The news out there is heavy. Can you feel it? Like thunderclouds that are about to explode. But, if you squint and look just right, can you see it? There’s a silver lining.
Some days the silver lining is easy to spot and I’m easy to smile. And some days, it’s faint and hard to detect — a little bit like my patience. But, in the midst of this unprecedented time in our history, I’m choosing to squint. I’m choosing to believe that there is a bright, strong sun behind that big, dark cloud. I’m choosing to spot the silver lining and to hold on with all my might.
There are six people in my house. Six people. All. The. Time.
It’s intense. And messy. And loud.
But all in all, we’ve also been able to engage in some really fun and exciting adventures that I can guarantee we wouldn’t have found room for in our usual schedule.
Saying Yes! to Creativity and Adventure
Some of the activities have been virtual — what I like to call the Internet at its finest — and many of them have been proximal — with those right beside us.
We’ve gone to England and participated in PE with Joe. He’s great with the kids, and I’ve even been participating in the workouts as well. Every day we spot the differences and get our hearts pumping.
We took hours to make a huge box into an awesome fort, complete with indoor and outdoor decorations.
We’ve taken virtual tours of the National Parks, and even found our own house on Google Earth (ok, that was a little bit creepy!)
We’ve made DIY liquid watercolors and Kool-Aid ice cubes, and experimented in a gigantic sensory bin.
We’ve Lunch Doodle-ed with Mo Willems and entered into the home studio of one of our favorite authors and gotten a behind-the-scenes tour on writing and illustrating books for children. And my kids can’t stop drawing the pigeon. The pigeon is everywhere! This one, seriously, has been a favorite. Check it out, if you haven’t already!
I never would have said yes to many of these activities (or the length of these activities, or the mess of these activities) had we not been stuck at home. But here we are with nothing but time, so what was my answer? Yes!
I hope, when we all come out of this, that my kids remember the fun we had and the time we spent together. I hope that we can adjust our schedule to allow for more freedom and creativity. I hope that I can keep saying “Yes!” to my kids and their crazy plans!
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