Quarantine Day..14?

I know, I know. Everyone is talking about Covid. Corona. The Virus. There is meme after meme, horror story after horror story. Many say hoax, others say the governemt is hiding things…ya know, whatever your belief, the truth behind it all is it has changed EVERYTHING.

The salon I work for shut down March 22. April 2, 2020 at 12:01 a.m, the state of Florida went on lock down for 30 days.

Getting onto the Unemployment website was just as difficult as finding a roll of toilet paper. I panicked a little bit when I heard the term “laid off”, I will be honest. Thank god for my partner being an essential employee and still being able to work while I hold down the fort at home.

So, how is quarantine treating us?

My 13 year old daughter is thrilled. She had already been begging to homeschool as it was.And I said no. So much for that! She is doing well, though, aside from the understanding that no, we can’t drive to the gas station for a soda, that isn’t necessary. As far as my 5 year old daughter goes, that’s where I get disappointed. The girl is smart, I will give her that. She also uses the word “hell” more than I knew. We are working on that. The disappointment comes from her missing her friends, and we will most likely be missing out on VPK graduation, but you better believe I am getting my little girl a cap and gown to take pictures and throwing her a little grad party when we are allowed around family again.

Then come in my fears as mom. My youngest is pretty resilient, but my oldest has epilepsy and high fevers can cause seizures…so God forbid she gets sick or catches it. But right now, my even bigger fear is that I personally may not make it out of the trenches alive after these two are done with me!

I will admit, while I was proud of making the face masks, the simple fact that I even had to make face masks for my girls broke my heart. Hearing my youngest ask why she can’t be close to her Lala, why can’t we go to the store and knowing no answer I give her is going to understood…these are hard times, folks. The oldest on the other hand, thinks going to the gas station is essential for a soda. Before we attack! She is compassionate and just bored out of her skull.

Before we went on quarantine, I was ALWAYS non stop. I am a full time mom, a hair stylist, a soon to be wife, a home maker, and an artist. Yet, so many things I LOVE get put on the back burner. Before this, my mornings and evenings were crazy. Some days, due to school and work, I got to see my kids for maybe an hour. I wish I could say that hour was quality, but no. It was wake up, get kids up, feed kids, get ready, rush them out the door, and rush to work. Or rush to pick them up after work, not get home till late and rush to put them to bed.

I was hardly cooking dinners, my kids ate take out or with my mom or with their dad on weekends more than I ate with my kids. I was always using my days off to run errands and clean the house just to watch it turn into chaos.

Now, my home is put together, we have a routine. I eat meals with my kids. I practice so much self care that I WASNT getting, and so much quality time with my kids that I almost dont want to go back to work after this, and persue the notary business and studio business I have started. I want to make this last. I never realized how much I missed these amazing moments with my children.

At this point, my lovely 5 year old is screaming for me to watch her spin the hula hoops around. So while I go do that, tell me how this is going for you. Tell me what has changed inside, as well as outside for you. What do you FINALLY have time for.

And as we move forward, what will it look like for you as we move towards a new normal?