Coronvirus and Social Distancing Diary

Day 1-Just got word that the schools are going to be closed for at least one week and school will occur through on-line programs.  German school also closed its door in support of the government's suggestion to lower the risk of contamination.  It was suggested to us to have the children read and participate in the Antolin program and use other German-language tools available.  We ran to Costco to stock up our refrigerator.  A few items we could not find were a cup of noodles, white eggs, and toilet paper.  I filled up the car as we were also almost out of gas.  Gas prices have gone down which was a nice surprise.   The sun came out and the girls spent the day outside riding their bikes and drawing the sidewalk with chalk.  We made chocolate chip cookies and their nana came by and took them to the dollar store where they purchase a painting kit.  The girls came home painted and watched tv for the rest of the evening.  Avery played piano and read here book Diary of the Whimpy kid.  Winston went to the gym which has not closed to this date.

Day 2 No Church today as the services have closed till a further day.  We slept in a little longer and did our own church service.  We studied Jacob Chapters 1-4 in the book of Mormon a lesson on the pride of the people and learned about Chasity.  How can we keep ourselves clean. We learned about setting boundaries and that we are in control of what our bodies do. We sang church hymns and took the sacrament. The girls roller-skated with their friend Katherine. Oh, I forgot that before church at home Frank took the girls for a hike to Sawnee Mountain Preserve; however, they were a little confused and did not find the trail to Indian Seats.  They did walk about 4 miles.  Everyone went to bed early.

Day 3- We are all on the verge of losing our minds.  Frank has to work from home, but it is hard for him to do so when all the children are home. Being quiet is not one of their best virtues.  We did make tropical fruit smoothie made with coconut oil, vanilla protein powder, orange juice, pineapple, and frozen banana.  They were so delicious!  Kids did paint by numbers but with stickers.  Afterward, the girls made geraniums that I ordered off of Amazon.  As I type two of the girls are working on their reading for school and then we need to work on our on-line classroom work.  Sadly the weather is not cooperating and it has been raining off all day.  Winston went to go get a haircut before our barber decides to close his doors. I am feeling nervous about being able to find enough to occupy the children until they can go back to school.  I just got back from Target and for the first time, I do feel a little scared.  The shelves were pretty bare as there was no milk, hardly any meat, no toilet paper or tissues, no bread, no flour, most of the pasta and rice was gone.  I was able to get white eggs which were the reason for going.  I thought I would decorate Easter eggs with the children.  The schools here just announced another return date of the end of March which really means the 13 of April because we are scheduled to have spring break April 3rd through the 12.

Day 4- Got up this morning and started working on our school work right away.  Avery wasn't able to complete her work from the day before due to problems with the website. More problems with the o-line schooling website and I end ups spending once again the majority of my day getting the homework complete.  I whipped up more waffles this morning and froze some for when the kids cray and say they are hungry.  I guess I won't be going to the gym tomorrow.  I need to find a way to work out and stick to a diet or I am going to be 500 pounds by the end of the next couple weeks. One positive of the day was that my mother came over and sewed with Addy.  I also made some soaps with the girls. We tried to find some humor in the day, one funny moment was we were all joking about how social distancing has no effect on my husband and our son Harris.  They love social distancing.  Saw a meme on Facebook that gave me a good laugh: Day 2 of Homeschooling-one child has been expelled, one child went to the bathroom and never came back, and the teacher quit for mental health reasons. I thought this was hilarious!  The best part of the day was that the sun came out and we went outside to play for a while.  Best medicine! I might get out my camera tomorrow.  Taking pictures always makes me happy.  Also, I made a decision to not look at the news for the next couple of days.  It is starting to stress me out and make me sad.

Day 5  Today we decided to start off our day by going on a long walk,.  A friend came along, but we kept our distance and talked while we walked.  The kids seemed to be happier and tired.  We then worked on our school work.  The school announced that on Friday no new work would be given and that Friday would be set aside to catch up on any work not completed Monday through Thursday.  Frank is starting to stress out as he can't seem to turn off the news and is worried about his mother as the situation in Germany begins to worsen.  Hopefully, she hasn't come in contact with anyone who has the virus and is practicing social distancing.  After we finished our homework, the children died Easter Eggs.  I was finally able to find some white eggs at the store.  We were also able to find some paper towels, so if our toilet paper does run out we can at least use that.  More businesses are closing down around the country.  Our area was already down to just drive-throughs and grocery stores.  The gym closed down on Tuesday.  All the doctors and dentist offices sent emails saying they would be closed unless there was a medical emergency.

Day 6 Had a very relaxed morning.  Didn't get up till 9:30 a.m.  The girls finished up the remainder of their homework and the played a game of Trouble with their nana.  Avery practiced her piano and then it was outside to play under the water hose.  The girls did some sidewalk drawings and that pretty much wraps up their day.  I will have them do some reading before bed.  The children are starting to find their grove and be more at peace with being at home and not have playdates.  I am so grateful they are old enough to understand this.  Going out now to take a few pictures of the white blossoms on the trees as spring has sprung.

Day 7 Got the girls in the bathtub then ate breakfast.  Then we got in the car and headed two hours southwest to Providence National State Park.  No worries, we brought our lunch with us and we practice social distancing.  While the park wasn't packed,  there were more people there than I had expected.  It felt good to be out in the sun and get some fresh air.   I was actually surprised as we drove through Columbus, Georgia how few people were practicing social distancing.  At one restaurant people were carrying on as if Coronavirus weren't an issue.  People sitting outside their apartment complexes without any space between them. I guess it is hard to understand the impact when is only 1 case within your county. 

Day 8 Sunday- no church again. I stayed in bed half the morning then decided to get up and clean my daughter's bedroom which was a complete pigpen.  My husband went on a walk.  The kids watched way more TV than we would normally allow.  We were supposed to have an in-home church program, but my husband and I got in a fight.  We are both frustrated.  He was supposed to fly to Key West this weekend to go scuba diving and he can no longer do that because the state of Florida is not allowing anyone not local to enter the Keys.  I am frustrated because I have the kids 24/7 and trying to feed them, educate them, and entertaining them is a big chore.  I know I know!  I signed up for this!  I had all these kids!  It is my job as a mother!  I know I know! I am at least grateful that I have my family around me and that none of us are sick.

Day 9-It is raining.  Going to start school work with the children.  Went to the store!  At least there was some toilet paper; however, there was no meat and I had to go to a second grocery store.  Not feeling much motivation today, and I realized that I don't have as much grit as I thought I did.  I already knew my kids had no grit.    Well, off I go to help the kids with their school work. I hope you are staying healthy and safe.  I hope you have loved ones you can talk to or a good book to read.  Praying for all the families who have lost loved ones in the last couple of weeks.  I can't even imagine!

Updated at 8:42 p.m. on Monday night.  Very upset by the second comment left here on my blog. The stupid idiot didn't even have the courage to leave their name so that I could write a response. Well, you idiot I am not a boomer, but obviously, you didn't even read this post or know anything about me because you would know that I have small children.  Even if I was a boomer, this virus is pretty serious though at this point I can't assess whether it is any worse than any of the others we have lived through.  While all seems pretty desperate with the economy, I am hopeful once it is all over that things will return to normal, and it is idiots like you who are killing people because you can't just listen to the advice of all the experts and stay home and away from others.  My husband just got word that some of the students at Georgia Tech went to Florida and came back with the virus and who knows how many people they have infected in the meantime.

Updated Tuesday night!  I removed the comment because it was so offensive, not just to me, but those who read this blog and after some thought, I decided it was just too upsetting.  In 12 years of having this blog it has always been open to comments and I am still leaving it open to comments; however, I will be monitoring comments now before they get published.  Sorry!  Today started off really well. The girls were cooperating with me in regards to their homework and then like that the day totally tanked.  One of my girls had a total meltdown.  She misses playing with her friends at school and in the neighborhood. She misses her routine and her afterschool programs.  She misses her teacher and she hates me being her teacher.  She did not want to do her school work and let me know by having a three-hour meltdown.  I am not feeling well right now and I am praying it is just the stress of the whole situation and nothing more serious.  My throat is sore and I have had a mild cough, but feel that is more due to the high pollen count.  I am going to bed early tonight in the hope that I feel better in the morning and hope the kids do too.  Last night they all crawled in bed with me as they are starting to have nightmares.  Hang in there everyone!