The difference a month makes...

It has been roughly a month since my last entry and already so much has changed. Our Nation, and many parts of the world, are experiencing a pandemic. The Corona Virus (COVID-19) has spread to the United States, including Arizona, and our county (Pinal). 1,413 people have tested positive in AZ so far and 29 people have died from the virus. It is very contagious and the elderly, as well as those with underlying health conditions, are at higher risk. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has issued this order:

Under the Executive Order, Arizonans shall limit their time away from their place of residence or property, except:

• To conduct or participate in essential activities, and/or;
• For employment, to volunteer or participate in essential functions; or
• To utilize any services or products provided by essential business services;
• And for employment if as a sole proprietor or family owned business, work is conducted in a separate office space from your home and the business is not open to serve the public.

Schools are also closed for the remainder of the school year. Restaurants can only provide take out or delivery options. Church has moved to home-church and temples are closed. General Conference will not be held in the Conference Center this coming weekend. Only those speaking will attend (music has been pre-recorded). T-ball and baseball were cancelled for Eleanor and Josh. Karate was cancelled. The boys take piano lessons and meet with their teachers from school via Zoom. Eleanor picks up her preschool folder with worksheets and activities in it on Tuesdays from her teacher's front porch after dropping it off with completed work on Mondays. 

We have never experienced anything like this. Suddenly all five kids are home all day, every day. I am embracing "home schooling" (I'm using quotations because this probably doesn't look like the full homeschool experience kids have who homeschool regularly - we have suggested assignments from the boys' school but nothing mandated yet.) But we follow this daily schedule and it helps our day flow pretty well for the most part. 

The older kids are also expected to complete their daily checklists (dressed, teeth brushed, read, practice piano for the boys, jobs, patch for Eleanor) before they can have Disney+ time during quiet time, which motivates them. 

The daily bike ride helps. We have been riding up to the school (Butterfield) to get lunch (a sack lunch provided by people in masks with gloves on). I try to do fun things for creative time (today we made play dough). I think I'm doing okay but sometimes my patience wears thin. The days are long and exhausting. But we're getting used to our new normal and making it work.