Viral

It all fell apart on the day our couch for our den got here. 

It was going to be a great day. A ridiculously great day. The den was finished enough that we could start using it (More on Tales of the Basement later - I'm waiting until we can take "after" pics) and we were supposed to go see Keane in Denver. Just the two of us. Our first concert since having kids, the Psychedelic Furs concert having been trampled on by the neighbor kid who threw a rock at Jane's head. 

Anyway, the forecast was very iffy, so we packed some clothes in case we needed to stay the night. The kids were going to stay with their grandparents and we were so, so excited. 

And then it happened. 1:00 in the afternoon, the concert got cancelled. That was March 13th. Right after the NBA cancelled its season and right before the Disney Parks shut their doors. Nothing's been the same since. We've been on virus lockdown. 

The couch still arrived, and we still put it together. (wait for the after pics)

School was cancelled for the kids. 

Somewhere in the mess, I found time to interview for a new job... a promotion... something to do with planning road projects and data. There's never a good time for a new job.

Weirdly, I got the job, but by the time I cleaned out my cubicle, most of my coworkers were already working from home. 

I set up my new cubicle, stayed in an empty office for one day...

and then quietly repaired to my living room, where I have been for the last month - trying to figure out a new job I have no idea how to do. It has been stressful.

We try to fill the time going for walks

and homeschooling and  watching poorly produced celebrity youtube videos... and fighting. So much fighting. This is hard on the kids. No friends, no school, no travel, nothing to do but feel like the world is imploding around them. 

This is hard on me. New job, new stress, so much uncertainty. I spend the days in Google meets... taking hours to understand what could have been communicated in minutes in an office setting.

This is hard on Chris. He is feeling trapped just like the rest of us. 

We try to get outside, to do things for others, but nothing will substitute for normalcy. 

The whole world is going through this misery together... lost jobs... lost time... lost minds. 

All because of a virus. 

I think it's okay to not be okay right now. None of us are.

Easter on the Inside

Easter still came this year. Despite the fact that the world is closed, we celebrated the Resurrection. 

A week before Easter, I got a text from our friends, letting us know they had hid eggs in our front yard. These are the friends that always host the huge nighttime Easter egg hunt in the park. The girls were so thrilled to have some sense of normalcy. They raced outside in their pajamas and giggled for half an hour as they found the eggs. 

We still did baskets for the kids. I had pre-ordered the Baby Yoda months ago from Disney, not knowing that our Easter world would be so different than normal. 

The girls were thrilled to find the candy and gifts in the morning. 

They even dressed up in their Easter dresses for about 15 minutes. It was sad having to do home church that day... even though I must admit I've really been digging home church. It's been a bright spot of this whole mess. 

Because it had snowed a crapload, we hid eggs around the house. That part was actually pretty fun... especially since we decided to put magnets in some of the eggs, which allowed us to attach them to bizarre surfaces. 

So this year, even though we were unable to have our normal Easter, it didn't change the fact that Christ died for us. It didn't change the fact that we are redeemed. It also didn't make Peeps any less gross. Happy Easter!