Happy Friday, friends! Here we are again…yet another Friday of our stay-home order here in Washington. I mentioned a couple weeks ago that restrictions in Washington are slowly starting to relax but, for the most part, life remains quarantine status quo around here. Not much has changed. Daycare is still closed. I’m still (technically) not employed, though I have two awesome freelance jobs keeping me busy and on track. Almost all retail stores are still closed, barring those considered “essential.” The only real thing that has changed is that Ryan has been in the field all week. His hours have been nuts and, as crappy as it is to say, I think that consistent chaos of the Army life is one of the few things remaining normal in all of this.
I saw a meme last week that said something to the effect of, “military spouses have been training for this forever.” I laughed, but I mean, how true is that?! It’s so true. We’re so used to nothing going as planned that, while this has been a collective worldwide chaos, we’re not not used to it. Plans? What are those? In reality, parts of this quarantine have been so sweet, and as crazy as this time has been, I don’t want to forget it. So, for today’s Friday five, I wanted to take the time to share things I want to remember about quarantine. Ready?
Things I Want to Remember About Quarantine
1 // Adventures Don’t Have to Be Big
I’ll be the first to say that I love to wander. I like to do big things. Whether it’s the world’s quickest roadtrip through Oregon, hiking down to a shipwreck entirely unprepared or anything in between, I like to get out there and do stuff with my kids. We haven’t had that luxury for the past nearly two months. Yet, we’ve had a lot of fun. From puddle jumping in the woods to endless bike rides through the neighborhoods, playing backyard bingo, and everything in between, we’ve stayed busy, and that’s kept us sane. We can still adventure not far from our front door.
2 // Fresh-Baked Goods are Always Better
I convinced myself a long time ago that I’m not a baker, and I settled for that for years. During this quarantine, however, some things were ridiculously hard to come by. There were a few weeks that bread was extremely scarce. So, instead of going bread-free, I decided to bake. And bake. And bake. We had everything from fresh cinnamon rolls to endless butter rolls for anytime of day, pound cake, and more. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to store-baked bread and rolls because, honestly, home-baked goods are just so much better.
3 // Losing Your Job Will Feel Demoralizing, But It’s Not the End
So many people are in this boat right now. So many industries and businesses have been crushed by the economic effects of this quarantine, not the least of which was a the travel industry, which effectively eliminated my job. It sucked to be laid off, plain and simple. However, I’ve worked hard for years to develop my skillset, and I was lucky (and blessed) to rebound, starting work almost immediately with two great companies, which has challenged and inspired me. I have a bit of balance through all of this, too, and we’re doing well. We continue on.
4 // Sunshine is Life-Giving (But Rainy Days Aren’t the End)
Maybe we just appreciate it more in the PNW, but when the sun shines, we’re all like little groundhogs, popping our heads out of our homes and spending all. the. time outside. The weather, like last year however, has been fickle, and we have some beautiful weather, which eventually gives way to rain and clouds again. We’ve made the best of it though. Rain doesn’t stop us anymore. We jump in puddles. We bike in the rain. We continue to explore, and we roll with the proverbial punches. It’s honestly been a breath of (literal) fresh air.
5 // We Got to Share the Little Moments
As a military family, we don’t get a ton of uninterrupted time together. Before Ryan went back to work though, we were together for about five weeks. Nonstop. This quarantine gave us the opportunity to experience a lot of little moments together though. Spencer learned how to ride a two-wheeler bike without training wheels. Mieke learned to walk (even though she prefers to scoot and rip holes in her pants). We took a lot of walks in the woods, built little forts, played on a slip-and-slide, had a few taco Tuesdays, and generally just enjoyed all the cray together.
Those are just five little things I want to remember about quarantine. So much has happened beyond that though. We have a couple more weeks to go, and I’m ready for things to feel normal again, but I also want to make sure I remember the little things, too. Someday, this will be in the history books, and we won’t remember the little details. My hope is that we can tell the kids what it was like, put ourselves back in these moments, and just be.
Tell me, what are somethings you want to remember about this quarantine?
