It's so surreal to be living through a huge part of history. Living through a time that my great, great grandchildren will talk about, learn about, read about and wonder about. Growing up I remember my parents talking to their friends and asking questions like, "Where were you when JFK was shot?" And anyone they asked knowing exactly where they were and what they were doing. Then in September 2001, when I was sitting in my dorm room with my roommate Jill after returning from my 8am writing class, I was unfortunately able to answer the "Where were you when" question myself.
Today the Governor announced that schools will be closed for at least 3 weeks, all gatherings of 25 or more people will be canceled or postponed, and there will be no more dining in restaurants for the foreseeable future. I keep wavering between thinking this is all just a weird dream I'll wake up from, and knowing that it's real, it's happening, and I just have to do my best to keep everyone around me healthy and safe. I have a lot of moments of sadness for my kids because, like all parents, I want to protect them from everything bad. They both love their teachers, their schools, their classmates, their after school activities so much and I hate that it's all just been canceled. But it's more than that. They're so innocent, so pure, so naive. I don't want that to change or for them to be traumatized by any of this.
I'm not sure what all of us being home all day every day for weeks on end will be like, but I know that I'm the luckiest person alive to be able to spend it with my little family. I worry about my parents, even though I know they'll be fine (they're the youngest 69 and 70 year old people you could ever meet). I'm sad my sisters and I were just starting weekly cousin play dates that will have to be put on hold for a while. And of course I'm worried for the world. But I'm an optimist; I have to be. So although I'm spending the majority of my days worrying lately, I also know everything is going to be okay.
I've started to think about some goals I have for this time period. Of course, the main one is making sure my kids are still playing, learning, having fun and being typical 5 and 6 year olds, even if that means staying in and around their house for an extended period of time. And I'll be reminding them often of how lucky they are to even have a house and food to be home-bound in. This morning I spent a few hours cleaning and reorganizing the playroom, and I hope to do that with more rooms throughout the house. My least favorite exercise has always been running, but I'm hoping to change that. I want to use the track next to my house to practice my running and maybe even enjoy it when all is said and done.
And I really hope this is my last doom and gloom post for a while, because these posts were really supposed to be an outlet for the nonsense and humor of my life, not the apocalyptic death spirals that they've turned into. So tune in next time for some hopefully lighter topics, like what it's like to plan a day full of activities for my children and instead inevitably give up and put on Frozen 2 at 9:00am.
