We are in it, friends. We are starting week six of being at home, and it is no easy feat. So maybe you need some ideas of things that are helping me right now? Or at least we can commiserate together, right? Godspeed.
1) Alone Time
Spoiler alert: This doesn't exist for a lot of people right now, myself included. I am in a house with a husband working from home and three kids doing distance learning. And this introvert is far from thriving. So "alone time" looks different just about every day, and it's more often than not quite lacking. Thank goodness it's spring and not the middle of January, because getting outside every day is saving my life right now. I'm also getting really good at closing my bedroom door. I read or craft or just sit in the relative quiet and everyone can just stay in the rest of the house and let me do that. And it's fine. Really. I do start to hyperventilate when I think about the fact that the kids will likely not be going back to school until next fall. Because the timeline of me never being alone just gets longer and longer. But I'm okay. It will all be okay. (Breathe).
2) Multiplying fractions
Just kidding! Fifth grade math sucks. I don't want to change that mixed number into an improper fraction. I don't want to talk about mean, median, mode, and range. I don't want any of it! And guess what? I'M A TEACHER. But guess what else? I have never wanted to homeschool my kids. (Preschool with Will last year doesn't count). Knox McCoy refers to it as the separation of church and state. I am a better mom if someone else can be in charge of teaching you. But hey, that's not the way things are working right now. Luckily, our kids are really rocking the distance learning thing. Jackson is pretty much on his own--he wakes up early and gets it all done in a couple of hours. Leah's teacher is doing a little more than required, since the fifth grade team recognized that the flex learning boards (the only requirement from the state for K-5 right now) are not doing much to prepare these kiddos for entering middle school. So they are sticking with some of their actual curriculum, which I 100% agree with and support, but it does require more help from me. And Will has a variety of things to keep him busy and engaged. He mostly loves reading books and seeing his teacher's and friends' faces on Google Meet. Today he jumped online during his teacher's office hours and was the only kid on, so he used his time with her full attention to show her all the Lego vehicles he'd made this weekend. And God bless Mrs. Loney, because she actually sounded very interested. ;) Which brings me to my next item....
3) Teachers
God bless teachers! Who in the world could have ever predicted that this is what teaching would look like this year? There is so much that is new and frustrating and just plain weird, but they are handling it with such care and grace. We are so grateful. But, MAN, are we going to enjoy seeing teacher in real life at some point again!
4) Cross Stitch
I have some crochet projects right now too, but cross stitch was new for me and it's super fun! I put a podcast in my earbuds and sit and stitch. I got a couple cute kits from Mid-Century Maude on Etsy, but I've also ordered some more materials and I can't wait to get them. I also ordered a Paint by Number that has yet to ship, but that will be another nice little craft. :)
5) Cooking
I mean, it's a good thing I like being in my kitchen because I feel like I've cooked 8,000 meals this month. We don't generally eat out very much, but I think the fact that everyone is here for every meal and snack every day makes it feel like all I do is cook and clean up. One thing that is saving my life around meals right now is the Lazy Genius' concept of having a meal matrix. I'm all for meal planning, but this makes it even easier, which I think we all need right now. You basically assign a type of food to each day of the week. For instance, my April meal plan looks like: pasta Monday, Mexican Tuesday, Asian/Middle Eastern Wednesday, breakfast Thursday, soup Friday, grilling Saturday and random/leftover Sunday. This will change as we head into more summery months (lots more grilling, less soup), but it's working right now and that's all that matters. So if that's helpful, I highly recommend it. :)
6) Instagram
I quit social media in September. I got back on Instagram in November, but I didn't get back on Facebook until last week. And frankly, I'm "back on Facebook" in the sense that my account has been reactivated. I'm not loving much about being back, so I'm keeping my distance. :) But there are some accounts on Instagram that are just making me happy lately, so if you're not following these yet, go check them out.
@tanksgoodnews (lots of feel good stories)
@jimgaffigan (he has a nightly "Dinner with the Gaffigans" that moved from IG to YouTube. It's gold)
@somegoodnews (this is John Krasinski's baby and it's amazing)
@simoncholland (he's just funny)
@dustinnickerson (also very funny)
@davebarnesmusic (again, funny, but also very musically talented)
@jenhatmaker (she's showing us all the real life feelings and just making life easier by being normal)
@nathanwpylestrangeplanet (the silliest little cartoons)
@anniefdowns (she's been quarantined a little longer than the rest of us because she was actually exposed--she's fine--but she has some very real feelings about everything too, and it's refreshing)
@adriennehedger (also a cartoonist--she draws about her real life family and they're hilarious)
@josielewisart (local--to me--artist, but she also posts hilarious Tik Tok clips on her stories and honestly, that alone is worth the follow)
@nataliegrant (she and her husband do a "Song a Day" in IGTV and it's always so moving)
On the topic of social media, if you are following people who are not helpful during this time, you need to go unfollow them. If you have people who are telling you how to use this time and be productive, you can say bye. Or just mute them for a bit. If you follow people with wildly different political views than you and normally you can navigate that divide but right now it's just too much, let it be too much and let go for a while. I promise it will do wonders for your mental health. For real.
7) Books!
You'd think this quarantine would be making me read more, but it's not. I mean, I read a lot and I'm still reading a lot, but I'm not reading more than a lot and I guess I assumed I would be. I blame the cross stitch. Anyway, here you go. (And guess what? I don't have the time or energy to find photos of book covers for all of these. Sorry. That's just real life. If you are a visual person, go google them yourself. Sorry for being bossy). ;)
An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor
Taylor is such a lovely writer. I read and loved her Holy Envy in the fall, but I knew she had other books. This book is "A Geography of Faith," and she recounts how she encounters God in her everyday life.
The Dutch House and Run by Ann Patchett
Before this year, I'd only ever read Bel Canto by Patchett. I loved it, but I never came across anything else by her. The Dutch House came out last year and it's just beautiful. Then I ran out of library books and remembered that I'd gotten a copy of her Run at a book swap last year, so I read that and loved it as well. I'm just a big fan of Patchett. She writes so beautifully and makes it seem so effortless.
Dad's Maybe Book by Tim O'Brien
I read O'Brien's The Things They Carried years ago and loved it. This book is more memoir about his life as a dad, which didn't happen for him until much later in life. It's funny and poignant and sweet.
Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl
I read and loved Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires I believe last year. She is a food writer and was the food critic for the New York Times (which was the topic of Garlic and Sapphires). Plums recounts her ten years as the editor in chief at Gourmet magazine. It will make you want to cook fancy food or visit a fancy restaurant. Or both.
I'll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos
This was an Anne Bogel ("What Should I Read Next" podcast) recommendation, and it did not disappoint. It shifts between the 1950s and the present, and the story is so beautiful and intriguing. She's another writer who makes the craft seem so easy.
Don't Overthink It by Anne Bogel
Haha--speak of the devil. :) Bogel's other two books (Reading People and I'd Rather Be Reading were so lovely, so I promptly preordered this when I saw it months ago. And I'm so glad I did. It was so good, and it's also oddly timely for this weird world we're living in!
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
I've never read anything else by Moyes (I think I saw the movie for one), but my dad dropped this off a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed it! It's based on a true story about a group of women who run a traveling library in the mountains of Kentucky. Super interesting story.
BONUS: Books that are coming soon that I'm super excited about!
Jen Hatmaker's Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire comes out TOMORROW! Yes, I will be watching for the UPS truck all dang day. I am just a fan of Jen's. She's just real and honest and funny and I can't wait to read this.
Chris Heuertz's The Enneagram of Belonging comes out in a month. Heuertz wrote The Sacred Enneagram, which is one of my favorite books on the Enneagram. We also got to see him at a conference, and a lot of what he talked about was "from his next book," and guess what!? The next book is almost here!
Knox McCoy's All Things Reconsidered comes out in June, and I loved his The Wondering Years so much, so I can't wait for this one.
Kendra Adachi's The Lazy Genius Way comes out in August. I have been a Lazy Genius follower for a few years, and I am SO happy that she's finally got a book!
WOW. The end. Thanks for reading. Here's to surviving this weirdness. In in together, friends.
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