This is week 5 of the COVID-19 pandemic in Maryland. We had two weeks of glorious down time with no school while we used up our snow days and our Spring Break. Now we're on week 3 of online schooling following a stay-at-home order from Gov. Hogan. (More on that later.)
With all this extra time at home, I've decided to give you a whirlwind trip through our last 12 months so.....here we go!
Last May, Scott helped Historic Annapolis list the oldest wood frame home in Annapolis for sale. It was amazing to get to take a tour before it hit the market. It's now under contract and set to close in the next month.
We took a family camping trip.
Our little homestead flourished durng the summer.
We picked up some new hobbies over summer break as well. I started exercising more regularly and Scott took up fishing.
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| Kids tagging along on my run. |
This handsome fellow right here turned 12 in August and the cousins pitched in to throw him an amazing Harry Potter themed party.
Another camping trip in the Fall.
This one ended with half our air mattress springing a leak and a few family members sleeping in the car.
In October, Kip turned 10.
Harry Potter theme again....with a basilisk calzone as the entree.
We hosted Thanksgiving and my favorite part was this chalkboard runner full of our thanksgivings!
Nonnie came for Christmas!
(Of course, I have no photos of all of us together, yet again...)
After Christmas, Scott took me on a week long 40th birthday cruise to the Bahamas.
It started out a bit rough, but we had an amazing time fishing, sunbathing, exploring Nassau and relaxing together.
The annual Keller Williams party in January was an 80's theme. I think we rocked it, don't you?
Daddy-Daughter Dance. She's growing up so fast!
In January, Scott began the process of detoxing from his current Restless Legs medication with the help of a specialist from Johns Hopkins. It was one of the hardest, most horrendous experiences of our marriage. He did not sleep for 70+ hours in a row at one point.
The recovery process has been slow. We've tried several different replacement medications and are still searching for something that will give him uninterrupted, restful sleep each night.
Getting out in the fresh air in the early Spring.
In March, I took a trip with my mother and sister-in-law back to Chattanooga! We went to a women's conference by Nancy Guthrie and it was so sweet to spend some time seeing the old familiar places and catching up with old friends.
I will always remember our discussion on the way home about the "so-called" pandemic and how I thought the media was blowing it way out of proportion.
Sadly, I could not have been more wrong.
This is what the stores looked like about one week after we returned.
We stocked up and got ready to stay home for a while.
Those first two weeks were very surreal. Each day it seemed, there was a new announcement of increased measures to "flatten the curve" and slow the spread of the virus. We got daily updates on the number of cases and deaths. We learned new terms like "social distancing" and learned to live with a constant feeling of anxiety and being out of control. First schools closed, then non-essential businesses, then travel restrictions were announced, then stay-at-home orders, then masks became mandatory for everyone.
I think we're adjusting now to our new normal. We've been doing online school for 3 weeks and will continue for another month at least.
I think we're adjusting now to our new normal. We've been doing online school for 3 weeks and will continue for another month at least.
Our family is getting used to being together almost constantly. There's definitely been friction and major frustrations with one another, along with the general stress of the situation and loss of income, but there's also been the amazing blessing of a much slower pace and so much extra time to enjoy activities. We've played games, watched movies, listened to new audio books and even had time to sit around our fire pit and do some stargazing. We eat almost every meal together. We've done more family devotions. Scott is home with us all the time! Occasionally we'll go take a walk around the neighborhood with my parents, or call Grandma K or Nonnie, or play games via video chat with friends.
The kids have done so many creative things. Things I've always wished they would have time for. Plus they are eating healthier since we can't go to the store and buy their favorites whenever we feel like it.
I've exercised and prayed more than I think I ever have. Projects are getting done around the house and spaces are getting organized.
Even Easter was more meaningful and intentional this year. I spent the entire weekend coloring these Stations of the Cross drawings.
We've gotten creative with our restrictions and shortages. We alternate grocery runs with my brother and sister-in-law, have made more napkins and switched to cloth towels to conserve our paper ones.
But the sweetest thing has been how people have truly come together more during this pandemic. Our family is closer, our extended family is closer, our friends are closer and even our neighbors are closer. A neighbor we've never even met dropped off hand made masks and plant sprouts from their garden for us.
It's strange knowing that we're living through a moment of history in which people are willingly making sacrifices and pulling together....almost like a wartime mentality. I pray that we won't go back to business as usual when it's over, but we'll learn some lasting lessons from this experience.
~Amy