It’s hard to believe it’s been a little over 3 years since the world shut down. Three entire years since the global pandemic hit and has been steadily hanging on with clenched teeth. As I look back at those first few months in 2020, as we ease into year four of this thing, it’s crazy to think about all the ways the world has changed. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a pandemic sending the world into a frenzy, and a lockdown. That Friday was the final day of work in person most places (Friday the 13th for the record), and on that Sunday, was Emma’s 4th birthday.
As we rolled into the the next week, everyone was at a loss for what things were supposed to look like – companies sent employees to work from home, some of which have remained in that status to this day. Zoom took off, and meetings, conferences, and more were relegated to computer screens instead of in person. Teenagers and young adults latched onto TikTok like it was their job – and then not so slowly made it into a steady stream of income for silly dances and parody videos. Apps like Marco Polo connected people in video text messages and large social gatherings were non existent. Restaurants closed, bars were shut down. And the world was forced to slow down.
For our little family, it was such a fun time as we took on projects, stayed outside, and made adventures out of anything we could find. We planted a garden, and lots of flowers. We had picnics whenever we could. Took lots of walks, went fishing, and made countless chalk drawings. Every day was an excuse to go to the lake, and boat rides were a regular endeavor. We even decide that if we had to mask up, we might as well find cute ones, and why not match while we we at it?
Glenn set up a folding table in the living room as he needed to be connected directly to the modem. I set up a space in the downstairs office as a homeschool table so we’d be next to the playroom for easy transitions between work, school, and play. Our prevailing thought was, we can do this for two weeks! Then two weeks became a month, then two months, then the perceived future.
After the initial fun of a mini summer break, all of the other emotions started trickling in. Fear. Anxiety. Confusion. Panic. Uncertainty. Everyone stayed shut in at their houses, and neighbors decided to form bubbles so their kids weren’t bored and parents could attempt to get some work done. With schools closed, parent became teachers, and everyone was just trying to survive.
After week three, I ordered a homeschool planner (well a teacher planner on mega sale I made into a homeschool planner that has since been repurposed into a theme week planner – and the newest version is undated and AMAZING for all sorts of lesson planning!), and we all sort of embraced that this was our new reality. I’d set up crafts for the girls next door to come over and do with us, we rotated having the pool out with them, and we made a little pod. We spent countless hours outside together watching the kids play, mixing “quarentinis”, and sharing meals. And for a period, the sweet reality of small town neighborhood friendships was in full effect. It was like summer break, prolonged. Slow, simple, and connected.
see all our theme week lesson plans and all crafts with these links as well
I remember we had Emma’s 4th birthday party planned and ready to go for the Sunday after the world shut down, and we decided to go ahead and move forward because it was outside at the park. We had that one last hurrah in public and then spent the next two years behind masks avoiding gatherings and basically everything to do with “public”. It was simultaneously beautiful and lonely; life giving and draining. 24/7 confined to homes together either broke relationships or fortified them; and we were blessed to experience the latter.
We had moved to our new house less than a year prior, and it was the biggest gift. We are blessed to be in a cul de sac with neighbors in similar stages of life. This was absolutely a game changer during the lockdown!
Some of our favorite things were take out drink mixes from our favorite restaurants, whiskey tastings, pool parties, slip n slides, sleep overs, and all the sunshine. While several people have less than positive memories of the pandemic, I must say mine are rather fond. Emma took swim lessons, did every craft imaginable, had countless fashion shows, and spent every day playing and exploring the world. I took up cooking a bit more, I read a lot, found a ton of great podcasts. And Glenn basically renovated our entire basement!
And it was during the middle of the pandemic that I started my business. It was forced time to slow down, to make room for margin, and settle into the simple and good life. Our time during the pandemic was absent of the hustle and busy and it so many respects, I’d love to turn back to those days. So much unplanned, that turned into so much good.
