Today Has Been the Hardest at Day 15 (may have lost count by now)

Today emotions are all over the place. This is getting harder. Kids are just not meant to be isolated for this long. Teenager’s hormones and emotions are all over the place to begin with and now throw this at them. It’s an emotional rollercoaster. Generally, my kids are pretty easy going and make the best of a situation but it’s getting harder and harder. I think especially when they hear on the news...kids aren’t getting it. Some media outlets are making it a life or death situation, some are not as bad. Some areas are harder hit then others. We have been lucky here in Orange County/Chapel Hill. North Carolina in general are not as bad as other hot spots like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. It seems to be the locations which have major airports were the areas hit hardest for obvious reasons. Some parents have been a little more relaxed on the social distancing then others. I also have a couple kids and a husband with asthma, so I really can’t take that maybe 1 percent chance that they may or may not get it. Better safe than sorry. 

Living in the country we are even more isolated than those living in neighborhoods. Thank goodness! Also living in the country, I just figured everyone was following the social distancing rule and just staying home. I noticed that wasn’t the case when I would go into town for a run. I also think it would be even harder explaining why you can’t cross the road to play with your friends. At least they are seeing other human beings even if from afar! That’s what they are supposed to be doing anyways. I went to a local park to park and start my run on the greenway the other day, but yet there was still families there on the park equipment and along the trail yet another smaller park where kids were playing while the moms sat side by side chatting away like a normal play date. I wanted so badly to walk over there and say something but I did not. They definitely were not following the six foot distance rule and no play dates. Hello, that defeats the purpose. The longer people do not follow this rule, the longer we have to be stuck at home. It infuriates me.  It is an simple concept. 

I do not mind being less busy and this pace had been nice for a change.Being stuck at home isn’t all that bad from my point of view. At first there was the normal bickering between brothers but the one good thing that has come out of this is, they have also gotten closer and had to figure out how to make this work with all three of them. They probably have gotten along better in the last couple weeks then ever. The older ones have been more cognizant of making sure they include their younger brother in things. They all go to their rooms when they need a break without me refereeing anything. They get up and have breakfast, then get logged onto their laptops and get their schoolwork done for the day. Then in the afternoon, we get our exercise in together. The trails are still open so we can hit those for a run or bike ride. Cooper has hockey workouts to do and it has been fun for him to have Braedyn join him. They can push each other. Our dog Jake is liking all this attention! He’s getting walks everyday and everyone’s been spending so much time with him. There’s really been no bed times or alarms, except dad. He’s still has to get up and get on his calls in the morning. There are things I have let slide like bedtimes, screen time, and might be appropriate to wear jammies all day. This time has definitely brought them closer. It is something for the history books and they will not forget. I saw a post about a time capsule which I plan to do with them. 

Things You Didn’t Think of Before Coronavirus— Day 12

So thanks to this virus I’m really paying a lot more attention to what I do in the grocery store and dang have you ever tried open those darn bags for apples, oranges, lemons etc... ya 🤬! I hope no one had that on video... #thingsdidntthinkofbeforeakillervirus cmon I know someone else pulled the bag off the thing and was like now what 😆😂 #dontlickyourfinger

Coronavirus thoughts...Day 11

Today at least the sun is shining and the boys all logged onto their computers to do their lessons for the day without to much nagging. It has become our new schedule and routine. 

Breakfast 9:30

School 10:00-1:00 or 2

Workouts sometime after

When I decided to homeschool Cooper for this year, it took about a year of researching the best options and deciding if we both could do it. We are currently at 80 percent complete with his online school, Liberty University Online Academy. I can’t believe how fast it went by when thinking back to the first day when we were scared and nervous.

I want parents to know Crisis/Isolation school is not the same as traditional homeschooling or online homeschooling. This is something you were thrown into as well as the educators and school systems. Some may have been planning for this ahead of time and some may have not and are winging it. Teachers are doing their best with the situation at hand. So if you are thinking of continuing to homeschool after this is all over, just make sure you know what you are getting into. It is not difficult but there are things to consider.  If you are doing traditional homeschool you are now the teacher making the curriculum. Right now they have one... Also for online its not a matter of logging on and you, as the parent, can go for a run or go to work etc....I still have to help and make sure he is doing the work the right way and help him with some lessons. I take it as an assistant to the online teacher. It asks an adult be present. I would say the one thing a parent cold take away from this as a trial run, if you are thinking of diving into it, is to see if you’re child is self motivated to get on and do his work daily and stay focused. 

The only advice I have is, stick to a schedule and be patient. 

It should really only take 3-4 hours for them to do their work sometimes even just a couple hours. 

What I am finding is the technology isn’t always perfect and sometimes does not work. That is the most frustrating from the distance learning. Our online school has had no issues and I have been very pleased with it. 

Shoot for the moon

I would stop time if I could

I would hold you in my arms forever if I could 

Because my heart just can’t let go.

But I know 

Little boys grow 

And that’s just not how it goes.

Because you have to spread your wings child

And you’ll find

I’ll always be right by your side

It’s not always easy

Chasing your dreams

Reach for the stars

No matter how big or how far

I know you will fly 

All you gotta do is try.

Just shoot for the moon

No matter where you are

You’ll land among the stars.

My heart sings and my eyes fill with joy

When I look at this young man 

Who will always be my little boy

You’ve made me so proud 

And I’d scream it from any crowd

I know God has an amazing plan ahead for you

And I can trust and put my faith on that truth

There is no one more truer than you

I’m blessed that you call me mom

my arms always will be outstretched long

Longing for your touch and your big smile

And your love across the miles.

May your journey be happy

And on the right track 

Your stories make you laugh 

Your memories take you back

May you never lose track of who you are

You’ll always be my shining star.

Coronavirus thoughts...Day 10

We survived the first full of week of social distancing (staying 6 feet away from each other) and since people are not taking it seriously and doing what they have been told to do, the order now just came into our County in NC for a Shelter-In-Place. You are to remain home unless your work is essential such as hospitals, grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, or daycare centers. Businesses will be closed that are nonessential. The realization is if we don’t do this, it is going to spread to fast for our healthcare workers to keep up  and we won’t have enough supplies to help the sick people. The longer they do not follow the rules, the longer we are going to have to stay in our homes and have things shut down. We need to get back to our normal lives. I still cannot believe this is happening. It is like a Sci-Fi movie on Netflix.

We are all feeling different things and experiencing different emotions on any given day. Not only are the adults but so are the children. The ones that are old enough will never forget this. The younger ones hopefully their days aren’t too interrupted by having to stay home. Like our pets, they are probably loving all the one-on-one attention. While we are going through this pandemic let yourself and your children feel these things, it is normal. Ask them how they are doing and check in with them. It is a perfect time to get a conversation going with them. 

We all know this is temporary, although a week feels like a month! Things will be different in the world just like it was after 9/11. It’s sad that it takes these kinds of tragedies for Americans to have compassion for each other and really help each other out. It should be this way everyday. There is this acceptance and understanding amongst Americans right now and it is so good to see everyone coming together. We all know how to do it, so now if we can just get politicians to do that. Wouldn’t that be great!

There are emotions such as denial (we saw that on the news of college kids on spring break), sadness, grief (people are dying), anxiety, fear and anger. There are so many emotional stages to this pandemic. It is similar to losing a loved one. You are going to miss what used to be or your longing right now for what was. Just as in life when we lose a loved one, we reflect and take the opportunity to look at things through a different lens.

Do not have regrets

Tell people you love them

Call your mom and dad

Appreciate the little things in life

Enjoy living

Embrace the pace

Have compassion

Only control what you can control

Laugh until you cry

Until tomorrow....

When Someone Hit the Pause Button

Someone please press play... 

I’ve always told my boys to play like it’s your last game because you never know when it is your last. I don’t think that ever set in until recently. My hockey players and the rest of the youth sports world, do not know when they are going to be able to get back to what they love most. The ability to go out and play a sport you love is sometimes taken for granted. If a player is sidelined with an injury, that is one thing but this situation is something unheard of. The country is under quarantine from a virus that originated in China and is spreading fast and killing thousands across the country. It is Covid-19 otherwise named, the Coronavirus. They have closed borders, have travel bans, and shut down the entire sports culture as we know it for the unseen future. For someone who lives and breathes by a schedule, this has been a struggle. We are also a family who lives and breathes sports. They haven’t been able to play their sports as everything was cancelled and rinks even shut down. Then we are sequestered to be home with no sports on the television. It has made for some quality family time, which I have said we needed more of anyways. There have been family dinners, playing board games ~which my youngest has termed boring games, and some exercising together. They have even learned some life skills like cooking for themselves. Also, churches have closed so they’ve been having to do confirmation class by texting and watching pastor on Sunday online. Doing all this, while having their dad working from home since his office closed and also doing homeschool with all three boys. All the schools in the state are closed and students were instructed to do distance learning. Luckily, this year I have experience in this area as my middle son is doing online school this year at home for 8th grade. We have a schedule and so we just added two more students to our class roster. They all keep busy until about 1:00 p.m. They have been great at logging on and getting their work done and teachers are doing a great job getting work to them being thrown into this online education at the last minute. This has also taught them organizational skills, responsibility, and accountability. I’m very thankful for older brothers that can help the youngest on his Math. When the alphabet is involved with math, mom can no longer help.

Also, all of this made me reflect a little bit to the last week of hockey, since I find myself missing the rink and watching my boys do something they love to do. I also miss our hockey family. That is what you become because let’s face it, I spend more time with them during the season then my own family. Hockey is a huge part of our family’s life. As the season was ending, I remember having a conversation with a dad and counting down the days to the last practice. He said, “I hate to think of it that way, one day it will be done and then what will we do and this is the best time of their life and we should be enjoying it and not counting days until it’s done because we will never get it back.” It caught me off guard a little bit and gave me a bit of perspective. He’s good at doing that for me! He is right! I have this love/hate relationship with hockey and it’s really easy to get negative especially after a long expensive season with many sacrifices the whole family makes. It is usually a lot of busy weeknights of homework, maybe dinner at home or on the go, divide and conquering with my husband of making sure no one gets left somewhere. Sundays are not spent at church but a rink somewhere. The checkbook and bank accounts are spitting dust out of the ATM machine. I’m probably not the only one who feels this way but my love for hockey certainly outweighs the negative. I can’t even begin to list the many things the sport has given to us in return... too many to list! Now I should take my own advice and just always just enjoy the game because you never know when it’ll be over. 

The past couple weeks it has been over...well at least on pause. At first, it was disappointing and frustrating especially for those seniors, I can’t imagine the disappointment those kids have. I know most hockey parents right now are all wondering when will the rinks open back up, what can we do to keep our kids moving, and wondering when spring and summer tournaments will get rescheduled, and when will tryouts get rescheduled, people plan around those dates! Will my child be ready when the dates are posted and hoping not to have to reschedule the family vacation. 

If anything this time will be telling... If they really love this sport, are they outside shooting pucks, stick-handling, doing any off ice drills or workouts, if they have blades; are they outside skating or finding some time to better themselves? This is a hard time for everyone who loves hockey and really any sport. This is a time when gyms are closed, there is not a trainer telling you what to do or how to do it, there is not a skating coach pushing you through the last drill, or even a rink open to go play pick up. This time is on your player. What are they gonna do with it? Will they let the time pass playing NHL20 or use this “gift” of time God has given them to get better? If they do, there should not be a question in their mind if they are ready. They are going through something no one else on the planet has ever been through. Adversity makes everyone stronger. In a time where kids are playing year round sports more than ever, it is important for them to have a period of time where they are missing their sport. I don’t think that probably happens enough and that’s why you see a lot of burn out. Everyone’s in the same boat right now. They will be ok with some down time. If they miss it, that’s when you know they love it.

Next time I’m complaining about my hour drive to practice or a ten hour drive for a tournament, I’m going to remember when I was at home quarantined wishing I could sit in a cold rink watching my boys do what they love to do. 

Ironically now, I find myself counting the days until we can go back to the rink. We take these things for granted to easily in the world we live in. I know many kids are missing their teammates right now and wonder when they will lace back up. Sports are going through a period of uncertainty right now but soon that will be over. When we all get back to our busy schedules and someone hits the play button again, if you find your mind wondering-what would I do if I had more time on my hands? Think of this time...

Because hopefully everything you had been wanting to do with more time on your hands, has already been done by now! 

Stay safe and wash your hands! No matter what teams we cheer for or the logos/colors we wear-We are all in this together!