The Big White Farmhouse

I did the math and because we had the flu two weeks before this lockdown began, I have not left my property in 35 days.  That is a little crazy, even for a homebody introvert like me.  The Governor of Virginia also issued a “stay at home” order until June (!) and that feels like a loooong time away, doesn’t it?  I’m still trying to wrap my head around it all.

This was the first week where our new normal started to feel really real.  I’ve been trying to be upbeat and enthusiastic and positive (mostly for the sake of the kids) but by Monday, I started to feel a little raw.  The emotional roller coaster has been rough: I feel such happiness for the slower living and the extra time my family gets to be altogether, but then I’m crushed with concern for our community, family and friends.  It’s a lot of feelings and obviously, I’m not dealing with it very well.  I spent a few days floundering and feeling restless.  I had a million things I wanted to accomplish, but was unmotivated to do much of anything.  Thankfully, by the end of the week, I came up with something to help me keep going (more on that tomorrow) because really, that’s all anyone can do right now – keep going.

Bittersweet news: Tomie de Paola, one of our favorite children’s book authors, died on Monday at the age of 85.  Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.

Lots of work done on the garden!  The gravel pathway is laid and half of the beds are filled.  M cut a few branches from a tree we’ll be taking down and made them into a teepee for the garden.  Mark ordered lumber online from Home Depot and will start on the fence when it gets delivered.  Hopefully we’ll be ready to start planting in the next few weeks!

Things keeping us busy this week: printable coloring pages, Querkles, and a new puzzle.

I miss going to Mass.  I can only describe it as a deep soul-level ache.  I hope I never take the Eucharist for granted again.

Questions Mark and I keep asking as we see so many people and small businesses in our community suffer during this time is, What can we do?  How can we help our neighbor when we’re not supposed to be anywhere near them?  We’re constantly brainstorming, but here’s what we did this week:

• We ordered gravel for our garden path from a local nursery.  We paid over the phone and they delivered it to the house, so all social distancing rules were observed.  
• We scheduled the removal of two dead trees with a local tree care service.  This has been on our to-do list anyway and since it’s outside work, we don’t have to worry about any unnecessary contact.
• A mom and pop type restaurant in our town set up a way for residents to buy meals for first responders and hospital employees.  We donated (as part of our family’s 2020 Giving for April) to the cause.
• We taped a thank you to the trash can for our garbage man.