Never thought I would live to see a pandemic in my lifetime. Seems like with all the advancements that we could have stopped such a thing…but I guess Bill Gates saw it coming. It has been such a bizarre thing. It started as something far away in China and for whatever reason most of us didn’t give it much thought because we feel invincible, but then we have a case show up in the US and we all start paying attention. Luckily for us we had spring break, which would give us a chance to let sick people heal and to deep clean the school facilities. Little did we know that this spring break would go on FOREVER! For me as an administrator, I can’t believe our year is over. That all that chaos in my office from the students stopping by or needing “counsel” which I know was sometimes….”get me out of class”. Regardless, I miss the kids. I miss my co-workers and their babies. I miss routine. I miss athletic events. I miss our life, as we knew it.
It has been quite unbelievable that every person on the globe is dealing with this virus. It has affected every business and changed the way we all live. I never felt like going to the grocery store was life-threatening but now I am wearing gloves and I own a face mask for public outings. There is a gloom that has settled over society especially when so many businesses are closed. We can’t get our teeth cleaned and bless so many hearts, you can’t get your hair cut or colored, nails filled, waxed, spray tans or any of the beauty routines so many indulge in. There are so many jokes going around how we are getting ready to see what people really look like. I have noticed a steep decline in selfies online!
I am believing that this epic global humbling has gotten our attention. It doesn’t matter how educated or wealthy you are. The virus does not discriminate. All ages, races, and incomes levels are treated equal. I think the world is ready for a revival. May we all evaluate our lives and learn from this experience. May we treat people more kind, may we value things we took for granted. I hope we don’t forget too quickly and jump right back into a selfish life filling every waking moment with busyness. I pray that many people will turn to God and trust THE higher power with our futures, livelihood and well-being and stop living like we don’t need a Savior.
Miraculously, Annie’s last age group championship was not canceled and she broke state records and surpassed her goals. Unfortunately for her dear older swim friends, theirs got canceled just a few days later. A years worth of hard work, qualifying times and focus, OVER, just like that. All swim meets canceled, pools closed, parks closed, beach closed and pretty much everything not “essential”. Competitive, goal-setting people are lost and struggling more than I have ever seen. The next goal structures their daily life. I feel like I am lost in a sci-fi movie and have to remind myself everyday. I haven’t opened my day timer that organized my every minute in months. There are literally no plans of any kind because we do not know when we will be set free into a safe world.
Poor Maggie’s mission trip was postponed with no real plan of when that may be. Her two dance competitions canceled, dance classes now online and their recital postponed. All the things like Prom and her friend’s graduation canceled or postponed. Maggie has handled this excess of time by working out like a super freak. She runs and works out like crazy. We laugh that we will all be FAT or FIT by the time this is over and I can guarantee Maggie will be fit! She has learned EVERY tiktok dance and fitness competitions. I offered to be in one of their dances but for some reason, they declined my offer… Maggie started doing her dance classes on Zoom and almost drove us crazy on Tap Class Night….we would stay outside or just ride around on our bikes to escape the tapping. I am very thankful her studio figured out how to keep her dancing though.
Bubba’s spring break turned into freshman year OVER. Thankfully he wasn’t that upset. Bless his heart, he was so excited to go to the TPC like every day and only brought golf shirts. He only made it to one practice round before they canceled the whole thing. Now he watches golf tutorials and putts on his little green. Bonnie’s boyfriend Billy got an intense lesson in golf so Bubba and Billy may be a pro golfer by the time this over!! Dan and Bubba had to drive to South Florida to collect Bubba’s belongings from campus. He was sick of his roommate who actually was pretty dangerous when Bubba realized he had a gun in the room. That was probably due to all the drug dealing he was doing. I can’t say I was that sad when Dan and Bubba were on their way home from moving Bubba out of the dorms. I am getting used to Bubba at home with the large quantities of food we go through and his late night hours. Oh and the laundry….Lord the towels!!
Poor Bonnie who is the hardest worker I have ever seen had been practicing almost everyday for their first trip to Cheer Nationals that was suppose to be in Daytona in April. She was so excited. We all bought T-shirts and were so proud of this squad who she has cheered with for 3 years. She would tell me how they were nailing their routines and we couldn’t wait to go cheer for these girls who are like our extended family. Of course Nationals got cancelled but not only that, JU classes were moved to online and she could not longer work at San Pablo Elementary for her internship. JU ambassador program was suspended and the country club where she works closed. I thought she might have a meltdown because literally the child has her days scheduled from the crack of dawn until midnight. Thank God she took over homeschooling her three younger siblings like a boss. She showed u the first day with labeled cubbies for their books, while board paper, files with their name and created learning spaces for each of them. She gave them stars for completed assignments and brought them candy or ice cream for rewards. Bubba caught wind of their stars and being competitive had to get in on that. So now Bubba also gets stars when he completes his COLLEGE assignments! Whatever…I am just so grateful for my firstborn for doing what firstborns do…bring order! Bonnie has also been working hard with Eddie to stretch his calves down so he can get flat-footed again. He is making great progress and we are so proud!!
I worked in the office some but mostly do video conference calls to keep things rolling. The most normal thing was, of course, is that Dan still goes to work. Apparently there has been no change in financial rules so he’s the lucky one who gets to carry on despite our global crisis. He recently started staying home a couple days of week and alternating with a co-worker. He did have to do his Zoom calls outside because every other room had a videoconference going. The big almost daily challenge is hunting food. I think that is the thing that may be scared me the most, not the virus but trying to feed seven of us three plus times a day. They are plowing through more food than I thought possible. Eggs, meat, milk and toilet paper are scarce. We feel like we hit the jackpot when we locate some of the shortage items. We actually locked up the fridge to manage their intake. Maggie has cooked some magnificent concoctions and I have done dishes for DAYS…. Annie obsessively cleans our pool.
Eddie is thrilled that Bubba lets him play his Xbox and plays basketball with him too. Eddie has turned into the Lizard King (not to be confused with Tiger King on Netflix….). He put several in the mailbox and when we get the mail, they say SURPRISE. We also take a ton of bike rides to his favorite place…Maw Maw’s house. We have “porch” visits because of social distancing. He continues catching lizards and feeding squirrels mushroom and training them to go into the hole in one of Mom’s trees. We are quite annoyed that ripped up sidewalk off Hagler is a death trap to cross to Mom’s street but so far so good!
The highlight for Bonnie and Annie is getting to go with cousin Isaac and Uncle Mike to the gun range but it did make Annie ask for a 12-gauge shotgun for her birthday…NO! It broke up the daily routine of exercise and swinging in the hammocks. We ended that day taking our chances with Popeye chicken sandwiches frankly because to cook again was too much for any of us. We watched an intense game of street hockey and when I went inside…it morphed into airsoft war! Sorry Neighbors!! The kids created a game called Pool cricket in the pool, which never disappoints if you are a spectator.
With us being quarantined with no church to go to on Easter, we decided to go to the River with all our kids and their significant others. With us now having adult kids, it’s very difficult to get them all together and it’s actually been two years since we have all been together. Dan was skeptical if we could find enough food for 9 people for three days. Thankfully, I ventured out and God was good to me. I got almost everything I needed! We packed more food than we have ever taken and hauled it all to the River. The kids were driving separate which always makes me nervous but thankfully arrived safe and sound! The kids decided on an airsoft Easter egg hunt so that was something to be afraid of/look forward to depending on what team you are on. I was so thrilled to have everyone there! They kayaked and Billy even jumped out of the big tree. They had a practice airsoft game in preparation for Airsoft Capture the Bunny. The first night we made a fire and did smores, took a nice walk and played a crazy card game of spoons.
The kids got up and started prepping for the big “war”. I filled two big plastic bunnies with candy and each team was supposed to defend their bunny and steal the opposing team's bunny. The kids prepped for this all week. Ordered new guns and bullets and coordinated their black clothes. Bubba’s team consisted of Annie, Maggie and his girlfriend Emily who was a very good sport to participate with these competitive freaks. Dan, Eddie, Bonnie and her boyfriend Billy were the other team and they did not strategize or plan much at all. Bonnie kept offering to give her gun away and bow out. We enjoyed a HUGE Easter brunch with more food than we ever served at the River and then the kiddos started to depart which always makes me sad. All and all I know this is precious FORCED time together with the people I love the most. What I realized and I think my kids have also that you really don’t need much to live.
Despite the mandatory quarantine due to the global pandemic, our postman scolded, threatened, wrote notes, honked and harassed us about all the cars at our house like we could help it. We did the best we could not blocking the mailbox with 7 of us working and doing school from Home. We put cones to mark the 30 feet he said he needed and the rain kept washing them away. Dan finally snapped, killed the yard and slapped in a driveway. I was not in favor of this but Dan and the kids worked so hard with blisters on their hands. We sure hope the postman is happy now that restrictions are being lifted and we won’t all be stuck at home anymore!
And with that project completed, still being quarantined with too much time on our hands….then came the Putting Green Pitch! Bubba campaigned HARD with a 20-slide power point. Some of my extended family would ride over to check out all of our crazy rock projects and IMMEDIATELY supported the new idea, which didn’t help Dan stand firm on his NO! I have to say we were very impressed with Bubba’s research, perseverance, tenacity and “drive” to get it done! LOL He fundraised and built the putting green in the back yard in a week. Of course Dan pitched in because he wanted it done “right” and Annie was Bubba’s personal assistant throughout the project. He even did a ribbon cutting ceremony….Lord let him go back to work soon so we can rest!
The end of May finally brought the end to the school year and I have to say I am Sorry not sorry that remote learning is finally over! I am so extremely thankful for Bonnie and Billy who taught many lessons and helped the kids push through on hard days. Very nice to finally see my table again! Prayer, pool, walks, baby owls, beach, nice weather, hammocks, streaming shows, helped us surviving quarantine with 7 of us. Eddie matured so much and was the most enjoyable thing about our time together! Dan gets up early everyday and asked me for weeks to go see the sunrise with him….I was like WHAT? Finally after a string of sleepless nights I got up and made him so happy! I did feel like I needed a nap by 10am though.
Now restrictions are being lifting and we are going back to work and resuming our former lives. Makes me a little sad because scaling back our busyness and simplifying life is something I will be forever grateful for and something I will never forget. I pray those we love stay healthy and that we will all live to tell our grandkids about the pandemic of 2020. Until then…we pray and we hunt for food and TP! Let’s just all pray like crazy that 2020 has mercy on us and we have NO hurricanes or disasters the rest of this historic year!! We’ve had enough excitement to last. Happy Summer Everyone!!
