Life in the Days of COVID-19

What's it like to be self-quarantined? I have a feeling this COVID-19 social distancing is going to go on for a while. And I imagine that most of you are beginning to know what self-quarantining feels like. For us, it's not incredibly different from our usual lifestyle! We homeschool. Brad's office is in our home. I don't work outside the home.

So, here's what life is like in the Days of COVID-19 at the parsonage in Dulce on the Jicarilla Apache Nation's homeland:

Our schedule is always relaxed. Kat and I are still walking most mornings. We drive to the high school track and park the car. We've been walking just under 2 miles a day. It feels good to get out and exercise, and it's brisk here in the mornings, which is delightful.

These days, there's a box of face masks on the counter, in case someone comes to the door for prayer, food, or counsel. And this week, there's a pile of presents growing on the counter, too. Someone has a birthday next week! We are disappointed there can't be a party, but we'll celebrate with gifts and cake and a special meal.

Our homeschool schedule had us on "Spring Break" this week, so there hasn't been any sit-down school time. But we've kept ourselves happily busy!

I've been going through my school cupboards and finding all kinds of I-thought-this-would-be-fun-to-do-someday projects. Each day I try to find a couple of new things to try:

Painting:                                                                     Making Gingerbread Houses:

Playing in Kinetic Sand:                                             Writing projects:

Given the amount of stuff I have gathered over the years of teaching, I think I can come up with new activities for several weeks! Melting crayons may take several days...I can think of many projects!

We get outside for some time every day, too, usually in the afternoons. We play on the trampoline and climb trees. We swing and run and chalk and ride. When the weather is nice, we stay outside for hours! When it's raining or snowing, we stay outside for half an hour or more.

Even when we're stuck inside most of the day, we have physical activity indoors. For Christmas, the boys got a trapeze and swing for a doorway; they also got a small indoor trampoline. We can always move our bodies! And of course, the teenager loves keeping in touch with her friends via social media...
...and I sometimes find things with which I amuse myself!


May God bless you during this time with peace, joy, love, and more.