Just over three weeks ago was a typical Thursday. I’d attended an after-school volleyball game (Rachel’s first). I dropped Eve off at soccer practice then headed straight to drop Rachel off at hers. That bought me two hours to drop off donations at the local thrift store and make my weekly grocery trip to Winco.
COVID-19 had been marching its way slowly across the country for over a month, beginning with Washington (with whom we share a border). Idaho was one of the last holdouts, so I wasn’t concerned. And frankly, though I’d heard about people hoarding toilet paper, I’d had no issues securing what I needed in the previous few weeks.
But Winco that night was a disaster. Still well-stocked. But completely unprepared for the crowd that descended at the exact same time I did. Holy cow. I waited in line for over 45 minutes to check out, making me 10 minutes late to pick up Rachel from practice. (Tim picked up Eve, since her practice was closer to his work).
While waiting in line I discovered that our church (a global organization) had canceled all Sunday meetings until further notice. Huge deal. Dominoes from there on out. Soccer game canceled. Then all games/practices for the next two weeks. After that-after-school activities/sports canceled. Not long after that – school was canceled.
Suddenly my schedule was completely clear. No running kids to extracurriculars. No art lessons in the near future. No church obligations to fulfill. No waking up at 5:30 to make breakfast before Lily leaves for seminary. No Joy School lessons, no teaching piano, no drivers ed.
Granted, I actually enjoy most of the things I do as a stay-at-home mom. But the term stay-at-home has sort of become a misnomer. And I won’t lie when I say that parenting five kids and all that entails occasionally leads to serious burnout.
It turns out that canceling everything is all I’ve ever wanted.
It means that family dinner happens every single night now. It means my gas tank has been sitting on full for longer than 5 days straight. It means my to-do list is shrinking instead of growing longer under a cloud of obligations I haven’t ever been able to shake. It means my work-from-home husband gets to take a walk with me daily during his lunch break. It means family movie night is every night. And so much more.
So here are a few things I’ve caught on camera the past two weeks:
Home church – complete with Jack giving his first on-camera talk and a few families (including ours) providing singing time for our ward family.
Tim making a Toney family special for Pi Day.
Green pancakes for St. Patty’s Day.
Planting our spring garden.
Sunday outing along the Boise River. Lots of rock-skipping (or, in Jack’s case, throwing).
Breaking in the fire pit for the season.
Pinterest-fail donuts for Anna’s birthday breakfast. (They were tasty – but the hack I’d secured to compensate for the lack of a donut pan misfired, in a major way.)
Hours of fun playing with rice.
Brand new throw pillows for the couches (I bought the fabric last summer so this to-do list item was long overdue).
Matching piano bench re-cover.
A deep appreciation for a full-container of eggs.
Starting on a recipe book of family favorites for my soon-to-be-college-bound daughters. Beginning with banana chocolate chip muffins.
Game night with the fam.
A complete inventory of our food storage. Spring cleaning – 5 boxes destined for Deseret Industries (that will unfortunately languish in our house until it reopens after the pandemic dies down). A freshly cleaned (and painted) pantry.
We even resurrected the butterfly garden we used years ago and ordered some painted lady caterpillars.
Plus a whole lot of reading, binging on TV, video gaming and overall laziness.
I’m living my best life, peeps.
I am jealous of the baking. I haven’t been able to buy flour for a month! I am not in love with remote teaching but it does have perks: I can go to the bathroom whenever I want, have more than 15 minutes to each lunch, and can wear sweats to “work.” You have been more productive than I, but I have also started my garden, have been sewing face masks for local hospitals, and have been trying to make a more conscious effort to keep in touch with people. I am hoping I can get the canoe out soon for a nice quiet, social distancing activity.
No flour? That’s a bummer. We are eating probably too well, all things considered. I was pleasantly surprised when I combed through our food storage to find that the only things we really need are fresh milk, eggs and fresh produce. (We do have powdered milk-yuck, dehydrated eggs and both frozen and freeze-dried fruits and vegetables). So I guess we’re prepared for the apocalypse after all. Wish we lived closer so I could drop off some flour for you. Stay safe and good luck with online school! We love you teachers!
I hear you on the powdered milk. I don’t even like to do powdered milk when I am backpacking. I have discovered that oat milk has a long expiration date if you have the space to store it in your refrigerator. I wouldn’t cook with it (doesn’t dissolve stuff too well) but the chocolate oat milk is pretty tasty for drinking and vanilla or regular is not bad in cereal. Stay safe!
Well, chocolate anything is good, so I may have to give oat milk a try one of these days.