Spring Is Here (and so is the Corona Virus)

   It is Spring again. There are tiny purple Violets blooming in my little front garden bed. They have never been there before, and I didn't plant them. They are a gift that bring a smile to my face every time I see them. There are also Hyacinths blooming and my daughter brought one in for me the other day. They are so fragrant. Last week our days were full of sunshine! We don't see much of that through the winter months and so having sunshine meant that all of a sudden the walls of my house, that were closing in on me, and making me desperate to move, seemed to expand and I could breath again.

  Something exponential has happened in such a small amount of time. The world has collectively fallen apart! There is a rampant virus raging that has incited fear and anxiety and panic into maybe every country in the world! News of the virus has been floating around since January that I remember. I don't follow the news as it causes me anxiety but I heard mention of a virus in China that was causing a lot of grief. Then, right before Spring break started here where I live, it reached our country and everything changed. Panic buying ensued and for some reason everyone and their great aunt decided toilet paper was essential. It became a very hot commodity. Going to a grocery store now takes courage and patience and the knowledge of how far apart six feet is exactly. There are many empty shelves. Why was toilet paper the rock star? I have no answers to that question but some people out there have a couple years worth of toilet paper in their homes. Lord bless them.

  My husband has talked about the crashing stock market and the economy. I have listened to our nations leader asking people to social distance and to stay home. Small businesses in my town have closed, friends have lost their jobs for now. It all happened within a week it seemed! Schools have closed for the rest of the school year. Teachers are scrambling to figure out a new normal and what exactly they are going to do in order to keep teaching the children who must remain at home. Weddings have been cancelled and postponed, conferences, birthday parties and vacations can't happen, countries' borders are closed, church services are only online. Elderly people are isolated and not allowed to see loved ones. Woman giving birth are giving birth without their spouses to support them, or just with their spouse and are without doula's and birth photographers and friends present. Sports are not happening, either are concerts. People are 'sheltering in place' and not allowed to leave their homes for weeks on end to try to 'flatten the curve'. Everything in life has changed.so.much.

In the blink of an eye really

  What has been on my mind a lot are the families who have been thrown into a home school like setting but without choice or warning.

   My heart goes out to everyone right now on so many levels, but the families who have their children home 24/7, all of a sudden, with no sports, no parks (they are all closed), no play dates, nothing to do out side of the home I feel like I can personally understand the overwhelm parents must be feeling and it must be so intense. Our society decided at some point that the way a proper family operated was to be outside of the home as much as humanly possible...I would love to encourage you that in many ways this time at home has the potential to be a gift. In other ways it is really really challenging. When I started homeschooling it was not really something I felt I had a choice to do. My daughter was struggling so severely that going to school stopped being an option. I did not want to home school. I just had to. It was really hard. I know I am not mentioning the financial part of all this. There are so many hard things on so many levels with this whole situation that I am just talking about the sudden unscheduled no choice but to  home school situation.

   There are all different ways to attempt to wrap your head around this. Start with...they are your own children after all right?  It helps to take it one day at a time. Try to really have low expectations of what you need to do. Home school really has potential to be short and sweet every day. Having a small morning ritual of maybe reading aloud or listening to a story online can be centering. Have a snack around 10am.  Fuel always helps attitudes in my home. Let children figure out how they work and learn best. I have some that despise writing but don't mind typing. I have some that learn best hands on or visually. Having a bit of a routine might work for some. Doing practical learning can be fun for some. I mean every family is going to figure out what works best for them through trial and error. I think I would encourage a lot of self care for the primary care giver. I would encourage a lot of grace, hydration and nourishment for the body and soul and some time alone when ever possible :) Your children are gifts but some days it sure does not feel that way.....at all! We all feel that from time to time.

The big thing is

We are ALL in this together...even Germany where homeschooling is not legal! That makes me smile a bit. We are ALL going through this. No one is alone...well except we are...in our houses...

But anyway

The other things is

Our grandparents and great grandparents went through World War One and The Great Depression and World War Two. This toilet paper hording, mass panic, and all the things, might seem a bit much to them. They survived much much more and so many levels.

So, take a deep breath. Spring is here ~ the signs of hope and new life are everywhere.

Take heart, this too shall pass, and until then we need to love on our families as best as we can and let our breath slow and our hearts find peace.

All the best with that :)

Tansy