Today I should have been in Roanoke with some amazing ladies that I look forward to spending this weekend with every year. Roanoke Author Invasion. I should have been up early after staying up much too later. I should be finishing up my table setup right now and preparing for the doors to open as we welcome readers to spend the day with us. Today is only one of many things missed out on in 2020 thanks to Covid-19.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to lockdown with the 5 people I love the most in this world and know that we are safe, aren’t going hungry, and can comfortably wipe our butts for at least the rest of this month. It doesn’t mean don’t mourn the loss of loved one and even total strangers who have succumbed to this virus, or that we can’t mourn the “what it’s” and “what should have beens”.
RAI was only one weekend of fun so many others are facing bigger regrets and devastating loss, even knowing that right now life is the ultimate prize we strife for. Missing these things and being sad we can’t have them are normal, not selfish. Trying to do them anyway and putting people at risk would have been selfish, but it’s okay to be sad right now.
I think of my daughter, Hope, and so many other graduating seniors of the class of 2020 and we mourn what they have lost. Those feelings are valid. Hope Elizabeth is homeschooled, so many wouldn’t think this would impact her senior year as much, but it does. She had big plans for a crazy fun graduation ceremony and celebration with family. This is a big moment in her life that will forever be overshadowed by Covid-19. We have the luxury of postponing her graduation until later this summer, and if everything goes well and the bans are lifted by then, we can recoup a little of this time for her, but most seniors don’t have that luxury. Hope hasn’t had the best senior year and this is just icing on the cake. I hate that for her. She’s been cheering since she was five years old and her homeschool football team didn’t field a team this year so she was unable to cheer. She was going to miss prom anyway because it was scheduled for Good Friday, which is a really important day for our family who were committed to doing ONE, a community worship hosted by our church, and now, she loses that too. There are so many “lasts” of her school days that will be missed. So if you are quarantined with a senior of the class of 2020, don’t forget to hug them a little tighter and give them a break when they turn a little moodier, especially on the important missed days.
So, wow, that turned a little deeper and sadder than I meant, but it needed to be said. Overall, we’re still doing well here. Yesterday I inadvertently took to day drinking and it blew up in my face. I really just wanted something cold to drink, and the only thing left in the fridge was James’s nasty diet juice. I tried, couldn’t hack it, added Vodka, cause that fixes everything, right? So today will be spent sorting out the ginormous screw up I made trying to book a room for December online after the juice incident. Yeah, you really don’t want to know!
Tip for Quarantine:
Find something in your life that is “normal” and hold on to it. For us, that’s become Finger Foods Friday. What is Finger Foods Friday you might asked. It’s simple. Every Friday for dinner, our meal consists of foods you can eat with your fingers! No utensils necessary, heck, sometimes we don’t even bother with plates. It’s fun foods and family sitting around the table talking and eating. (don’t laugh at the seemingly burnt french bread pizzas…. they were definitely not burnt, but my new Instant Pot Vortex Air Fryer in bake mode seems to give more of a broil affect to it and darkens the tops of everything… we’re still figuring it all out, but they still tasted great and not burnt!)
If you don’t have something stable and regular in your life right now… start it this week! That’s my challenge to you. It could Finger Foods Friday, or family game night, or a weekly movie marathon, or picnic dinner in the living room with a movie or favorite family TV show. It can literally be anything that holds a little joy to the week for you and your family. Just ONE little thing. I know you can come up with something, and I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below.
Stay safe out there!
Recent Comments