Sowing Seeds in Uncertain Times
I’ve been trying to write this post all week, but I can’t seem to get my bearings. A week and a half ago, things were mostly normal and we were planning a trip to visit family in Canada. Since then, everything has been canceled and the borders are closed. We’re living in some kind of surreal YA dystopia, and I have no idea what to say.
So, deep breath, here we are in quarantine. Sort of. My husband is still working, for the moment, which is a blessing and a curse. I’m unbelievably lucky that my job was already 90% from home and there are no changes for me to process there, other than that the information I am putting out is frequently rather bleak. School has been out for a week, and so far the lad is handling it like a champ.
Last week was his birthday week, one that was supposed to include some pretty big celebrations that were, of course, canceled- or rather, I should say, postponed. Turning 5 will have some very different memories attached to it than we had planned, but the resilience this little guy has demonstrated absolutely blows me away. I will say, we did manage to put a positive spin on everything:
“Guess what buddy, we don’t get to have your big party this year, but you’re going to get to celebrate your birthday in a bunch of little ways over the course of several weeks.”
“Remember how you asked to stay home from school on your actual birthday? You are going to get to stay home for two whole weeks — at least!”
Inside, I was more and more of a wreck as the week went on. First, the trip north was canceled, then we chose not to go to a friend’s party, then we informed him his costume bowling party was canceled, and then we had to break it to him that it would probably be just the three of us for his birthday.
There were a lot of tears. From me. Once he’d gone to bed.
He seemed to take it all in stride. All the same, Husband and I had lots of late evenings, processing and discussing how we could make this a good birthday despite everything.
So we gave him a “Yes” day. Anything that didn’t require going into public or involve terrorizing the animals was a yes. From wake up to bedtime, he got to call the shots. He mostly used it to obtain more TV and junk food than usual. Of course, there was cake and ice cream, and we even FaceTimed a few grandparents in to sing him Happy Birthday. He did not get too drunk on power and he informed me when he woke up the next morning that he had, “had a mighty fine birthday.”
I do not kid you. That is exactly what he said. My child is not of this century.
He does understand the basics of what has been going on, (thank you, Brains On!) and that we need to be more careful and stay home a lot more than he’s used to. He gets why school is closed and has responded to every disappointment with a level of poise that no adult I know is managing. So far, he’s thriving. I’m apparently raising a little introvert. Of course, we’ll see how he’s fairing after another week or two.
We have a ton of tools on hand to try to keep things fresh. Friends have sent craft and activity books or shared links to useful online resources. His amazing teacher is putting together a packet for him with familiar learning materials to keep him on track and give him a sense of normalcy. We’ve even located the old Wii that we can pull out when he really starts to bounce off the walls. Video games are a fairly new and intriguing concept for him. We’re saving it for if things get really rough.
We’re also getting outside and hiking every chance we get. We’re lucky enough to live in a place that has a huge number of hikes we have not yet had time to explore, and we’re taking advantage of that. Mostly we’re trying not to morn what has been lost, and instead focusing on being together, staying healthy, and planting seeds, both literally and metaphorically.
Every day we try to reach out, by phone, text, Facebook, or video chat, to connect with friends and family. We check in on each other’s health – physical, mental, and emotional. In all honesty, I’ve probably been communicating with my loved ones more in the last few days than I have in the last few months (Sorry, guys).
We have resorted to Amazon for a few things, but if we have to venture out, we try to keep all our purchases as local as we can to support our friends and neighbors. I’ve already told many of my family members that everyone is getting gift certificates for Christmas. We’re trying to find ways to purchase online from our local restaurants and stores, as well as our friends who are instructors, massage therapists, Reiki practitioners, etc. We, want to do all we can to keep people going during these crazy tough times.
We’ve also been rededicating ourselves to the goal of expanding our own self-reliance. Husband is talking with a local apiary to finally get the bees he’s been wanting for years. This week, the lad and I will focus on getting the gardens started. We’re going to start up our seedlings, hopefully put together our recycled bottle greenhouse, and prepare some new garden plots. My mother has instructions to block out her garden area with stakes this week and we’re hoping to go up and till the lot this coming weekend (while maintaining distance and interacting with them only through the windows). We’re hoping to grow as much as we can to share with our family and social cohort over the months to come. I’m also trying to figure out the best way to get a few chicks to add to our flock. Not only is it time, but it will give the lad a great project to take his mind off the question of when he can see his friends again.
We’re only one week into this, and after the whirlwind of the last 10 days, we’re realizing that we can’t plan or control much of anything. So in the meantime, we’ll keep putting one foot in front of the other, keep checking in on each other, and try to focus on planting seeds for a better future.