Last Updated on October 13, 2020
Travel and travel planning have been shaken by the coronavirus spreading over the world. We have been at home under quarantine for over a month now, wondering when life will become a little more familiar again. It has given us a lot of time to process life as we knew it. As we watch the earth changing from having so many humans staying home, it has us wondering what parts of normal the world should really return to. It is our hope that out of this crazy, difficult time, some positive changes can be made.
Darcy was working from home the last month during quarantine, though he is still completely clueless — he does not have ANY idea what working from home with four kids is really like. He was able to go down in the basement and lock the door behind him, undisturbed unless he had to resurface to restock food or drinks (heck, I even took him down his food so the kids will not want to go down and bother him). Darcy is back in his office downtown and he says that it is an eerie drive along what is usually bumper to bumper traffic in downtown rush hour, now turned into empty streets and silence.
My life is the same as it has always been for the most part, except I now do all the schooling with Madison and Sadie while entertaining Jacob and Olivia, getting my own work done and keeping the house from becoming a disaster. Quarantine has proven to bring quite a load, and I may be the only person that is having way too much fun with helping with the school work (it helps that the kids are young, for sure). I’m thankful for a great backyard when I need a little breather, but I do miss our regular hikes and outdoor adventures. For now, my workouts have been keeping me sane.
We are no longer racing from here to there, from one activity to the next; we are actually able to enjoy the little things we often take for granted. On the flip side, we have always valued family and the importance of having those close ties. We love our kids growing up knowing as many of their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins as possible. So, it is no surprise that we are really feeling the separation and frustration of those missing moments during quarantine.
The luxury of having all this time handed to us to slow down really does feel bittersweet. Like many others, we have had to cancel a handful of trips so far. At the time of writing this, we should be relaxing on the beach in Maui and Darcy and I renewing our wedding vows for our 10th (wedding) Anniversary.
We make sure that each day we keep reminding ourselves of the blessings. We have been given the opportunity to slow down while gaining what we realize are stolen moments, many times over, with our children. Darcy especially can be around for more moments he otherwise would miss out on. It means that instead of racing each night to the next activity or sport the kids are registered in, we have time to just be. More time to cuddle on the couch, more time to get that list of home renovations completed (my garage is emptying out of the supplies fast — just as fast as the donation pile is growing), and I am even learning to sit still long enough to do a 1,000 piece puzzle.
Me … sit still?
I may be a changed woman after this.
In all seriousness though, we may have missed a lot of what we had planned, but we have sure had some great fun so far. We are certainly blessed to live where we do and to have the easy end of things. We fully recognize how easy we have it and the great sacrifices so many others have to make. We could not be more appreciative of their sacrifices.
Take a look at some of the activities and adventures we have had:
Kids Tea Party
The kids’ were missing life as we knew it, so I made them a magical tea party. It looks like it took a lot more effort to pull off than it actually did. I quickly decorated the cookies while the kids were decorating a batch of animal shaped sugar cookies we made. I told the kids they were to dress up, (gave Jake and Olivia a little assistance), and revealed the surprise. Watching how thrilled they were was the most precious thing ever. It really is all about the simple things, isn’t it?
Volcano
It has been on my list for a while to make a massive paper mache volcano and erupt it. With all this extra time, we finally we able to! The kids’ expressions were priceless! We erupted the volcano a few times; the kids just could not get enough. So fun!
Science Experiments
We have had our fill of fun experiments and crafts. Each day is a new day to create something awesome after school time is done, though you could argue it is an extension of school time. I have a massive list of crafts and experiments to do with the kids. I love the laughter and “ooo’s and ahhhh’s” that fill the room with each one. Watching the colors bleed out from the Skittles was a neat one. The kids thought it was magic.
Another fun experiment was with milk, food colouring, dish soap and a q-tip; watching what happens when the q-tip is dipped in dish soap and placed into the milk mixed with drops of color!
Baking
We have been rolling up our sleeves for some great baking. We have become WAY too addicted to jalapeño cheese bread (it is so easy to make!) and have made perogies, biscuits, and a few batches of cookies. Banana bread is next. Baking can be so therapeutic!
Globe Puzzle
While people around the globe are hoarding the most peculiar things, I was happy to get my hands on a couple of puzzles to keep us busy if we were getting bored, because now, good luck finding a puzzle. This was a great puzzle to do with the kids, to keep the adventure spirit soaring, and it is always good entertainment to hear their commentary and all their ever-growing travel wishes. We definitely have a lot of adventures waiting for us.
Bringing Some Hawaii To Us
Our first heartbreak was having to cancel the aforementioned Hawaii trip. The kids were looking forward to their beach time and all the exploring we had planned. They were really bummed about it, so I figured we should bring some Hawaii to them with a fun little luau, learning to hula dance with fake hula skirts, and a pretend beach (sand pit) at home. It was a hit — the kids decided that if we couldn’t be in Hawaii, this was just as good. Blessed.
Backyard Camping
This is proof that adventure really can be right in your backyard. We have been blessed with so much sunshine through this quarantine period, that we have been able to have some great backyard fun. The kids thought camping in the backyard was the best thing ever — and liked that there was a clean, flushing toilet nearby (haha). It was a great way to cast away those isolation blues.
Outdoor Adventure
Our outdoor adventure has been limited to some walks, but we were able to get out for a couple of weekend adventures at the beach and in Burnaby Regional Park. We got up early to get out so that we could have an easier time social distancing with fewer people around us at the early hours of the day. The kids loved digging at the beach in complete peace and admiring all the ducks at Burnaby Regional Park. We are lucky to still be able to get outdoors in BC, but it is challenging to find a good spot nearby where you can properly social distance from others so we have relied heavily on our backyard. Plus, Darcy and I and four kids can lead to a bit of a challenge when trying to distance so many bodies around other people that pass us by. I’m starting to look into some more options that would work with our social distancing guidelines, now that our to-do list has been chipped away at so quickly.
School Work
In September Madison is going into Grade Two, Sadie into Kindergarten and Jacob into Preschool, so helping them each finish their current year or prepare for what is ahead has been quite a challenge, but one that I have enjoyed. Since Madison is in Grade One, there is still a lot of work her amazing teacher sends that I can adapt to work with all of the kids to keep them busy. Madison’s last unit at school this year is a safari theme, so I am having a great time with it since Darcy and I went on a safari in Kruger National Park before deciding it was time to have a baby. It has been so bittersweet though as Madison’s school year ended so abruptly and she has such a fantastic teacher. She enjoyed going to class every day and always came home with so many stories to tell and so much new knowledge to share with us.
Keep Those Dreams Alive …
As you can see, we have been finding our own adventures around our home. One thing will never change though — we are always dreaming of adventures of far off places, adventure in the great outdoors, and you can bet that as soon as we are able to travel again, we will be booking all those adventures we have had to cancel. We’ll get to more remarkable places, and even though we are wishing for that to happen sooner than later, it is important that we stay home right now. We are hopeful that we might be able to have a little bit of summer, and be able to at least explore within British Columbia, but only time will tell.
Keep those dreams alive with the heart of a traveller, and we are sure we will all get through this just fine.