Thursday, March 26, 2020

Thankful Thursday: Pandemic Edition


Hello friends! I wasn't going to post because I feel with social media everyone knows how I'm doing but then I realized, this time is a once in a lifetime and perhaps my kids will want to read back on what life was like. COVID-19 has shut down our schools, non essential businesses and travel and has had us in our homes for nearly two weeks already. Canada has just under 4,000 confirmed cases (with 659 in BC) and we're hoping flatten the curve. We did go to Ucluelet at the start of Spring Break but did not leave the car on the ferry and only visited beaches in Uclulet/Tofino. We have been going for walks as a family each day but definitely adhering to social distancing rules of 2 m between us and others. We have not had anyone in our home in almost 2 weeks. We have yet to visit the grocery store so we're getting to some interesting meals with those cans of artichokes we have.

Alongside the anxiety, fear and sadness have been peace and gratefulness. So many of our loved ones are out there working in healthcare and here we sit at home. Yes, balancing the kids' needs with our own may be hard, but if we just stay home we will be okay!

What am I grateful for in this time?

1. That I can be with my family. 
Although it can be tiring being in our home all together all the time, I'm grateful we can be there for each other. We have a schedule going which helps us all. There are one hour blocks which include things like: school (reading/art), exercise, family walk, chores, free time etc. They like it all except for chores. I have no idea how this will all work once online school starts and both Gary and I are teaching but we can only do our best.


2. We were able to get a trip in to Ucluelet. It was totally safe for us to travel within BC as we were not going into any buildings. We enjoyed 2 nights in Ucluelet. We had planned for three but felt that it was time to come home as the west coast of Vancouver Island was shutting down to visitors and I wanted to respect their wishes.





The Wild Pacific Trail (above) is the very first hike Kai did 19 months old. See below.


3. Staying on top of chores. Always time to do laundry, friends. The kids are also learning how much work goes into keeping a house clean. I know some people can let things go but I cannot for my mental health.


4. Gary doing so much baking and cooking. When I was looking for a partner I never considered how awesome it would be to have someone that enjoyed being in the kitchen. This is especially awesome in a pandemic when he's trying to utilize everything we have in the pantry so we don't need to go to the store. We found a can of condensed milk so he made Oatmeal Fudge Bars

5. Books. I read this one on the Libby App. Scribd is also free right now so Nya is using it! I give this book 4/5. Took 20 minutes to get into it but I liked it.
6. Fitness options. I love that we have a basketball hoop, trampoline, yoga swing and treadmill. Lots of options for the kids and us. Gary and I have been running almost every day which feels good. Kai started running his 5 km's today too.


7. Gary. I mean, we like spending time together but this is a bit much! Thankfully we are used to time together and know that I need to get away to my room sometimes to recharge. Gary could seriously be by my side 24/7 and it would not bother him--crazy, right?  Thankfully we have 15 years under our belt but still this brings out new things to work through.


8. Koen and Nya handling it very well. They are playing together and staying positive, it's a relief. I mean, parenting isn't a breeze but these two make it okay! Kai is really missing school and sports so I'm hoping that with online school starting he will feel more purposeful and his PE teacher will provide some more structure to his exercising.


9. Netflix, Nintendo Switch, Disney + and Prime Video. Yes, we have it all and I love it. Grateful for this escape. As school begins I guess I am grateful for Microsoft Teams, Zoom etc.

10. Health. So grateful every single one of our family members (on boths sides) are healthy. 


Stay safe, friends. 

Love, 
Louise


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