Joy On A Typical Saturday During a Pandemic

Last night David made it clear the kids needed to get up much earlier.  He suggested something that would MAKE them get out of their beds.  I say "them" and "their" but let's be honest--I'm part of that group so what he says applies to me indirectly too.  After discussing it with the kids, we decided that Saturday morning we would go to the park.  We were going to shoot for 9am.

And that's what we did.

I woke them all up and we were at the park by about 9:05am.  Maybe because it was a Saturday morning, maybe because it was cloudy and cold outside, or maybe because social distancing is pretty much the law--it was like a ghost town at the park.  Despite the 43 degree weather, the kids warmed up taking turns and having competitions on the zip line.  It is so nice to see them all playing together and helping each other, even with the huge age difference between some of them.  They're actually enjoying each other.

They weren't acting too cool to play around and be goofy.

 I guess it take a pandemic for your family to reconnect sometimes.

To a parent, this was comforting.  For a few moments, we forgot about all the chaos and the "not knowing" what tomorrow will bring.  We just enjoyed the "now.  

 Until some people couldn't bare the cold anymore, even though they were told it was cold outside and to "put something warm on".  Sometimes as a parent, you teach your kids what you know to be right and then you just have to let them make their own decisions and learn from it. 

 Other people wanted to go home because they were still tired and now hungry.

 And they got bored so they started experimenting with photography again...HOI!

 I told everybody to pick up a few pieces of trash on their way back to the van.

That's when I finally noticed the signs.

 I wonder if some of these types of pictures will end up in history books one day.

Somebody wanted to drive us home.

And then we made donuts.  But when you have little hands helping you it takes a little longer so it was more like brunch...or probably more accurate to say we made donuts for lunch.  

 I always wanted and mean to buy myself a spoon rest. Last Christmas a friend from work (the art teacher, obviously) made a few and gifted me one.  I love it!  He needs a name.

 He really is such a good helper!

Once lunch was out of the way I had asked the younger kids to pick up all the toys in the yard and the older boys to mow the lawn.  I took a shower and mentally prepped myself for a day of driving all over the great state of Texas for flour, yeast and light bulbs.

I went to 4 stores.

Thank goodness these stores finally started limiting people on how much toilet paper, paper towels hand soap, milk, and water people were allowed to buy.  I finally took the opportunity to buy these things because I hadn't since this corona virus stuff started.

In between stores I was calling my siblings here in Texas to see if they needed anything while I was out--you know with the craze and all.  But each one of them was already stocked sufficient for their needs.

I locked myself out of my car today too (this has happened probably 5 times in the last 6 months) and had to wait for roadside assistance to help me out.  Typical.

I can definitely say I found joy during my shopping.  And it wasn't with the shopping itself.  It was talking to my siblings, seeing people at the grocery store I hadn't seen in YEARS, being out in the fresh air, catching a glimpse of the sun that has been hiding behind clouds for like 2 weeks... With each one of these old friends I ran into (there were 4) during my grocery scavenger hunt, I completely forgot about social distancing and gave them hugs.  Well, except one--she called out to me from her car but I still went up to the window in what was probably not a "safe social distance".  She asked me if I was baking and I told her I wanted to bake for people but didn't think that would be appropriate with people trying to be super cautious about spreading germs.  She said "not us" with a smile.  I caught her hints and told her I'd be by with some baked goods.  But man--I miss people!  And it's only been a week!  And I don't think Polynesians can do the whole "social distance" thing very well.  We can't help greeting each other with hugs and kisses on the cheek.  Its just not in our blood.  And I feel bad that I DON'T feel bad about that.  Is that bad?

Another of my small joys today was transplanting my herb babies into bigger pots with deeper soil for their fragile roots.

Nifai and Shibs helped me give these herb babies a drink.  I just used a gallon sized water jug and poked holes in the lid.  No need to buy a watering can when you can DIY!

I also bought cherry tomato seeds which I hope to get seeded this week so we can have tomatoes for summer salads.  And speaking of salads...

This is what we had for dinner:  Vita's Taco Salad.  This week must've been Mexican Food week at our house.  Actually, we were supposed to have nachos.  It was funny because Vita had cut tomatoes, green onions, cooked the beef (2 lbs) and mixed in the beans.  After looking at it I thought to myself, "There is no way that's going to be enough for everyone".  So I took out the bundle of green leaf lettuce, chopped it up, chopped up the last two tomatoes (David told me earlier in the week we had to do something with our abundance of tomatoes because they were donated to us and he didn't want them going bad) and I chopped up the remaining cilantro.  I tossed it all in a bowl and, while Folau was standing there watching me, I took all of the taco meat and beans and dumped it into the same bowl announcing, "Everyone is eating taco salad tonight!"  Folau's eyes got big and he said, "What!  Why?"  And I told him "because we have all this produce and we're NOT going to waste it.  Besides, we said we were all going to eat better from now on so that's what we're going to do.  Get the ranch."  And guess what?  Everyone ate it--some with tortilla chips, some wrapped in flour tortillas but they all had some and they were all full by the end of the meal.  Aaaand, there was still some left over for David when he got off work.  Another moment of joy. 

Even Nifai liked it and he hates lettuce LOL!

Below was my last little bit of joy to end the evening.  We hadn't done Come, Follow Me for two days so I told the kids to get their scripture studying done and we would discuss it in 20 minutes.  Tava brought her scriptures, dictionary, pen, journal, Barbie and princess cup to the table and got busy.

I don't know if she understood everything she read, but when we discussed it moments later, she DID understand SOMETHING.  In fact, all the kids volunteered their views, ideas, and understanding of the chapters for the week.  I was enlightened by their comments and it definitely expanded my understanding of what I had acquired from my own reading.  I love moments like these.  I know we're in a pandemic right now, but I'm grateful for it.  I'm grateful for more time at home, more time with kids, more quiet moments, greater appreciation for my friendships and family ties, rain, sunshine, wholesome food, teaching moments and everything that I haven't mentioned but will be more aware of in the coming months.  This pandemic is a terrible, horrible thing.  But I've chosen to view parts of  it as a gift, at least for my family.

Tava's Come, Follow Me journal entry.