A grateful day, during quarantine...

Week 6 is tough... It's the toughest week yet - Probably because, the first few weeks were left with such uncertainty and fear took the forefront... But now, it's fatigue...

Pure fatigue.

Fatigue of doing nothing, but nothing is exhausting when you're used to always doing something... And, I've also noticed that because we're secluded, we easily forget the world is going on outside of us. We forget because, our source of the outside world is through the news and the internet - which is drawing fear and causing so much unnecessary mental anguish. And, 6 weeks of the news and internet is intense. 

Also, our weather has been horrid. The sun barely shines and the temperatures love to hover at a brisk 40 degrees - with rain, 6 out of the 7 days. Which doesn't help the isolation, at all. It doesn't help the feeling of being trapped, when you can't even get outside to breathe.

But today, it reached the high 50s - with sunshine.

The universe gave us an olive branch... And we gladly accepted.

I couldn't even believe my eyes, when I noticed something bright peering through my curtains. Was it someone reflecting a mirror against my window, signaling for help? Has the apocalypse finally begun??? Honestly, the sun was at the bottom of my guesses.

So, breakfast was eaten quickly and school was placed on the back burner - let's face it, this was a monumental occasion that should be celebrated. And, school can be done at any time... Plus, learning occurs all around us. It doesn't have to be a structured, sit down style, in order for a person to become educated.

So, we fled our home, like the bell rung at the end of the day of school...

Because, quarantine is rough without sunshine.

We skipped down our street and headed towards our favorite quiet spot. I carried a plastic bag, so we could gather sticks, flowers, rocks, bark, etc - anything we could use, to craft with later. My son had his new kid go pro camera to vlog the excursion. And, my daughter had her phone, where she documented all the steps we traveled.

We walked slowly, taking notice of the way the new buds on the tips of the trees looked against the blue sky. How the bluebells and dandelions pop against the fallen leaves... My daughter started her philosophical conversations that would continue, until my son chimed in with a beautiful flower he just picked -We stopped to clear a drain from debris, so the water passed freely - they both sat and admired the clarity the water made, after it was free.

We were almost there...

I placed myself in a field, with my back against the leafless tree. My children were doing cartwheels and running relay races around the big concrete loop. My son stopping to vlog about the experience and film some cool things on the ground. And, my daughter occasionally stepping off to the side to answer a video chat, but quickly exiting the conversation, so she could run with her brother. Both, continually talking to me about the world around them... 

I could sit forever and feed their inquisitive brains.

After my bag was full and our bellies emptied, we headed home for lunch. But, the urge to continue on with the day pierced our souls.

We needed more.

I thought back to my newly 16 year old self, when I would hop in my car, throw on a newly made cassette tape, pick up some friends, and we would cruise around town, listening to our favorite songs and sing at a god awful volume - while the windows were down.

And, that's just what we did...

However, instead of the cassette tape, I blasted the Bluetooth and my daughter controlled the songs from her phone. But nonetheless, we drove for almost 3 hours and let the wind blow through our hair and the sun cascade off our bodies and sung all the songs, as loudly as we could...

There is something so therapeutic about that and it seriously doesn't get enough credit.

And just like that, our souls were recharged...

Outside of the obvious mental stress that has been brought upon our lives from this virus, I could do this forever. I could ignore the world around me and just spend my days like today (with sunshine)... Just doing cartwheels in an open field, listening to my daughter try to dissect the world around her, and listen to my son find the beauty in everything.

So, when the outside world seems chaotic and scary, my inside world is secure and stable. And, during a pandemic, I'm so grateful for my life, the simplicity of it all, and the ability to enjoy it...

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay sane...

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