A Summer in Quarantine
August 14, 2020
This is what much of my summer looked like: Sean asleep, Matthew sitting right behind him, and Maggie skipping along in the sunshine, while I push our stroller. Most weekday mornings started exactly the same, on a morning stroll with my kids. It was an opportunity to give Sean and Matthew what they love most—a nap for the baby and beautiful scenery for our big boy. Meanwhile, Maggie and I got into good conversations.
It wasn’t always easy. Most mornings I had to beg and plead and sometimes bribe Maggie to get dressed. Matthew lost his shoe once and we ended up having to do our 30-minute walk twice in order to retrieve it—on a 90-degree day. Many days I came home sweating profusely, switching the air on and downing cold water. Some days I told Maggie to hop on the back of the stroller and buckle up because we were going to do the walk quickly.
Others we waved to neighbors, found rocks to paint, and took in the flowers. Upon returning home, we would read a book of Matthew’s choosing (pretty much always PJ Funnybunny; It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny) and do a “summer camp” activity that was often targeted to Maggie’s preferences. Each week was a different theme: sports, science, art and music, water, sensory, home EC, Christmas in July, and games.
Yes, I worked a lot too. My mom started coming often in July, so that helped. After lunch, I could dig into work while the kids played with her or watched TV. And, yes, it was hard because the baby is very needy. I often would have to get my chores done in the 1-hour chunks he was sleeping. And if I didn’t get something done by 4 pm … forget it. He insists on being held in the evenings.
I am trying to drink in the last few days of this summer and remember the highlights. I don’t want to forget this summer in quarantine. Some of our best moments include:
• Playing in a pool in our backyard
• Taking the kids on their first hike
• Making s’mores and watching fireworks from our backyard
• Playing with ramps in the basement for STEM week
• Our trip to Graue Mill for STEM week
• Bike rides with Matthew
• Ice cream date with Maggie
• Watching my mom and Maggie play puppet show and doctor together
• By the Brook Special Needs Mom Conference—virtual of course
• Drive-in and outdoor church services
• Water balloon and water gun fights
• Playing cars in the basement with Sean and Matthew
• Trying new food recipes
• Going to my Dad’s lake house
• Working out while the sunsets under a blue and white sky
• Watching Agents of Shield with Mike
• Virtual Easter Seals walk with Matthew and Mike
• Decorate and making cookies for Christmas in July
• Playing with pretend snow
• Playing bored games with the kids
• Field Day in the backyard
• Treasure hunt in the backyard
• Picnic and putting our feet in the river