Thoughts during a pandemic

Pandemics don't seem to come around that often, so I thought I would share my feelings concerning my experience with covid-19. Our family started our quarantine in March 2020. None of my family members have contracted the coronavirus and we work hard to avoid it. My only outside ventures include the drive-thru pharmacy and the walmart grocery pick-up. Otherwise, I am at home 100% of the time. Most of my kids are fine with this new change, but a couple of them crave more human interaction, namely Silas and Sarah.

Shortly after we moved to remote school in March/April 2020, I began a cousin zoom session with my nieces and nephews on my mom's side of the family. We have kept that up once a week since then, but I am losing steam and running out of ideas so I plan to stop doing it. It's been fun for me to see my nieces and nephews and for my kids to connect more with their cousins. We have also begun writing letters to family members and friends each week. Since we cannot see people in person - I tried to think of any way that we could reach out. 

Having the kids home full-time and not being able to take advantage of respite care, I have put together a daily list of requirements for during the week and one for Sunday. I also made a Pierce Family Electronics Plan to outline when my kids can and cannot access electronics. We also watch a movie everyday in the afternoon during the week. Calvin and I organized all of the DVD's in alphabetical order and we printed a list so that we can keep track of what we have watched. 

I made a list of over a hundred composers and we listen to a new one each week on my Echo Show in the kitchen. We acquired two pug puppies in the midst of the pandemic: Rocky and Ruby. They are precious souls and bring me such joy on a daily basis. I am so thankful for their fun personalities and their affection. 

We recently purchased THE CHOSEN and have been watching one episode per week. It has been wonderful for my family. We continue to read the scriptures every evening right after dinner. We keep our scriptures on the lazy susan in the center of the table. 

Going to therapy for my kids has been quite time-consuming in the past, but now we have access to online therapy and I have three kids participating in it. It's so convenient!

Tyler's job is studying math, which he does from home - which means the pandemic doesn't really affect him whatsoever. He meets his advisor once a week on zoom and doesn't have to go on base at all. 

For me, I have had to work harder to get some alone time to buoy myself up when I feel down. Normally, I don't suffer from any depression or anxiety, but with the pandemic I have felt down a bit now and then. I have taken to journaling to help myself work through any emotional issues that I have felt. I have put on some extra weight during the pandemic, but I am actively working on myself and hope to begin intermittent fasting coupled with a high protein low carb diet soon, likely just after my birthday - which is coming up. I am also trying to build up my feelings of self-worth and to not tie my self-worth with my weight, which is difficult for me. 

The kids have taken the restrictions in stride. We have three high risk family members (me, Calvin, & Silas). I made some masks for our family and even shared some with some neighbors. For a while, we were taking groceries to our elderly neighbors, so they could avoid the store. 

It's intriguing to me that we are experiencing a pandemic - something that affects EVERYONE on the planet. I feel more connected with the human race due to this. And being an optimist, I tend to focus on the GOOD amidst the bad. I know that we are supposed to learn something from this experience and I am thankful for those life lessons.