3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days and counting

The COVID-19 Pandemic has been on-going for several months now. I’ve been home with my three-and-a-half year-old for three months, three weeks, and three days. (Ha! Purely coincidental 3’s!) Like many people, we were supposed to have gone on an exciting adventure, only canceling it due to the many unknowns about this particular coronavirus that was spreading like a wildfire, and sadly, taking from us far too many loved ones in its wake. 

Our big adventure was supposed to be Japan just before the Olympics! We would have witnessed the extra beautification projects, taken the train, enjoyed the parks, seen impressive ancient and modern architecture, and eaten marvelous food! We were also expected to attend my brother’s Viking themed wedding, the one I spent months sewing special period garb for. But we missed that as well. 

So, here we sit. In our house. For three months three weeks and three days with a three-year-old. During this time, I attempted to telework while maintaining some kind of semblance of a tidy and sanitary home. What does a woman with a severe case of wanderlust do when she is locked down for three months three weeks and three days with a three-year-old? I’ll tell you what she does. She finds ways to connect with more like-minded people and get more ideas.

I have been part of the worldschooling community since I was pregnant with Mikaela four years ago. My activity and involvement in the worldschooling community ebbed and flowed, with highs and lows over the last few years, yet I feel so very connected emotionally and mentally with worldschoolers. They are kind and open-minded. They love to learn and share that knowledge with others. They are hungry to experience cultures other than their own. During this pandemic, I began to connect with them a little more. 

During the pandemic, my travel was limited to curbside service, the gas station half as often as before, and the occasional “front porch pick-up” for items people were selling as they wisely spent their time cleaning their homes and decluttering. “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure!” So true. Occasionally, my daughter and I made a run through a drive-thru and we’d just drive around town enjoying food that is terribly bad for us. The traffic was light and few people were out. It was quite lovely, in fact. My little punkin couldn’t quite reach out the window, but she loved to feel the wind in her tiny little hand and her cute little face as she watched the world zoom by. “It’s so beautiful!” she’d say.

Another way this woman with wanderlust has been attempting to satiate her cravings for foreign cultures is food! Yum! I’ve ordered several different dishes from Indian, Korean, Japanese, Italian, and Turkish restaurants; all local, no franchise chains. I may have gained more than three pounds these past three months three weeks and three days with my three-year-old. We need to go on walks more often, methinks.

It can be down right depressing canceling “the trip of a lifetime” due to a global pandemic. It’s hard to stay home 100% of the time as a single mom and do everything by myself with limited social interaction. But this community of worldschoolers helped me get through a low point. I am grateful for the funny stories and inspiring ideas others have shared and will continue to share, and I look forward to what the next three months three weeks and three days has in store for us, Mikaela&Me.