What I Want to Remember About Quarantine 2020

Let’s be honest, quarantine and this whole global pandemic has been hard on everyone for a variety of reasons. Yes, harder on some people than others, but still hard on everyone. I mean, there I was on a Thursday taking my kids to and from school, going to and from my bible study, and then boom… the next day school was cancelled indefinitely and our city started locking down. Everything changed, quite literally, overnight.

Trying to explain to Lilly and Amos what was going on was incredibly difficult because, truth be told, we didn’t really understand what was happening either.

There were a lot of things about that time and, well, this time we are *still* in that I certainly can’t wait for us to forget. I really miss hugging people, smiling at people with actual faces not covered by masks, I miss going to church, I miss playgrounds for our kids, I miss going to the gym and my kids seeing their friends at school… I miss walking down a trail or in a store and not having the person I’m walking past like intentionally walk away from me so as not to get “within six feet.”

I keep saying to my husband that I feel like we are in the middle of some apocalypse movie. This is just so bizarre. Everyone keeps saying and using the phrase “new normal” but y’all… THIS IS NOT NORMAL.

I get it, this is our current bizarre reality. But that doesn’t mean we have to accept this as “normal.”

ALL THAT TO SAY… yes, there are things I want to forget about this time, but, there are also things that I want to remember forever. And I’m gonna focus on those things for now.

I want to remember the way my kids suddenly started loving having sleepovers with each other. It was like this comfort for them to be with each other at night and now, they basically sleep in the same room together every night and it’s the sweetest. Their relationship really has grown and strengthened so much during COVID. Sure, they also fight like crazy, but they also love each other real hard.

I want to remember the implementation of weekly family movie nights. We used to sporadically watch a movie together as a family, but once COVID hit, we implemented family movie night every Sunday. We rotate who picks the movie and we all snuggle on the couch in our jammies and watch a movie together. It’s become such a sweet weekly routine.

I want to remember the fort building the kids did. I mean, we have built some EPIC forts during COVID. EPIC.

I want to remember the weekly at-home date nights John and I started doing. We have always made dating each other a priority, but since we couldn’t go out anywhere, we dubbed Saturday nights “at-home” date nights. We put the kids to bed and then we make dinner, play games, watch a movie, or even play indoor putt putt around the house. It’s become something John and I look forward to every single week.

I want to remember the creativity my kids have during this time… they’ve been forced to be more creative with their time and man, I love watching them tinker around and figure something out.

I want to remember the snail mail I’ve sent and received. There’s something about sending or receiving a hand written note in the mail that just makes my day. That’s been really fun to do.

Most importantly, I want to remember the way that God has provided and protected us every step of the way. He’s been so so faithful throughout this time and I never, ever want to take that for granted.

There are probably some more things I want to remember, but for now, these are the ones that are most top of mind. It is really easy to focus on the negative these days, but today, I’m choosing to focus on the joy.

What about you? What do you want to remember? What are you thankful for?

(Facetime quarantine session photos by the amazing and creative Gina Zeidler!)