Stay Home, Stay Safe

I do not mean to make light of the current situation we are in regarding COVID 19.  It is very serious-- or at least I believe everyone who is telling me  it is very serious.  Here in Utah the catch phrase is "Stay Safe, Stay Home".  This meme I saw accurately captured much of what our experience has been thus far.  You  know I am an avid Jane Austen fan under the best of circumstances.  But now, we are embracing the Regency lifestyle in a way we've never dreamed of before!  For example, going on a walk is the highlight of the day.  All day long we plan when we're going on our walk.  We practice our music, we read, we sketch, we plan our meals, we don't go anywhere and we don't really see anyone.
Truthfully, for us, it hasn't been too bad.

And can I get a shout out for the miracle of technology!!! Can you imagine this all happening 10 or 15 years ago?  What a mess.  I mean, it's rather a mess now, but look--- the boys are doing their ballet classes at home.  I am teaching piano lessons video chats (or at least starting next week I will be).  Elinor and Faith are doing their speech and debate class on Zoom.  Bethany and Clark are finishing all their college classes online.  We've done Zoom meetings with both sides of our family and friends. It's pretty amazing.

Elinor gave Greta a Jane Austen inspired hair-do.

My first puzzle of the Corona season.

At the beginning I mentioned that I believe the current situation is as serious as the experts (and non-experts) say it is.  Mostly.  We are strongly encouraged and directed to stay home.  Stay away from people.  Be safe.  And that's pretty much what we're doing.  But I confess, at times, I do wonder-- really?  REALLY?  Is this really unprecedented?  And is it it really necessary?  Is there really no time in our entire history that suggests we have been through similar pandemics and survived?  And yes, I am familiar with the 1918 flu pandemic. I suppose it's somewhat unprecedented that we shut down the entire world for such a pandemic.  I don't know.  The whole thing is crazy and strange and frankly, it's scary.  There is concern about the financial fall-out.  So far, Utah's numbers seem to suggest we are "flattening the curve" with all our social distancing.  There are places in the country that are faring much worse-- New York, California, Washington.  

I really liked this quote I saw this week.  I am grateful we have found a great deal of peace in our home from enjoying our relationships with one another and the simple, small enjoyments of family life.

Since Peter learned to ride his two-wheeler over the last couple of weeks, it was time for the traditional bike ride with Abe to Peterson's grocery store.

I guess it wasn't quite staying home like we are supposed to.  But it made Peter's whole week and tired him out a little earlier today.  Which seemed worth it.