78 Days in Self-Quarantine

We've been "staying at home" for 78 days now. For 78 days our children have gone absolutely nowhere out of our own house or yard. They have seen almost no one beyond our immediate household. Our teenager has been out exactly twice: once she sat in the car while I got some supplies; the second time, she was allowed in the store with me as long as she didn't touch anything. We've been wearing face masks when in the presence of anyone outside our household. Brad has gone out to visit congregants three times, I believe. He's done one burial service, outside and with only three mourners (beyond himself). Each time he's gone out, he has worn a face-covering and stayed at least six feet apart. Three times now, we have had some Christian friends bring us food. This has been a huge blessing! We are very grateful for the surprise and the food.

I know we're not the only family self-isolating. Your story may look a lot like ours, or yours may be one of the areas that are "opening up" and your family is more on the go than ours. As I wrote in my first coronavirus post, there are many reasons why we have chosen self-quarantine. Those are the very same reasons why we are continuing to self-quarantine. Read our reasons here.

On March 10, the day our family went into isolation, the CDC reported 25 total COVID deaths in the USA. Today, 78 days later, the CDC is reporting more than 98,000 COVID deaths in the United States. That's more than 1250 deaths on an average day. And according to many public health officials, this sobering total is likely much higher. I think as time goes on, we will have a more accurate count, and whether that is higher or lower than the current totals, it is staggering.

Our family has had some very good experiences during this lockdown. We have cooked together a lot; my children are all learning how to work in the kitchen. We've played games with friends via Skype. We are learning to "make do" with what we have, as we have eliminated all trips away from home to about once weekly for the post office and once monthly for the grocery store. Yes, really; that's it. We have spent lots of time together on our ninja line obstacle course outside and playing board games inside. Our teenager has invited the little guys to a monthly "sleepover" in the living room, complete with snacks she bakes and other treats. That has led our smaller children to have almost-weekly "sleepovers" with each other in their own bedrooms.

In addition, we worship together in our kitchen each Sunday. We've developed new traditions around birthdays: video-singing and personal birthday cakes. We're growing our abilities to work together and give grace to one another. We're done with pre-kindergarten, first grade, and seventh grade in our homeschool. Everyone is finishing up their last little bits, and we're playing lots of educational games in "summer school." For the first time, the teenager isn't in "summer school," she's doing some review on her own!

As we look ahead, we are anticipating a completely different summer and fall than usual. Our annual trip back to the Midwest is on hold for now. Our teen's switch to public school is on hold (who knows if open enrollment will even be possible in the times of COVID). Swimming, kayaking, hiking, and more is waiting on the okay from the tribe, and on our own comfort levels.

But we're not dismayed. (Well, maybe the teen is occasionally dismayed.) We have been investing in backyard play equipment to make it more fun to be home. We're waiting for the summer heat so we can blow up our pool and add it to the backyard fun. We're continuing the work of praying, feeding the hungry, passing out masks (thanks to some wonderful supporters around the country), and more. We're even developing a Virtual VBS for the kids here!

We are very blessed that our jobs and lives allow us to continue to work and be happy from home. We are not suffering from quarantine, as I know some families are. If we can provide support of some kind for your family, please let me know via email at robinlynnekautz@gmail.com. We're all in this together, and we can all make it if we support one another!