Jay and I have been talking to my sil, Jackie, over the past week or so trying to figure out what everyone felt comfortable with as we all start the slow descent into starting to ease social distancing guidelines. I know there's lots of different opinions and thoughts on the subject. What's comfortable for some people won't be comfortable for other people. And that's definitely ok. None of us has lived through a pandemic before and we are all navigating uncharted waters! For us, we felt comfortable taking this one small step back into the "world of normal".
The kids were thrilled!
Their play date also coincided with a rare return for Sarah back to her apartment last night because her roommates wanted to celebrate her birthday. Ellie also ended up having an unplanned for social distancing get together with a friend today. Jon is out of the house spending time with Marisa's family. Which left me home with just Jay and Peter!
That means that (hope you can hear the tune in your head)....For the first time in forever, there is silence in the house.....
I mean actual silence! I can hear the whirl of the washing machine and the dryer as Peter orchestrates the laundry room as his own very OCD symphony. (There are pluses and minuses to that but, with the rest of his "normal routine" MIA for several months now, there are only so many battles that are worth fighting as a mom.)
I also hear the swish of a paint brush as Jay refreshes the paint in our bathroom in preparation for Jon and Marisa's rehearsal dinner that we will host in just over a month. But, other than those two sounds, it is SO incredibly quiet and peaceful!
I have missed this!
As a mom of many, there are not a lot of quiet moments in the day. Once the quarantine began and everyone, including the two kids living away at school, came home, there was literally no quiet in the house. ever.
Honestly, it was starting to get to me. Just this morning, almost everyone was occupied with some kind of playing or getting ready for the day and I snuck into my room trying to get a few minutes of peace to read the daily Mass readings and pray the Holy Spirit Novena prayer for today. One of the older girls happened to be showering in my bathroom, singing happily(and loudly)...and I just thought to myself that I would never.find.a.quiet.moment.again. Dramatic...well, yes...but that's the way I was feeling.
I guess God heard that plea for quiet in my heart and arranged for all of these things to fall into place, for which I am very grateful.
Having this blessing of quiet reminds me of all the years when we had very young children.(which were a lot of years!) Getting a reprieve from a nursing baby or a clingy toddler(or both) was a rare occurrence. As much as I love my kids and was grateful to be home with them full time, there were many times when the burn out was overwhelming.
Now, after almost 3 years of having everyone in school full time and working part time with some very small snippets of time during most school weekdays that I could call my own, this quarantine has propelled me back into full time parenting. (with an added bonus of having to coordinate, sometimes teach, and follow through will school work!) The reminders of the burn out and lack of quiet returned very quickly...especially the added burn out of having a special needs child home with you 24/7. Before Peter became a teenager, there were many years when it would take me weeks to recover from the emotional stress of having Peter home with me for the few weeks between when his summer program would end and the regular school year would start again.
Thankfully, he isn't as challenging now, but 9 weeks at home has definitely taken its toll on him and on me.
So, having a little time to recharge today is such a blessing...
Wondering what the other song is that's been going through my head? Reunited And It Feels So Good...that's an old one and I actually had to look up who sang it. It's by Peaches and Herb and came out in 1978. For these pics, though, that song is the perfect sentiment!
