Pretty sure it is safe to say that all life is unusual these days, but for the sake of remembering, it still feels worth writing about as we continue to move through this COVID-19 quarantine existence.

HD counted on the calendar this morning and from what we can tell, we’re on day 34 of Life Since We Realized This Was Serious which is a ridiculous title for something, but mid-March is when our switch flipped and here we are, over a month later, still chugging along and doing what we can to stay home and stay away and stay safe.

Part of what we’re learning to do is celebrate without actually being around others. We got good practice of that on my birthday and have been able to reciprocate for a few others on their special (but weird) corona-birthdays. This last weekend, though, brought us Easter and that. was. weird.

Easter is not normally a time we go all out or crazy, but like a lot of folks, we like us a good Easter Egg Hunt, getting a little extra fancy for Sunday service, and seeing friends and family for meals, play time, and togetherness. Thanks to the virus this year plus the ickiest weather possible, literally none of that happened. The kids did get Easter baskets (which the EB decided to stuff with all the extra stay-at-home materials she acquired in the early days of all this), though, so at least that felt normal-ish, albeit a bit overboard.

But honestly, Sunday in south-central NE was a mess. We had ice, we had a dusting of snow, and we had WIND that effed with our power on and off (again, literally) throughout the day. I felt terrible for the folks responsible for going out into that sh!t weather to restore our lights and heat, but it also felt like a whole new level of suck to be stuck in our house without any power for an extended time Sunday morning (I know; my privilege is clear).

Even though power technically came back on in time to get dinner in the oven, I wasn’t sure the wind would be so kind as to leave it on, so we did a more typical for us Sunday dinner (seriously; when we go to Sunday School and service, there is very little time for cooking afterwards before we move on to the rest of our day) of cheese, crackers, and fruit. We also listened to the live stream of church while doing a puzzle and the kids hung out nearby, but for whatever reason, my heart felt a lot bit off over the course of the day. I totally agree with the message that Easter itself is not at all about the plastic eggs or new dresses and really is still possible when away from our people, but still – Sunday was an up and down day, as many seem to be during this indefinite experience.

Even though the house rattled all day long, power stayed on long enough to make a nice meal for supper. Thank goodness we eat early like 85 yr-olds, though, because right around 6p, the occasionally blinking lights turned into on again, off again, (and again and and again and AGAIN) lights, just as we were trying to start normal wind-down bedtime routines, sending all of us into a bit of a tizzy (including my dishwasher and dryer that I had to keep resetting and restarting each time).

Eventually we got everyone and their white noise/clocks settled and eventually the power stayed on for good, and B and I got to have a bit of post-holiday downtime. We’ve taken to watching (for the first time ever) Parks and Recreation on Netflix because my head and heart basically can’t handle anything heavy or serious right now (because every day and real life feel too heavy and serious these days to have that also be our “entertainment”). And just like my writing here has dropped, so too has my reading. As in, I am struggling to read at all, much less finish things and if you know me at all, you know that’s a huge indicator that all is not right in our world for that to be true. The desire for escapism is there but actually attaining it? Not happening beyond the few smiles and laughs Leslie Knope provides me after the kids go to bed each night.

And that’s where we are: sort of finding a rhythm and routine but also knowing that the unknown is lingering hardcore right now and probably will be for a long, long time to come. Is this our last holiday stuck at home? Goodness I hope so, but I guess none of us can say when words like “normal” “typical” or “usual” will return to our mouths and our schedules, much less our brains and our bodies.