Isolated in the Midwest

Dear Reader,

Please enjoy this rambling post filled with thoughts that frequently cross my mind now that I’m home more often.

Sincerely,
Isolated in the Midwest

P.S. The photo above is an actual picture of part of the front of my house, in case you were wondering. 🙂

***

I have a lot of ideas of what I’d like to do with this extra time at home. Teach Samuel how to put his toys away right after he’s finished using them. Potty train Ruthie. Go through all the dust-covered boxes littering the shelves of my garage. Get rid of items I don’t need or want anymore. Read a few books. Decide how to do homeschooling in the future. Write more blog posts (preferably more cohesive than this one).

I’ve made some positive steps toward our future homeschooling methods. One of the blog posts I’d like to start working on is my thoughts about the differences between classical education (or neo-classical education) and the Charlotte Mason method. I’m about one-third of the way through Charlotte Mason’s Volume 1: Home Education. (If you’re familiar with the book, I just finished the section about the out-of-door life of children.) What I like most about the book so far is that I’ve learned new and important things that I can apply to my life, including the value of attentiveness and how to study nature for the benefit of myself and my children. I researched both Simply Charlotte Mason and Ambleside Online, two options for Charlotte Mason educators, and made a combined book list from both sites. We are in the process of deciding which books to buy and start reading first. The books that top my list so far are Paddle-to-the Sea by Holling C. Holling, Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, James Harriet’s Treasury for Children by James Harriet, Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin, A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla, Viking Tales by Jennie Hall, and a few books by Kate Waters about pilgrim life. I would like to study famous people from history and the Vikings first, followed by the pilgrims and early America. Now that things are thawing here in the Midwest, I’d like to take the kids out-of-doors as much as possible (they’re sitting on the couch watching Wild Kratts right now).

I’ve noticed in the last few weeks that what I think I need and what I actually need are two very different things. I don’t need something new and exciting to happen to me every day. Doing mundane tasks over and over again for the glory of God is challenging and wonderful, and forces me to rely on His strength instead of my own. I don’t need to try the newest type of mocha at Caribou Coffee. I make espresso at home. I don’t need to go grocery shopping every week when we have last year’s fruit from the garden still chilling in the freezer and extra meat we bought when it was on sale. I’m thankful for Brian’s hard work in preserving our overflow of raspberries and strawberries. When combined with yogurt and apple juice, they make delicious, healthy smoothies. I’m also thankful for grocery stores that continue to provide services so we can stock up a little.

This has, however, almost become a challenge for me. The Chest Freezer Challenge, if you will. How long can I go without going to the grocery store while still serving my family meals made out of foods that go well together? Can I plan well enough ahead of time so that I can stay home for a couple weeks? Can I convince the kids that macaroni and cheese made with sour cream is, in fact, delicious instead of gross? Can I convince the kids that water chestnuts make a delightful addition to mixed frozen veggies? I’m definitely up for the challenge. Isolation does weird things to your brain.

On the other hand, I can make new and exciting things happen right here, in my own home and neighborhood! We’re really enjoying Ambleside Online’s collection of 200 poems for children. This is a free resource, and well worth reading together. Samuel likes The Pobble Who Has No Toes by Edward Lear the best so far (we started with the poems for March). We explored a new state park one sunny day last week, and saw a snake. I poked it with a stick just to see what would happen. It flicked its tongue at us and then disappeared into the leaves on the side of the path. Samuel and Ruthie collected pocketfuls of acorns and brought them home to try to catch squirrels in our yard. I’ve written a few poems and put music to them on the ukulele (recordings coming soon). Ligonier Ministries made all of their teaching series free for the time being. Brian and I are watching “The Consequences of Ideas” and learning immense amounts of philosophy along the way. A couple days ago the kids and I jumped in the van and headed to a lookout area by the river. I backed the van up into a parking space overlooking the river. We looked for eagles while we practiced reading and math sitting in the trunk with the back open. We saw one adult and two juvenile eagles diving for fish. Nature never disappoints, and God created a lovely world for us to enjoy.

I never realized before how our chickens could be a source of entertainment. Brian built a bigger fence for them in the yard so we can let them out and play with them. They’re fun to try to catch. We learned you have to grab them so that their wings are folded down. Otherwise, they try to fly away and hit you in the face. We also learned that they like bread, pancakes, and popcorn. We affectionately named one of our Isa Browns “Icy” because she starts to follow us around expecting food as soon as we walk into the fenced-in area. She’s particularly friendly, and will take food right out of our hands. We dubbed one of our Americanas “the Queen” because she seems to “rule the roost.” She refuses to eat food out of our hands, and is generally the most stand-offish hen we own. She’s also broody. We often find her sitting on the eggs when we go out to get them and we have to shoo her away.

Zoom. I bet their profits have increased by a large amount in the last few weeks. I Zoom with my parents and my sister together, friends from church, and friends from college. What a helpful service they provide. Thank you, Lord, for Zoom!

Chalk. I love chalk. The kids love chalk. We make obstacle courses out of chalk on the driveway, we play hopscotch, and we practice writing letters. Ruthie creates colorful pictures made out of lines and loops, while Samuel likes to draw Tie fighters and dragons hashing it out. I like to draw scenes from nature the most. Praise the Lord for chalk!

I’m currently trying not to gain extra weight during this time of isolation. One of my friends posted something on Facebook about the “quarantine fifteen.” I had been noticing that I wanted to eat snack after snack after snack, and I’m glad someone I know called attention to this. I stopped eating snacks, and now I’m just eating meals. Its hard to balance food when you’re not as active as you used to be and you’re home more often.

I often wonder how life can be so normal, scary, and confusing all at the same time. After we went exploring, we found a tick on Ruthie. I felt a little anxious about this because we live in an area that’s known for a higher occurrence of Lyme’s Disease. I still do the dishes a few times a day, change diapers as needed, and fold laundry. Meanwhile, hospitals are struggling with patient care and proper protection for employees. Some say that the economic depression that follows stay-at-home orders will be worse than the consequences of the virus itself. Others insist that we must stay at home to keep others safe here and now, and nothing else matters beyond that. I, quite frankly, have no idea what to think. I understand both points of view, and I understand that both points of view stem from realistic concerns and considerations. What I know is this: God is sovereign, He loves us and cares for us, and He will somehow use this for the good of His church and the world. I have no idea what that will look like, and I have no idea when this isolation will end. I think that fact is the hardest for me. God, however, knows exactly when isolation will end. He knows exactly how many families will be mourning loved ones, and how many families will be rejoicing that not a single member was taken from them. God knows exactly how to comfort those in mourning and how to encourage those who rejoice, and how to teach us to help one another do both.

Now is the time to show our love for Jesus by loving our neighbor. That might look different depending on who you are and where God has placed you at this time. Loving your neighbor might mean not criticizing the single mom who has to take her kids to the grocery store with her because she has no other option. Loving your neighbor might include going out into the world to get groceries for someone who can’t. Loving your neighbor might look like sheltering in place while you homeschool your kids for the first time. Loving your neighbor might look like working from home or going to work if you are needed there. This situation requires careful wisdom and charity, not easy social shaming and judgment.

I pray for this world, and I pray for you. I hope this pandemic leads us to see God’s kindness in bringing us to repentance and a greater love for Him. Many blessings to all of you, far or near, isolated or working, together or apart. May you know God’s presence and perfect care for you.