Quarantine: Day 40

40 days.  Of quarantine.  Of being asked to stay at home.
Of no school--well, no in-person school.  E-learning has taken over, with its scheduled Zoom calls multi-disciplinary projects, and blurred lines between too much work and pointless work for the girls, countless hours spent communicating with families for me.  I'm over it.  I'm a real teacher, where I show up every day, make copies at the last minute, talk to my students in the hallway, on my feet all day long, kind of teacher.  I'm not a virtual teacher.
Of being ultra cautious about germs and viruses.  Wearing a face mask just to go get groceries and meticulously cleaning all those groceries before putting them in my cupboards at home.  Plastic shields between the cashier and I.  And hand sanitizer -- ALL the hand sanitizer in the world.
Of cancelled plans.  College visits with admissions to set up a freshman year schedule.  Marine Corps drill.  Getting braces off.  Dinner with a friend.  Dance lessons.  Spring break cruise to the Caribbean.  Doctor appointments.  Haircuts.  Senior pictures.  Prom.  Class trip to Washington, DC.  Awards programs.  Graduation.  And every other small or medium-sized or gigantic plans we had.  Cancelled. 
It may only be 40.  Today it feels like 400.

But on the other hand.....
For 40 days, we've had our kids ALL TO OURSELVES.  No scheduled plans with friends.  No practices or rehearsals or competitions or performances to run to.  We've been together.  Watched so many movies.  Played countless board games.  We've been bored.....together.  We're all that we've got right now.  And trust me--being placed in that narrow hallway between Kennedy's senior year of high school and her freshman year of college, I will gladly take having her at home all day, every day, as much as I can.
For 40 days, my kids haven't complained about the meals I've made.  They've seen the bare shelves at the grocery store.  They've heard me apologize for not being able to find the kind of chips or cereal they wanted.  They've seen the evening news with footage of people lined up at food pantries.  They've thanked me for making dinner and have occasionally unloaded the dishwasher (which we now run once a day) without being asked.
For 40 days, my To Do List has been tackled, with the "have to's" being replaced with "could do's".  My house is clean.  I've organized and cleaned out every space possible.  I've bagged up so much unneeded stuff to (one day soon) take to Goodwill.  I do laundry as soon as the hamper is full, and it's washed, dried, AND PUT AWAY in the same 24 hour period.  Guys, I've even washed the windows.  To not have all these household things hanging over me is such a relief.  I no longer put off the things that I have to do, because now I have all the time in the world to do them.
For 40 days, my family has been safe and healthy.  No fevers, no sickness, no worry or fear if we will be next.
So yes, it may be only day 40.  And I don't know how many more days like this we've got left.....but I've never known how many days I've got left.  Lord, help me to find the good in each day, because I know it's there.  Help me to be thankful for each day, not bored out of my mind and waiting for "normal" to return.