This week showed that establishing a routine has paid off. Chores and school activities are going ahead without a glitch. My children know that the work needs to be done and that the sooner they finish, the more time for play. In fact, I am noticing better behaviour all around. I would also give them a high score on the happiness scale.

Midweek all personal items were picked up from school. My children walked in silence in the empty hallways stripped of all artwork escorted by a teacher. No other students were there as we had been given a time slot to arrive. When I asked how that felt, they said it felt sad. School supplies stuffed in a blue plastic bag echoed their sentiment.

Our province is fairing very well with flattening the curve of COVID-19 and containing community spread. As a result, there has been some easing of restrictions. National discussions of recovery and what that might entail have begun.

Despite the negative personal economic impact, I feel fortunate to have been able to spend this time focused on my children, their school work and overall well-being. It has given me a chance to acclimatize to the new norm. I now feel better prepared to handle the needs of my children while I begin to take on the new challenges my own business will face moving forward.

This week was very tough, the worst. Country shaken to the core. RCMP officer down along with many other victims. Senseless. Cowardly. Betrayal of trust of the worst kind.

Hugging my family close. My kids think nothing unusual as I haven’t told them. I won’t tell them. I want them to feel safe. I want them to have hope. I want them to believe in the good. I want to protect them, shield them. So for them, it is life as usual while our country mourns. Like thousands of others, I participate in virtual vigils and ceremonies in silence, together alone, in isolation.

Respect…

Planning meals has reached a completely different level at our household due to the COVID situation and the rules it entails. Added to that is the fact that my children have completely different tastes in food. I am challenged to plan meals and shopping lists far ahead as is required by the wait time for grocery order pick-up. Right now the wait is four days at a big chain store and really, the recommendation is to get groceries only once a week. As a result, I find myself eating less so that the kids can have more for a longer stretch of time. I don’t think this has been a bad thing from my fitness, health and weight point of view.

I don’t profess to be a chef or Suzy homemaker but I do make most meals. Often my kids like to get involved and I let them. I now try to keep the meals simple but nutritious. Whatever it takes to need less grocery shopping. And leftovers are big at our house. I thought maybe sharing some simple meal and snack ideas might be helpful. I get most of my recipes on-line and I have a few true and tried ones.

Breakfast

Eggs are super nutritious and full of protein. Great for any of the meals on days with a lot of activities.

Oatmeal microwave packets and full grain Cheerios are our go-to when short on time and as snacks.

Lunch

Dinner

Snacks and staples

Having kids in the house means availability of snacks. We always have crackers, cheese, yogurts, fruit, Nutella and peanut butter around.

I have these few standard recipes that I rotate and vary by changing a few ingredients. Makes for nutritious quick meals without a lot of effort. Bon appétit!

Single parenting young children is challenging on any given day. Add a pandemic in the mix and you’ve got your hands full! I have become their teacher and a friend while already a provider and a mother. This means I school them, I do play time with them and I care for them. I am always with them. It is very easy to lose yourself but all the more important to take care. A part of my solution has been to conglomerate my interests with those of my children’s. For example, now that I am finished with the backbreaking yet satisfying task of teaching even the last of my children to ride a bicycle, I am rewarded with the best training partners for my runs. I can hardly keep up! Similarly, summers spent camping with our tent and hiking on nature trails have proven to be our saviour as we now enjoy nature outings equally. In order to get some quiet reading time with a good book, I encourage my kids to complete that part of their curriculum at the same time. School classes on-line give me an opportunity to do the same. And so on.

While it is my role to give my children structure and discipline, I do have to give credit to my kids for doing isolation fun right! This week, for example, was marked by COVID hair cuts, purple hair dye, orange finger nails and pink toe nails. Nothing like self-expression!

End of week five.

I try to look for teaching moments in everyday situations, now more than ever. For example, we took full advantage of the Spring Pink Moon by viewing it through the telescope and then reading about it. But let’s face it. This whole situation is a big lesson for the children at home, particularly the younger ones. They will watch and learn how us parents act and react in these strange circumstances. After all, developmental psychologists have always known children learn by imitating adults. In essence, we may be inadvertently giving our children their biggest lesson ever, with lasting impact on their lives.

Easter marks the end of week four.

In my world, traditions are important. These are things I remember fondly from my own childhood and I try to create similar experiences for my children. Given that we are living with a pandemic makes Easter traditions a bit more challenging this year. My goal, however, is to celebrate Easter pandemic style, in a way that will allow us to look back on this with a smile.

Easter art and craft has always been big at our house. It’s that time of year when the floors sparkle with different colours of glimmering dust and feathers fly through the air. Painted paw prints lead the way to most rooms as our pets peak in on our shenanigans. This year is no different. We are inundated with painted eggs and rocks, bunnies and little chicks. We have a whole section of the kitchen wall dedicated to kids art creations now full of Easter pastels. For variety and change of space, we set up an art station on the deck on a sunny afternoon. It also made for a nice outdoor activity, one less to plan for the day.

Being self-employed, my children have tailored exposure to what it entails and the impact many of us are enduring at the moment. I teach them the importance of supporting the small businesses as together we order all our groceries, including the Easter turkey, from a local small supplier. They also know the seamstress who handmade their one-of-a-kind Easter gifts…although Easter Bunny is sworn to secrecy.

The egg hunt in my childhood entailed following a string around the house, different colour for each sibling. Somewhere along the path of that string, the eggs would be hidden. My children are equally excited about their string of hidden treasures.

My daughter together with a few of her friends started a kids’ news hour. A few times a week she would announce in a video relevant developments in the pandemic situation and how it would affect daily life. In her latest video she was explaining the need to wear masks in public places. The Easter Bunny, having seen the video, appropriately obliged.

Have a magical isolation Easter!

This week officially ended the school year. All those geared to grade in January have now essentially graded. Online schooling is still in the works, however, and there will be work to complete. Nevertheless, just like that, my oldest is in middle school. She immediately proceeded to decorate her imaginary first locker ever.

For us, this week was also dedicated to “firsts”. My daughter had her first online school session with her teacher and classmates. It was a success for her and she was a very eager participant fully engaged until the end. Each of us also decided to try a new activity. My son took out his scooter, my daughter grabbed her skateboard and I dug out my rollerblades. It was a lot of fun on wheels, but a balancing act for all!

We celebrated week three down, the weekend, graduation to middle school and all our firsts by baking a chocolate cake. Complete with chocolate frosting, candles and sparklers.

Cold, rainy days can be so un-motivating. If it were up to me and the pets, we would curl up under blankets with a good book for the whole day. However, those days are also perfect for the weekly house cleaning and laundry tasks so that when the sun does come out, we can enjoy the outdoors more. Blasting some good tunes helps!

COVID cases are ramping up closer to us now which means more measures to keep people home. I have hence sourced online grocers for the weekly order rather than going in. Really, I should shop like this all the time! After all, grocery shopping, in fact ALL shopping, is a close second on my list of things I dislike, right after the treadmill. I already shop for clothes and other items online, but never thought about getting groceries this way.

Despite the weather, my kids show boundless joy and energy. Aside from minor bumps on the road due to lack of outdoor activity and a few bouts of boredom, they are doing remarkably well. They are a constant source of inspiration in arts and crafts as we have painted, drawn, molded and glued things as well as attempted printing images on T-shirts. Definitely more so in the last few days. I can, however, hear amongst the craft making “…🎵🎶covid 19, you’re killing me…🎶🎵” – Brittany Spears style.

We were blessed with beautiful sunny skies on the weekend. It allowed us to take full advantage of the outdoors and our decks. There was no shortage of bike rides, walks, sidewalk art, barbecues and deck parties. One can only imagine that merely a few moments of stolen time to myself allowed me to write!

Our city has become a ghost town and distancing is super easy! However, it was nice to see neighbours coming together apart on this beautiful weekend with drinks in hand.

We made a point of not doing any school work or house work on the weekend. Some highlights definitely included live music streamed by musicians near and far. Thank you for that! We bellowed those tunes well into the night on our deck, dancing. Bedtimes were thrown out too!

My kids are very aware of the spreading virus, but I screen the information they receive on a need to know basis. They do enjoy the personal messages to Canadian children from our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which makes them feel included and an important part of society. They both listen quietly as he thanks especially the children for their efforts and sympathizes with their loss of so many things. His message reinforces the importance of the measures in place and makes them feel pride in already following his advice, much like his own children do.

After the weekend, we feel recharged. Doing activities specific to weekends makes it feel like a mini vacation. It takes away the monotony that social distancing can create. My daughter drew the above chalk drawing. That’s all the evidence I need of a successful weekend!

I have dusted off the “dreadmill”. Running on the treadmill has to be an activity I despise the most in life. However, this is in desperation to have that daily solitary run that I now crave. Hiring a babysitter during this time of social distancing just isn’t an option.

Perhaps symbolically, my treadmill is stuck on an incline. Just like my run against that hill, life at the moment may present with new challenges. What was taken for granted in the past just isn’t available today. Even a simple grocery run has become an arduous process. For some, the days seem endless. I can’t find enough hours in the day. But even in that struggle on the incline, there will be that day of stronger cardio and glutes. Here’s hoping, also a better world.