On March 13th I took Eliana, Lillian, and Kyron with me to do my typical Friday morning grocery run to Aldi. The usually quiet store was packed with people putting as much stuff in their carts as possible and the air was full of tension. During the entire shopping experience I kept telling myself to stay calm and to just get what I came in for. I would watch people come in, go straight for the toilet paper aisle, and then go back to the front of the store to stock up on anything else they could. It didn't take long for Eliana and Lillian to ask what was going on. Everything was so different, even these little kids noticed something was up. I explained that people are worried about the coronavirus and want to stay at home for the next few days. When we got in line to check out and had at least 8 people in front of us, I heard Lillian's little voice say, "It looks like a lot of people are worried about the coronavirus!"
Then, at 2:30 that afternoon an email from Hylie's school was sent:
As health information continues to rapidly evolve surrounding the spread of COVID-19, Lisle District 202 is closing schools and cancelling all sports/activities for students beginning tomorrow, Saturday, March 14, 2020, through Spring Break with a tentative plan of returning on Monday, April 6, 2020. While there are no known cases in DuPage County, we believe this preventative measure is in the best interest of our learning community.
The day before, on March 12, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints temporarily suspended all public gatherings, including sacrament meeting.
A week later, Illinois ordered a shelter-in-place order where you were only to leave your home for essential items. Geoff was now working from home, stores were running low on supplies, and the news was reporting increasing infection and death rates and that very little was known about this virus.
I can't lie, I was panicked. Did we have enough food at home? What about Kyron's need for milk? I had been planning on going to Sam's Club next week to stock up on our quarterly meat and diaper needs--but all I could think was will there be any meat or diapers?
The next few weeks at the grocery store were pretty rough for me. Lots of people, lots of empty shelves, and lots of tension. People would sometimes force smiles if you happened to make eye contact, but that was about all the interaction you experienced. I could feel my heart tightening the entire time I was out, I was even starting to feel paralyzed from the stress. I didn't want to feel this way--I kept telling myself we had food at home, and food was beginning to be more abundant at the stores, but the fear was not dissipating.
Fortunately, the kids have adapted to our new normal without a hitch. They love the learning time we have in the morning, they have been playing so wonderfully with each other, and the weather has been getting nicer which enables us to get some fresh air.
The girls have been enjoying some yoga videos to get them going in the morning. (Notice Lillian's backwards outfit? It's her new normal these days--she finds it HILARIOUS.)
Lillian and Kyron having fun on the piano during "learning time".
The girls are also getting in touch with their creative side. The week before schools were closed, the kids got temporary tattoos from preschool. Lillian thought it would be fun to apply them in one sitting, ha!
Some days go smoothly and others don't. Some days the girls get their hair braided and nails polished. Sometimes several days go by without a brush touching their hair. Some days I'm patient and love all the extra family time. Some days I am worn down, short with the family, and anxious to know when this will all be over.
Not knowing what the future will look like and how soon we'll be back to 'normal' can be extremely unnerving. But how grateful I am to be sheltering with people I love so dearly.
