I am not saying it is not scary to think that myself or my family could become gravely ill from this but I also believe we must be strong and carry on. At home.
Here is where I would like to share tid bits of my own routine/coping mechanisms. With this, I recommend to you all to create a happy schedule for yourselves and family, and try to include doing something you love each day.
Here goes:
6:00-8:00 a.m. This time is dedicated for me to simply get out of bed and make it to the coffee pot. I mean it. The most challenging dilemma I have to face on a daily basis is waking up, let alone during a home lock down and world crisis. That's enough to make anyone not want to face the day ahead. In the meantime, my ridiculously cheerful and chatty morning person of a husband, Travis, has already showered, made the coffee, started the fire in the wood stove, fed the chickens, and then off to work he goes. On Saturday, he even gets the grocery shopping in town done early. (Enter complete wow face here. He puts me to shame!)
8:00 By this time I am somewhat ready to face the day and have soaked the ponies hay in a bucket of water for an hour (he is insulin resistant so this drains all the extra sugars and starch from the hay that Chewy's body can't process), and I have had plenty of coffee in me, so it is time for me to shower and dress. Sometimes I feel like putting a little effort in to my outfit and putting on a little make-up, but other days I just throw my pajamas back on, brush my teeth and call it good. I have learned to just roll with my moods.
8:30 I start rousing the kids by making noise around the house and I do all the little things that make me feel like a normal human being. Small things that I accomplish each day such as I make my bed, empty the dishwasher, start a load of laundry, journal, walk the dogs down the driveway, or make a list of chores for the kids. I like to get my day in order.
9:00 I finish with any animals feedings of the horse, goat, pony, dogs, cat, chickens, etc. Then I turn my attention to the kids. Who needs a shower? Who has home school lessons for the day? Who gets what chores for the week? We have a calendar hanging in our kitchen and at the beginning of each week, it tells the kids which chores they have for the week. For example: Trevor = dogs and animal care, Blake = laundry and dishes, Megan = trash and recycling. Each week their names get rotated. I write this out each month and add a few extra things to it along the way sometimes.
10:00-10:15 I try to get outside and walk for a few minutes with the dogs, just to get fresh air.
10:20-11:30 I help my youngest, Megan age 11, with her home school work. (Usually math). I know that my kids are craving to get together with their friends but they have been troopers and do not complain. They understand the reason for staying to ourselves and can still talk to their friends on social media or via texting, etc. Trevor, age 17, is finishing up his senior year on line and only occasionally asks me to help him with a project. Blake, age 14, is just home from school during the duration of this quarantine which right now is until April 28th in our district. I also take this time to have one child cook a mid-morning brunch. They never eat earlier than this or the food just goes to waste. I decided to wait until this time of the day to cook anything and they usually eat it all up. Today was 14 year old Blake's turn and we made sausage McMuffins. Who needs McDonald's anyway?
I also use some of this time to work on my writing for this blog or for other various writing projects I am working on for our 3 Corners Farm.
11:30-12:30 Technically this would be a lunch break but instead I like to scroll my phone, watch tv, or just take a reprieve. I love listening to and following certain people on You tube that inspire me and I give myself this time to enjoy it. Once again, I try to get outside for some fresh farm air and walk the dogs down the driveway. Stopping to look at the horses always brings me peace and the silly goat usually comes to me to be pet through the fence. She always brings a smile to my face.
12:30-12:45 I make sure all home schoolers are wrapping up their lessons and have had their showers, etc. (Yes, it takes multiple reminders throughout the day).
12:45-2:00 I scoop poop.
Yep. You read that right. I spend a portion of each day scooping poo from three dogs in the yard and even more from the pasture. I wheelbarrow it all to the poop pile in the north corner of our triangular shaped property. Do I get it all? Never! But I find it helps to control fly problems when I at least manage the majority of it. There is only just under 2 acres of pasture for the horse, mini pony, and goat so keeping their field neat and tidy is a must in order to keep them healthy and happy.
I also might hand walk Willow, my old paint mare, or work the pony in the round pen because he still has much human socializing and training to do. That is on his good days but his is a story for another time.
2:00-2:15 By this time I am ready to clean myself up, get a drink, and take a break!
2:20-3:00 I use this time to do a little bit of housework. I use a system called "apartment therapy" since we have a small house. You can google this online. I just found it inspires me to get the house cleaned up while not being overwhelming. It lists a 20 minute job each day. I find if I keep up on it, my house stays tidy. Not perfect, but what I like to call "lived in". For example, yesterday I had to clean out and organize the linen closet. Today all the bedrooms get quick cleaned. We all take part in this one because we all have a bedroom to pick-up, dust and vacuum. Tomorrow it will be cleaning up the kitchen and living room areas. The apartment therapy calendar breaks each days job down and is very easy to follow.
3:00 I do not schedule much in for the rest of the day. I usually have lost most of my mojo by this time so I don't plan anything. Travis comes home and directly goes to work in his gardens, the kids by this time are stuck to electronics, and I might do yoga or go for a run. Ha! Had you fooled there didn't I? After hauling horse manure across the earth, my workout usually takes a backseat.
I still have the evening animal feeds to get through and dinner to help with. My husband cooks. I clean up. We decided years ago that we can not cook together in one kitchen because we just can not seem to agree on things and usually end up arguing with each other. I decided, hey, who am I to argue if my husband wants to cook dinner every night? Nope. Huh uh. You're not going to hear complaint from me! In fact, it's one of the reasons I married him. I feel so spoiled and lucky. He sure makes me look bad, though.
After that, I load the dishwasher and wipe the counters, then transfer or fold and put away the mornings laundry. If I were still working for school, I would pick out my outfit for the next day but I rarely ever do that anymore. Then Travis and I watch tv, I say goodnight to the kids, and eventually Travis and I make our way to bed. I never even know what time we go to bed because while yes I have a routine, it just kind of flows without me giving much thought to it. Time is really of no importance when we are quarantined.
Anyhow, that's it. That's my day. Tomorrow and the next day and the next day and so on until all of this blows over. Weekends are nice having Travis around. The kids seem to have enough to keep them occupied. We are all well and provided for so life just moves on.
I hope that everyone out there is safe and well and finding ways to cope through these crazy times. For the people who are struggling, I pray for you every day whether you know it or not.
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