Social Distancing Diaries: Day 20

Dear Diary

Let’s start with a Hallelujah—How about that sunshine?!?! Can I get an “Amen!”? 

The lack of rain lured me outside to do some yard work. I have now entered the club: Neighbors Who Have Mowed”. It’s not very exclusive. I might be the last member.

Today’s blog theme is: These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Meet Rita. Ain’t she a Beaut!

Working outside reminded me of another favorite yard implement: My cordless, battery operated weed whacker. I call her “Rita. Rita Ryobi.” I love her. Today I spotted an electric pole saw in my dad’s garage. I’m wondering, if I’m really good, will he let me use that?

Favorite Beverage: Unsweetened iced tea. In the summer, Tom and I drink a ½ gallon per day.

Favorite Snack: Popcorn. Favorite Topping: Adult Popcorn. It’s our family’s favorite. We call it Adult Popcorn because when we first discovered it the younger kids didn’t like it. Now they love it. It’s a mixture of brown sugar, salt, garam masala, and a dash of cayenne pepper on buttered popcorn.

Favorite Child: Eden

Favorite Flower: Lily of the Valley. Bonus: they bloom on my birthday

Favorite Radio Station: NPR

Favorite Genre: Historical Documentaries

Favorite Meal to Make: Pesto Chicken in the crock pot. Seriously—it does not get easier. I make and freeze gobs of pesto in the summer. I freeze in ½ cup amounts. After the chicken is cooked, mix ½ cup pesto with ½ cup sour cream (or plain yogurt) and pour over the chicken. Serve with rice. Bonus Tip: Our favorite travel food in the summer (cuz we’re cheap like that) is to pack pesto pasta salad (throw some grape tomatoes and mini fresh mozzarella balls in there, pack the kalamata olives separately because not everyone in the family is as bougie as I) and cantaloupe cubes. Both of these will keep in the cooler or hotel fridge for 2-3 days. If your hotel has a fridge. Sometimes we stay in places that don’t and sometimes I lock the door and don’t let my sister leave the room (my sister, Karen, and I go on road trips and sometimes we stay in sketchy places). Also, apples and peanut butter and cheese and crackers. Boom! You only need to eat out once a day!

Favorite Snack 2.0: Crackers and cheese. These are the World’s Most Perfect Food.

Also, I Googled bougie to see if I spelled it right and I discovered this alternate definition. Which I will leave you with:

1.    a thin, flexible surgical instrument for exploring or dilating a passage of the body.

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 19

Dear Diary

I’m back!!! We’ll continue with the blog takeover another day. Rest assured, Hayley and Ellen will have their turns. You’d think that having not written for a few days I would have lots to say. Hmm. You’d think.

Being Wednesday it was Pick Up School Lunch Day. Hayley went along for something to do but considering the volume level in the car she might have regretted her decision. But lunches today rocked! Grilled chicken, hamburger, and pizza (they get 3 lunches on Wednesday)! We’ve been collecting the milks from lunch (we’re not a milk-drinking family) and to put them to good use I made homemade tapioca pudding today. Mmmm.

Fun Fact: On Monday Ellen made a 10 question quiz about herself. I scored 9/10. Eden scored 2/10. Hayley, Ellen’s twin, scored 7/10. If you read between the lines that I’m really proud of myself, you’re observant.

Eden diligently writing cards to everyone she knows

The volume level in the house has been Bothersome-To-Say-The-Least. I’m a quiet person and I like things to be quiet. I often ride in the car without any music or radio on because I need to fill up my Quiet Quotient. (I made that up. It’s not real, but it should be.) I confess that yesterday I had a Bad Fleeting Thought—you know those bark collars they have for dogs? Well, you’re observant—fill in the blanks.

I recognize that, although our days are rather mundane, our emotions remain elevated. So I try to give to each child extra attention when I sense they need some. One of our favorite comfort activities is to snuggle on the couch and I read aloud. My #1 choice is to read chapters from Winnie the Pooh. I do a great Eeyore voice. I’m happy that I got to do that yesterday. Today Lily thanked me for always being there for her. My reply: “It’s not like I can go anywhere!” Thankfully she gets my humor.

Eden announced today that she would “write letters to everyone she knows.” Praise God for those card packs that occasionally go on sale 70% off at Michael’s! Your girl is stocked! I’m so proud of Eden for doing this activity, on her own initiative!

I’ve been a one-woman-mask-sewing factory this week. In addition to a few outside orders I made masks for everyone in our family. We don’t intend for the kids to go anywhere, but if they do, they’ll have masks. Eden assures me she’s not going anywhere because she hates the feel of that mask. I christened mine today when I went to the store. Verdict: people understood me when I spoke, so that fear was unfounded. My glasses fog when I exhale and unfog when I inhale. 

Fun Fact: Sometimes, just for a change of scenery, I use different bathrooms around the house.

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 18

Hello Fellow Humans!

I’m Eden and I will be taking over the blog (for today)! I’m proud to be the middle child of this crazy clan. Believe me, it’s a lot crazier on the home front! Here are some special nuggets about me.

 Age: 15

Grade: 9

Favorite TV Show: When Calls The Heart… cliff-hangers GALORE

All-Time Favorite Movie: Entire Harry Potter Series

Favorite Color: Yellow

Will Always Have: A book

Extra Curricular Activities (when not quarantined): Youth group, church choir, gym

My day started around 6:30 (I’m an early riser). I took a shower, got dressed, and had breakfast. At 8:30 my fam had worship and prayer. Great way to stay kingdom-minded and live for God with our head, heart and hands (dad’s phrase). I did schoolwork. Not much to say there but I am thankful we have that ability. I had sister time and ate lunch.

April/Easter Mantel :)

In the afternoon, I called one of my youth leaders and confidante, Laura. Nice to see a face of someone I’m not stuck with. On to my daily screening of When Calls The Heart. The railroad tries to come to town (denied). Helped decorate the house for Easter. We will still do foot-washing and sing the Hallelujah Chorus even if it’s at home.  Supper was good. We had sausage, egg, and cheese on a biscuit. 

Maybe more When Calls The Heart later. Depends if the heart calls, I guess.

-Eden Grosh

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 17

Hey Y’all!

It’s Lily (the youngest of the four) and I am going to do the blog takeover for today. First off, here’s a little rundown about me!

Age: 11

Grade: 6

Favorite TV Show: Diary of a Future President and High School Musical the Musical the Series 

All-Time Favorite Movie: High School Musical… all three films are AMAZING

Favorite Colors: white and blush pink

Will Always Have: a hair tie, like always!

Extra Curricular Activities (when not quarantined): contemporary dance, field hockey, jazz band (I play the sax), church choir, and DIS Live (my schools’ “news channel”) 

Ok, let’s get on with the day! My day started at 7:00am. With an out of the ordinary urge, I woke and did I-Ready. If you don’t know what I-Ready is, you should be happy. I’m sorry teachers, but I can’t stand it. Anyways, out of boredom, I did two lessons and quizzes on the app. I am very proud. Me and my family did our morning worship time and then I had my first Zoom call with my class. We talked a lot. Most of the talk was about puppies. I tried to work on some schoolwork, but I got confuzzled. I messaged a few teachers and I got some chores done. 

In the afternoon, now that I think about it, I did nothing. Hahaha… typical Lily. I listened to music and watched YouTube. Super productive, right? Yeah, no.

 Personally, this time off has been kind of emotional for me. I really miss the DIS Live crew at school. I built AMAZING friendships there and I don’t want to lose them. We all have each others’ backs and each one of them is so funny. I worked really hard to get into the group and I want to at least say proper goodbyes. It takes a LOT for me to put myself out there and make friends even at school where I have known almost everyone since kindergarten.

 I’m starting to get HomeSick… Sick of Home. I just want to see the world again. I also want people who are in the target category to not be worried and I want everyone who has a rough home life to stay safe and happy.

 If you need encouragement during these times tell yourself these things everyday:

-       Trust the Process

-       Everything Happens for a Reason

-       God ALWAYS Has a Plan

-       You Were Put on the Earth for Such a Time as This 

Love people with so much love and be authentically you.  -Me

Lastly, please never stop praying and caring for everyone. I love all of you whether I know you or not

-Lily Grosh

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 16

Dear Diary

The desperation of this Social Distancing Thing might be summed up in this question I overheard today, “Hey Siri! Do you love me?”

Screenshot of the children’s choir song. So cool!

I imagine Siri is having more conversations than usual these past few weeks.

After my ego took quite a hit yesterday when Ellen was going to exclude me from being a tester for her Biblical maps project, I was indeed handed a packet to work on today. And I’m happy to report that I “knew enough” to complete it. It was pretty cool, actually! Perhaps she has become inspired to make some sort of Biblical literacy coloring book! Ask her about it.

This morning’s EBIC worship live stream was delightful. It was supposed to be Children’s Sunday with the 3 children’s choirs all sharing song selections. But through some really creative technology, our worship minister extraordinaire, Ken Hoover, solicited individual videos from the kids, all singing the same song, and he mushed them all together into one glorious song! It was delightful! It was a big techno day for me—I took part in my first Zoom meeting. Yep, it’s awkward. In my second Zoom meeting of the day our family “Zoomed” my in laws whom we haven’t seen in 2 weeks. They were pretty tickled by the whole experience.

I call this: The Socially Distanced Popsicle. The other half is across the table.

Also overheard today, 1. “Did you fart?” 2. “No!” 1. “When was the last time you farted?”

Goodness me! I didn’t know one was supposed to track such things!

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 15

Dear Diary

Today’s big event was to travel to Lily’s school to pick up her Chrome book. And then to travel BACK to Lily’s school to have said Chrome book adjusted so that it would connect to our home internet. So thankful to the staff who have put in many hours to trouble shoot the distribution of Chrome books! I hope you sleep well tonight!

I try to do a little bit of sewing each day. Today I was able to bless someone with a pair of masks in case she needs them while working at the hospital. And then I was able to continue to sew wallets. They bring me such joy! They are adorable!

My big accomplishment today was to clean out the refrigerator. Usually this task comes to mind the day AFTER the trash was picked up. But today I remembered in a timely manner! And I can say with confidence that any food in my fridge *is* (on this day) edible!

Eden and I have been reading aloud a detailed “coffee table book” about the Trapp Family Singers. Having finally finished it we re-watched the movie tonight. It’s the movie equivalent of comfort food. And if you eat ice cream while watching it, well, I’m not sure it’s possible to be any more comfortable!

Ellen spent the day plugging away at school work. She needed some testers for her project she was working on and requested Hayley and Tom. Why not me, I wondered? “I need a student and someone who knows something.” I’m really not sure if I should be offended. I’ll choose not to be.

This is my standing ovation from my family for cleaning the fridge.

Look at that beautiful fridge! So clean and shiny!

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 14

Dear Diary

I’m gonna say it—ZOOM induces panic in me! I have never liked video calls. In fact, I dislike phone calls in general. There’s been a proliferation of Zoom activity now that every organization wants to remain connected despite our physical isolation. Hubby, Tom, eats these up. He loves them. He watches multiple gatherings per day. Occasionally I join in. Tonight we watched InterVarsity’s virtual Large Group Meeting. It was really well done. My take away from the speaker, James Choung , was this: Kill Expectations; Raise Expectancy. What a great paradigm shift! When we hold on to our expectations, they are just that—“ours”. It’s what we think should happen. When we are expectant our focus shifts to the limitless possibilities that God can bring about.

In our household, we continue to grieve at times what we have lost. My encouragement has been to look beyond Mom’s ability to be your only source of comfort. You have other resources and tools that you need to draw from. Not to mention that Mom needs to look beyond her own ability as well!

The girls and I went for a drive today! In 2 weeks we’ve used ¼ of tank of gas. So, putting my eco-freak tendencies aside, we drove around somewhat aimlessly. We yelled “Hi!” to friends’ houses as we drove past. One friend was even outside doing yard work so we pulled over and chatted for a few minutes. I even trash-picked 3 chairs that Lily helped me to power wash this afternoon. Tomorrow’s big event is driving to Lily’s school to pick up her Chrome book and then…going through the automatic car wash!! This is a big deal, and one that I outsource to Tom because I have a phobia of automatic car washes.  Hmm, video conference calls and automatic car washes. I sound really lame.

Feel the power! Also, don’t stand downwind.

Pro-Tip: Wear goggles when chopping onions

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 13

Dear Diary

I was informed that my blog is no longer funny. I agree that it’s not dripping with wit like it did the first few days. But it’s definitely reflective of my personality. There have been many times when I was being particularly witty and someone remarked that I should start a blog. And then there are many more mundane days in between the witty ones when I thought, “Thank goodness I didn’t try to start a blog!” So, as I tell my kids, “You get what you get and you don’t get upset!” If I’m not witty enough for you, there is plenty else on the internet you may read. I won’t be offended.

But I have been touched by the sincere comments you leave on Facebook about my blog posts. Thank you for reaching out in encouragement and camaraderie . <I had to look up how to spell that. I was way off.>  It means so much to me!

This afternoon was Yard Work. I pruned 2 of my apple trees and my ornamental plum. Dad and his Chainsaw helped with the bigger branches. Then he introduced me to a tool to rival the hedge trimmers as my new favorite. It was awesomely powerful! Bonus: I brought in a few plum branches that are just beginning to flower. They are lovely!

Earlier today I cleaned out my freezer <So SATISFYING!> and decided to thaw the frozen bananas. That meant I needed to bake banana bread this evening after I exhausted myself with the pruning. Oops. Didn’t plan that one so well. At least I emphasized my exhaustion enough to my family that they pitched in to pick up the rest of sticks in the yard. Score!

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 12

Dear Diary

It’s weird how we’re falling into a routine. It doesn’t seem quite so strange anymore. Today we received word that Ellen will be finishing her semester at home. We still don’t know when or what the procedure will be for retrieving her belongings from Gordon College, but at some point we’ll have to make a trip to Massachusetts. Grove City College has yet to make a similar announcement, but Hayley has already moved out, so… College classes for both girls seem to be going pretty well.

And today we received word that the public school will begin online classes on Monday. I think both girls will be eager to have some school work. I’m not just making that up—they’ve said it!

Another thing I find strange is that my anxiety level hasn’t gone way down. That may seem like the most obvious thing in the world, but I’m not particularly anxious about contracting the virus. I think I’m anxious that I’m not accomplishing more during this time. There’s a slew of things I say I’d like to tackle When I Have the Time. And now, I Have the Time! But there is still not enough hours in the day for them. I try to give myself grace and remind myself that it really does require a lot of time to manage a household of 6 people, even when no one is going anywhere. But I still can’t help but think I should be doing more. And it causes me anxiety. Truth be told, I think I also feel anxious about the prospect of returning to “normal” life. In my ideal world I’d be home all day, every day. Except for occasional fun outings. Now, in a strange turn of events, I’m living my ideal life (minus the fun outings). And I feel anxious when I consider having to go back to those other activities. Then I wonder if I’m a touch agoraphobic! And then I feel anxious about that!

Waffles for Supper! One batch was not enough. Two batches was too much. This recipe is akin to the Kashi frozen waffles. They freeze well :)

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 11

Dear Diary

I’m relieved that there are enriching activities available to the children.

It’s getting harder to think of interesting things to write about. We’ve fallen into somewhat of a routine and I’m pretty much ok with it. I feel that the kids are figuring out how to occupy themselves and it does not *always* involve an electronic device. 

Eden is obsessed with massive dot-to-dot books. She received a few for her birthday back in February and is working through one. She literally spends hours a day on it. I don’t know how she can even read the numbers; in this book each picture goes up to 1,000. 

Lily announced today that she thinks she might even get back to the math app that the school uses. Tom had come up with a writing prompt for them today but everyone pretended not to see his paper laying on the counter, so we’ll save that for tomorrow.

The twins are in full swing with their college class work, which, incidentally provides a great excuse when asked to wash the dishes or clean the bathroom. <insert slightly panicked voice> “But I have *work* I have to do!”

When it came time for our Daily Outing to go pick up the school lunches, I said to the girls, “Do you want to go for a ride?” and they jumped up, eager to go for a drive. Which led Lily to remark, “It’s like we’re dogs!”

I had a direct request from a friend asking for masks for the employees of their family’s essential business. So yesterday and today I have been in mask production mode. I’ve been able to use up a bunch of small pieces of fabrics that I have no emotional attachment to. But the masks are for grown men, so I’ve tried to keep that in mind as I was selecting fabric.

This afternoon Ellen and I stretched our legs on a walk after the sunshine came out. Which led to Today’s Best Quote: “You can’t do counseling using flashcards!” I surmised that since the same troubling topics keep coming up among the girls during this quarantine that I could save time by just whipping out the appropriate response from my deck of counseling flashcards. This idea was poo-poo’ed by Ellen. But she might be open to pre-recorded messages accessed by an automated phone menu. Also amusing was how Ellen lamented having to “prepare” her meals at home. I said, “You mean, after I have purchased and put away and then actually prepared the meals, you are complaining about having to re-heat the leftovers because that’s SO MUCH WORK?” Yes, in fact that was what she meant. <Don’t get the wrong idea—this is all in fun. Ellen is a very big help around the house!>

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 10

Dear Diary,

It’s not all fun and games. Today was a hard day for reasons that I’ll share when the time is right. But I’m thankful for my girls who were enthusiastic about creating a poster of encouragement this morning. I love my girls so much! They fill my heart with such joy! 

 Today and another day recently, in the midst of discouraging circumstances, someone declared, “This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it!” It takes on a whole new level of meaning when the circumstances you find yourself in certainly don’t warrant “happiness.” It becomes almost a declaration of defiance. *This* is the day the Lord has made! This *is* the day the Lord has made! This is the day the *Lord* has made!

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 9

Dear Diary, The Hobbit Edition

8:30am: Livestream worship with EBIC. Shout out to Pastor Adam for another spot-on sermon! Take away nugget: More important than what you decide inside the voting booth is how you treat your neighbor outside the voting booth. 

10:30am: Inspired by Eden reading an entire book in 2 days, I decided to read for pleasure today. I’m re-reading “Chains” by Laurie Halse Anderson. It’s book 1 of a trilogy and last year I bought book 3 but haven’t read it yet. Since it’s been so long since I read Books 1 and 2 I need to re-read them. I suffer from what I affectionately dubbed “Swiss Cheese Brain.” My memory for books and movies (and frankly whole conversations) begins to fade as soon as I read the last page or the final credits roll (or I walk away in the case of a conversation). Never be reticent to remind me of something I said or did—I likely forgot.  Also, don’t take it personally. My Swiss Cheese Brain is no respecter of socioeconomic, gender, color, creed, or any other distinction.

Sausage and Potato soup and biscuits

11:24am: My dad texted me to ask if we’d like to share soup with him that he’d be making over the open fire. <Side Note: If you know my dad you know that cooking over an open fire is not work to him. It is luxury.> Why sure we would love to join you! What time? “When it’s ready.” I determined that would be in about an hour.  So an hour later I walked over to find him still peeling the potatoes for the soup and building the fire in the bake oven where he will bake the biscuits that, oh, by the way, will you mix up some biscuits?? <Side Note: Dad built this bake oven using clay he dug out of the creekbank down on the farm.> Sure, I’ll mix up some biscuits. Folks, my dad was practicing the Slow Food Movement before it was trendy. 

1:30pm: The food was ready! It was worth waiting for.

6:00pm: Guess what?! Supper with my mom and dad at their house! This one was planned since yesterday. Not like the impromptu lunch, er, afternoon meal. OMG! Are we Hobbits??? I don’t think I care if I grow large hairy feet if it means I get to eat shrimp in garlic cream sauce, more homemade biscuits, and chocolate mousse!! Frodo, take me away!

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 8

Dear Diary

7:06am: Guess who’s at the grocery store? This girl! I politely delayed my arrival until after the 60+  Crowd hours. Surprised at how many people were there even at such an ungodly hour. Lots of produce. No ketchup.

9:15am: Walk with mom and Sadie dog. It’s ok to walk if you have a dog, right??

10:00am: Put together a new bread recipe…stay tuned.

10:30am: My family was generous and took care of themselves most of the day so that I could concentrate on my business. It was blissful. Shout out to those noise-cancelling BEATS headphones. I. Hear. No. One. It’s a-mazing.

11:30am: Lunch. Early because I had to be in the kitchen to get the bread into the oven.

2:30pm: Verdict on the bread… New favorite homemade bread! Italian Herb and Cheese bread. Here’s the link: https://theendlessappetite.com/italian-herbs-cheese-bread/?fbclid=IwAR2bEWR0PFVPhJGKP-wWMLeTEKJNEzFW386NGacsGA8NMwTC_CR1N2wRAZ4. Make it tomorrow. It’s SO good!

5:30pm: Homemade pizza for supper.

7:00pm: Talent Show, organized by Eden and Lily. A riotous good time!

There were power point slides

Eden and Lily sang a song Eden had written.

This was the curtain call for all the performers: Ellen and Hayley sang our new version of “Give Us Clean Hands”, Tom shared some “Dad Jokes”, Tyler rapped, Eden and Lily sang original songs and poetry. My talent was cooking and cleaning and I demonstrated that earlier in the day.

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 7

Dear Diary

Laundry Day. Not everyone in this house wears the same pair of joggers for 3 days in a row. That’s all I’m saying.

10:00am: Moved a card table into Ellen’s bedroom in hopes of it magically transforming itself into a desk. She misses her “spot” in the campus library. At Gordon she is plagued by a flock of crazy noisy birds outside her dorm room window. They are so loud they wake up Ellen and her roommate. I was concerned that she was trading the crazy noisy birds for squawking chickens and a rooster, but apparently she doesn’t mind chicken sounds.

That card table has waited its whole life to become Ellen’s Cool Desk. #forsuchatimeasthis

11:00am: Daily lunch run! Gave and received virtual hugs from Mrs. Walmer as we drove through the parking lot . Much rejoicing to find Trix breakfast bars in the bags today.

1:43pm: The washer and the dryer cycle ended AT THE SAME TIME today. My work on earth is done.

2:30pm: We’re dog-sitting for the weekend! It’s great to have Sadie here for a distraction . Folks, it was 75 degrees today! Crazy pants.

3:30pm: Fulfilled Ellen’s dreams by letting her clean out a few cupboards. Side benefit: REALLY happy chickens (lots of old crackers, etc.).

6:00pm: Since it’s become a hot topic, today’s supper was meatloaf (rosemary and sundried tomatoes), pierogies, roasted cauliflower (sumac and curry).

Tonight’s movie was the live action Lion King. Meh. When you know the plot so well, it’s hard to get excited.

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 6

Day 6: Dear Diary

Significant today: No one cried! That’s progress!

11:00am: Our daily outing to pick up the school lunches. Woo hoo! Much negotiating of food trades in the car on the way home since not all items were identical in both lunches.

12:30pm: Eden and Lily built a “King Sized Bed” on the living room floor. 

1:00pm: Since I wasn’t motivated to come up with something for Ellen to Stress Clean she helped Hayley to redecorate her bedroom. It’s looking much more dorm-like now. Hayley is happy and Ellen is quite pleased with herself. Speaking of dorms, there are a few Gordon College students remaining on campus if doing such is safer than returning home. This includes Ellen’s friend who lives on the floor above her. This friend was able to retrieve items from Ellen’s room and mail them to Ellen today. So she’s feeling much more settled about facing her classes. It also helps that her dad’s office is stocked with Bible commentaries.

1:30pm: I like to read aloud to the girls. Today Eden chose Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. It’s one of our favorites; we’ve read it multiple times. Morbidly apropos.

3:00pm: Apparently Social Distancing is exhausting. Hayley slept for 14 hours last night and Eden took a nap this afternoon. Who knew?

5:30pm: Once again there was great enthusiasm for supper. You’d think I was a rock star. It’s good for my ego.

6:30pm: We all watched the live action Aladdin movie. Notably not one of us fell asleep. Must have been because of all the sleeping that had taken place earlier!

9:45pm: Remember I said no one cried? I spoke too soon.

Pro Tip: Noise cancelling headphones are da bomb! Sometimes I’m listening to something. Sometimes I’m not.

Blanket Bed

Pro Tip: This is not the time to ration the bacon. Cook it all!

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 5

Dear Diary,

It seems we all are smacking up against reality on different days. This morning was my time. Thankfully Eden was there to lend a shoulder to cry on.

9:00am: My family came up with an intricate system so that we can see at a glance the status of “interruptability”. I’m still learning the system. Check back in a week. Side benefit: the front of the fridge got cleaned off!

10:00am: Fed up with the cluttered countertops, I tackled them. Ellen asked if I was Stress Cleaning. No, just finally getting to tasks that I’ve been postponing for months (years?).

11:00am: Our school is offering free lunches. So Eden, Lily and I drove out to pick up lunch. Never have we been so excited to go for a ride! The girls enjoyed their lunches and I enjoyed not having to get lunch ready for them! I think this will be something we’ll look forward to every day!

3:00pm: Grandpa joined Eden and I on our Daily Walk down to the farm. It was lovely. Grandpa reminisced frequently about his boyhood as we walked around the farm. I learned what a lime kiln was and what the horse power shed was used for (hint: it’s not where the tractors were stored).

6:00pm: The family has been enjoying our suppers. Ellen commented that she looks forward to suppertime because it’s something that changes each day! Also when Tyler (Ellen’s BF) came over, we designated him as the “On Call” person on the availability chart. We assigned him a magnet, so it’s all legit.

7:00pm: Although we haven’t fallen for the “homeschooling” shenanigans, I decided that learning Tik Tok dances does indeed count for gym class. And if that fails, there’s always Backyard Football with Tyler.

Grandpa and Eden found a double-seater stump

The steers were very eager for human contact. Relatable.

Yeah, I don’t know either. Some people here are really into Systems Management.

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 4

Dear Diary,

Optimistic that today would be special, I changed out of my grey joggers that I had been wearing for 3 days into my blue joggers. Funny how they are called joggers. Mine don’t even walk without me in them.

9:00am: In an effort to ground the uncertainty of our lives on the certainty of Jesus, today was our first Family Worship Time. It was a short time of worship and prayer. If you’d like us to pray for your specific needs, please let me know.

Today also seemed to be the day when the reality of the isolation began to settle in.  Although all 6 of us are now together under one roof, 3 of the 4 students aren’t equipped with academic materials. That’s especially been hard on Ellen who left campus for spring break—not for an indefinite hiatus which has turned into online classes. So she doesn’t have all of her books and notes. And not knowing when she’ll be reunited with her belongings and friends is difficult. Eden the Extrovert is struggling too. After some moments of smacking up against reality she rallied and occupied herself in great ways. But truthfully there’s been a fair amount of Door Slamming and Angry Words today.

12:30pm: We also had moments of levity. The girls and I worked together to create a new version of Chris Tomlin’s worship song, “Give Us Clean Hands.” Here’s our lyrics:

We wash our hands.

We do not sneeze.

Oh Spirit come keep us healthy.

We stay inside.

We do not leave.

Oh Lord we might go crazy.

Give us clean hands.

Give us Purell.

Let us not touch our hands to our faces

<repeat>

Bridge: 

Oh God let us be a generation that keeps

That keeps away from all our neighbors…

2:30pm: Eden and Grandma and I walked down to the farm to visit the goats. That was delightful. Baby goats are always delightful.

Today’s Best Quote was: “It’s social isolation, not the Hunger Games!”

Eden quickly became popular with the goats.

Someone needs to learn social distancing.

Oh for the love all things adorable!

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 3

Day 3: Dear Diary,

6:30am: Woke up early to send Hubs off on a road trip across the state to retrieve Daughter #4 from her college. Last night the school said they should either leave or be stuck on campus. She was eager to get outta Dodge. So thankful for sunny skies to facilitate an easy trip. Her online classes don’t begin until next Monday, so guess who’s happy. Until she figures out that I have a LONG list of “projects” with which I need help.

Without going into the gory details, I spent the rest of the morning sick. *Not* COVID-19. I said I’d spare the details.

12:30pm: With the morning’s plague apparently gone, I took advantage of the sunshine streaming in the windows to wash all of the curtains and clean the windows. Lily helped. I keep a mental collection of things I’ve said as a parent that I never expected to say. Today I added, “Don’t waste the hand sanitizer on a dead bug!”  My favorite is, “Get your head out of the potty! How many times do I have to tell you?!”

4:30pm: Having arrived home, we moved Hayley’s things back into the house. Wasn’t expecting to do that until May. Perhaps that frees up a day for me in May. Or, if I’m lucky (and I really would be thrilled if this was the case, but I doubt it) I’ll get to move Hayley back into her dorm and then out AGAIN in May!

Seriously though, my heart breaks for the students who are being sent home from their study abroad programs and for young adults being sent home before finishing their missions with the World Race. Ellen plans to study abroad next spring and last year Hayley was on the World Race. I can’t imagine either of them having to come home early. They would be devastated. So please pray for these students. And seniors, both High School and college, who are missing out on things they’ve looked forward to for years. I don’t doubt the decisions to send them home, but it’s sad nonetheless. While you’re praying, send up some intercession for the health care providers. God bless the healthcare providers.

6:00pm: Supper. Ate the homemade chicken noodle soup that my mom made for us when she found out that I was sick this morning. I’m legit spoiled.

Hi MooMoo! It’s nice to have you home again! Thanks for bringing Hayley with you!

Social Distancing Diaries: Day 2

Dear Diary, Today just feels weird. 

8:30am: We started the day watching the livestream of our church’s service. Yeah, it feels strange to worship in the living room, with only your family members, some still in pajamas. All of us trying to figure out if it’s ok to talk during the service. Someone asked for permission to use the bathroom.  Despite the weird-factor we still prayed, sang, and listened to an excellent sermon. 

 *Soapbox highlights from the sermon*

1. What takes us from diversity to division is the addition of contempt toward one another.

2. When encountering opinions different from your own, <sarcasm alert: Like that ever happens!> be confidently curious. Ask, “What led you to that view?” My commentary: this is how my journey into race issues began; I realized that if my brothers and sisters feel strongly about something, even if that thing is beyond my frame of reference or experience, I have an obligation to ask why they feel that way. Perhaps the stronger you feel distant from someone else position, the closer you need to listen. This is so hard.

3. Be compellingly meek. The word “meek” comes from the Greek root meaning “taming a wild stallion”. It is strength under control. It is not weakness.

4. Be courageously loving. Jesus commands us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Come back when you’ve mastered that one.

 Shout out to Pastor Adam Forry for the excellent words of wisdom!

11:45am: Eat when you’re hungry. I ate the last piece of leftover pizza, Cheetos, and 2 deviled eggs. Nary a vegetable in sight.

 Today feels weird because typically I try to live my Sundays a little different than I do the other days of the week. I try to do something that is “recreate” ational. Sabbath is for us to “recreate”. I try not to make Sunday the same old same old. But since all of my normal daily activities are suspended I feel freer every day to choose activities that I would normally postpone to the tyranny of the urgent. So, in a sense, maybe this indefinite period of time is an extended Sabbath. Hmm, isn’t that a change of perspective ?!

12:00pm:  Visited my parents next door.

1:00pm: I was home alone with Lily for most of the day while the rest of the family visited my in-laws. Lily has a cold <not the Corona virus> so we followed the Rules and kept her at home. She wanted to “make something.” She decided to make a hair scrunchy. I showed great generosity and let her use my sewing machine. I confess that I’m usually quite stingy with sharing my sewing machine. But with so much time at home the next few weeks I might just learn to share! 

2:00pm: The rest of the family braved the grocery store, again. It’s amazing how many things I can think of that we need when hubs announces he’s going to the grocery store! Still panicking that we’ll run out of food. Totally irrational fear since I need to exercise caution when opening my freezer lest I lose a toe to a falling Tupperware of frozen leftovers.

3:00pm: Went along with my friend Deb and her boys to fill her water jugs at the spring water station. Perhaps that violates the rules of social distancing, but sometimes we really need each other. Doctors and nurses do it…

5:00pm: Finally watched Frozen 2. Prefer Frozen 1. Haters back off.

Scrunchy sewing