVID-19, check out my friend Mary’s post.
Play together
Now that our evenings are free, we are playing lots and lots of board games. My boys are board games fanatics, so this is right up their alley. We’ve created a schedule where every night someone gets to choose the game to play. So far we’ve played Pandemic (yep…), Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan, Mechs vs Minions (I sat out of this one), Risk, Diplomacy, Overcooked, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, and many others. I also lay out a puzzle for anyone to work on at their leisure. We have movie nights, and when we’re all peopled-out, the kids go to bed early so my hubby and I can enjoy an at-home date.
Learn new skills
This has been the perfect time to develop new skills. My second son taught our 4yr old daughter how to ride her bike. My oldest son is taking a course to prepare for the SATs. The hubby is brewing new kinds of beer. I’m baking up a storm and I signed up for MasterClass. We’re seeing budding interests in electronics, architecture, robotics and art. It’s not always easy to get the kids to work on creative projects, but hey, we have time to work on resistance too.
Giving some love to our home
Our poor home is often neglected, but not this spring! We’ve been decluttering closets, cleaning out gutters, garage and shed, washing windows, wiping kitchen cabinets, vacuuming ceiling corners, etc etc etc. Soon we’ll be mulching, and I might just clean the inside of the fridge. Talk about turbo-nesting!
Reading more (good) books
One of the items on my bucket list has been to read Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. The musical is my favorite of all time; I can sing it (rather poorly) by heart from beginning to end. Well, now I have time to read the 900+ page novel, and it’s even better than I imagined it to be. The kids are also reading their share of good books, such as The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson and The Green Ember Series by S.D. Smith. For more reading suggestions, check out the Read Aloud Revival, Good Books for Catholic Kids (but really for all kids), and Modern Mrs. Darcy (for big people).
Connecting in new ways (thank you technology)
I am pleasantly surprised by how we are able to interact with our community through technology. My kids are continuing their piano lessons, coop classes and scouts meetings via Zoom. They have taken a couple of public speaking seminars and will soon start an online robotics class. Every day they do a 30-minute workout with PE with Joe. While logging on to a computer several times a day is not ideal, it helps to keep us connected to the outside world, not to mention it keeps the kids reasonably busy and engaged. We’ve also been watching Mass with Bishop Barron and following some of the Pope’s televised events. As we observe a Holy Week unlike any other, technology is allowing us to receive grace, strength and encouragement. For this I am truly grateful.
Unite ourselves to a common cause
It’s funny – in one tangible way we’re quite isolated from the rest of the world, but in another less tangible but more significant way, we have never been more united to our fellow world citizens. I don’t recall ever thinking so much about the people in China, Italy, Spain, India and New York, not to mention every Canadian who has been severely impacted by the virus. Our kids are gaining an incredible awareness of people around the world. We have witnessed beautiful acts of mercy, kindness and generosity. While we all look forward to a time when we can return to our normal lives, we will never forget these weeks when we were given the gift of time and unity.
What about you, my friends? What are some of the blessings you are grateful for during this unique season of social distancing?
