This week we want to share with you some insights from the Widmier Family and their perspective on this unprecedented and unexpectedly blessed time at home!
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Our family has now been in our home for two weeks straight. We have only ventured out in the car twice in that time span. Hearing of others’ health and/or livelihoods being impacted by this pandemic, has saddened us terribly. Our family prays for those affected nightly. We knew this time would be a challenge for all of us, but we have really tried to lean into our faith, modeling what this practice looks like for our girls, who are 7 and 9. We have been purposeful and strategic, not wanting to put the full weight of this situation on their little hearts and minds. We hope that you may find encouragement, and perhaps some ideas that could help your family cope during this time.
Jon’s family business growing up was an archery shop. He reminded me today that arrows get drawn back in the bow, in order to move forward. As a family, we are using this pandemic, to come out even stronger on the other side. Before this pandemic crisis, work, school and extracurricular activities have kept our family distracted, allowing time to pass too quickly. Our good intentions have been pushed aside by meeting the demands on our daily calendar. We are choosing to look at this time as a reset, personally and for our family. In the end, all we have the power to change is our perspective.
We are so blessed that Jon has a background in school counseling. Even with trying to shelter our girls from the news, we have all had our moments where the pressure from this situation releases in unexpected ways. It may be through worry, anger, irrational fear, uncontrollable laughter or crankiness. We make a point to let the girls know that what we, or they, are feeling is normal. And there is no right or wrong way to respond in a situation like we are in. We make sure to listen and give lots of hugs.
During this time, we have prioritized self-care, healthy eating and exercise. Now that school is back in session for our girls, they have set recess times with the neighbors across the street. Since the additional state-wide restrictions have been put in place, we now take all of the kids on a bike ride, so we can comply with the 6-foot social distancing requirement. Just letting our girls be around other kids has been important. We have also set up some Zoom and FaceTime calls so our girls can connect with friends from school.
At the end of spring break, we had a slumber party in our family room, just the 4 of us. We watched The Princess Diaries and ate candy in sleeping bags. It was the highlight of the girls’ first week at home. This week, I surprised our girls by rearranging their bedroom. They said it felt like they were staying in a hotel.
We have made a point of spending quality time with each of our girls daily. Jon has built a Ninja Warrior course out of Legos with Paige. We created a pretend detective case for Claire to solve mysteries around the house. I taught Paige how to cook some basic meals, like quesadillas and homemade pizza. We are doing kid-friendly fitness workouts from YouTube together. Jon is reading our family Timmy Failure e-books from the public library before bed, which makes all of us laugh out loud.
Paige has been motivated to earn money, which led to us creating a family expectations/chore chart (See the charts and ideas). Next on our list is to team up and write comic strips together. The girls want to let our cat Goldie decide who the winner is. When we asked our girls what has been the most positive thing about being home the last two weeks, both girls said they really like the extra time spent together as a family.
Jon and I have also made a point of setting aside time for us. We check in with one another every morning over coffee. We also try and watch a movie together most nights after the girls go to bed. We are tackling projects around the house that we never take the time to complete. It gives us a sense of accomplishment each day. We have met with our small group over Zoom and checked in with extended family more than we usually do.
We remind ourselves daily that God is in control. We take peace in knowing that He has a plan and will work this together for our good. And for us, that good is the quality time we get to spend together as a family.
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We thank the Widmier family for sharing their perspective this week! Also, if you missed it in our previous letter on Extended Home Time, here is a link from the CDC on how to answer your kids questions and talk to them about the Corona Virus.
Blessings and health to your families,
Shelly & Rich