This is day 34 of the quarantine for us. It has been quite an up and down ride of emotions. Some days are fine. Almost normal. We homeschool anyway, so that’s not a huge change for us. Otis and Allie are still working at Chick-fil-A, so that gets them out of the house for a few hours a week. It was hard at first, adjusting our schooling schedule to no field trips, library days, or extra curricular activities, but we’ve gotten used to that. We haven’t run out of food or toilet paper. There hasn’t been any real reason to panic. We have been wearing masks if we go to the grocery store, hand sanitizing like crazy, and spraying our mail with Lysol. The hardest part of all of this for me are the weekends. It just feels so long and open. We have done house projects, played games and watched movies. I just really struggle on the weekends and I guess a lot of that is because we aren’t doing schoolwork. I miss my church. I miss my friends. I miss hugging necks and going out for lunch. I miss wandering around Target and Ross. I know in the grand scheme of things, my misses aren’t important at all. I’m just letting you know that we may be on different levels, but it’s a struggle for all of us. I really struggled last weekend on Easter Sunday. I just missed my people and celebrating with them.

On the flip side of all my struggles, I have seen SO MUCH GOOD. I’m a fairly positive person anyway, so I’m always going to search for good no matter what situation we are facing. I have seen churches become so creative and people that wouldn’t come to a regular church service before have been engaged online. I have seen food banks offer drive thru grocery bags for those in need. I have seen people in the church taking time to reach out and connect. If y’all know me, you know that I’m a “card sender”. During this past month, I have received several cards in the mail. It has just blessed me so much. I’m not used to being the one receiving cards and so to get unexpected cards in the mail was so heart warming for me.

Our neighborhood has also gotten so creative to keep people active and connected. We had one lady sewing masks and giving them out for free. We had a walk through zoo where many of us put out stuffed animals in our windows or yard for the small children in neighborhood to walk around and see. We have also had dance contests and scavenger hunts. Gary won a guitar in one of the first scavenger hunts. He loves it and has been walking around the house strumming it and singing ‘Remember Me’ from Cocoa! 😂😂

My point in sharing all of that is just to say that people have been coming together. There is a good side to all of this.

The most common answer that was given when you would ask someone how they were doing before this pandemic was “busy”. I’m so guilty of saying the same thing. None of us can really say that anymore. Our calendar was always full. We have missed multiple conferences, trips, and planned events. Everyone has. We have never had this much free time. Ever. I’m choosing to look at it as a blessing- a gift. My family is safe. I’m praying for those that are sick and all of the essential workers that are keeping things as normal as they can despite the circumstances. I’ve been using this time to tackle projects that have just been lingering around. Thank goodness for amazon!! I have ordered flash drives in bulk and organized ALL of my pictures. I have read books. I have tried new recipes. I’ve done online Bible studies and am taking a class. I know we all cope with things differently, but try to see the goodness in all of it.

Please know that no matter how you feel in any certain moment, you are not alone. People are praying for you. People are willing to help in anyway they can. You are loved- it just has to be from a distance for now.

I’m believing that when all of this is over, we will be changed. We won’t take things for granted. We will be truly excited for church. We will be happy to see one another. We will hug a little tighter.
Stay safe my friends. Search for the good and you will find it. ❤️
Hope to hug your neck soon!!