Thursday night a storm came through, and it brought some moderate temps. The cooler weather is welcome, and I am sitting on the couch in our family room by an open window, being wafted with a breeze, sipping a tonic water with lime. I can have gin (and wine, and beer, and bourbon) again on Sunday – just a few more days of Lent to go. I just popped the cork on a bottle of red wine to pour some into my beef bolognese and boy did it smell gooooood. Giving up alcohol has been fine but un-giving it up will also be nice. 😉
That was Friday night – I ran out of inspiration and now it’s Saturday morning. I’m sitting in the same spot with a cup of strong coffee and the same breeze (it’s drying out my left eye and now my left eye is teary and I don’t care, OUTSIDE AIR, COME TO ME). I worked until 11 pm Thursday night – determined to push out some discovery that I’ve been fretting over for a week. After I finished, I was still sort of agitated from the work and also the dramatic winds, so to relax I queued up my church’s Maundy Thursday service. As the storm outside raged I clutched my little prayer beads, and listened to the sermon on the words of Christ, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” It soothed me – our beloved pastor of 24 years retired last year, and we are being led by an interim who we also adore. He is an academic and his sermons are always peppered with references to art, philosophy, poetry, history, etc. It’s like grad school – totally up my alley. In non-quarantine times he stays in a charming apartment just a few blocks from my house, but a few weeks ago he went to Georgia where his permanent home is, to quarantine and keep an eye on his ailing mother who lives in a nursing home there. He did the readings and preached the sermon from his living room, filmed by his wife using an iPad. He had set up easels with a print of the Turner painting of Tintern abbey behind his right shoulder, and a medieval Jesus behind his left, and I don’t know why but all of these details make me teary. We are all trying our best.
Meanwhile, in my little house we are rounding the corner on Week Five. This past week, the two Littles and the Prof were on spring break, and the Prof took them to a different state park/outside location each morning to do a long hike and get some air. He’s a good dad, isn’t he? They had a lovely time and I stayed home and billed and doula-ed Jack through his distance learning assignments and plotted how to become a Professor with a spring break myself somehow.
**My friend has a Dolly Parton guest bathroom. It is amazing. She’s “thatzabeth” on instagram and she shows the bathroom in her Stories, if you want to scoot over there and see some pink walls with gold polka dots and photos of Dolly in all her glory. It’ll be gone in 24 hours so gotta check it out quick.**
We just caved and let our kids get Messenger Kids, along with their cousins. My nieces (husband’s sister’s children) have also “friended” me on Messenger Kids and so far this morning I have received a meme of a dancing bear with my niece’s face on it, a sticker of a kitty cat barfing up hearts, and blurry dark video of their dog wandering around the kitchen. I’ve also received numerous orders from my oldest niece, who could snap an army to attention and will one day be the president, and now we can hear her bossing my sons around upstairs. (“Aunt RG, go tell Liam and Craig to get the Kids app on their kindle.” “OK Ella, will do.” And from upstairs, Jack saying “Yes Ella, ok, I’ll do it, whatever you say.”) My SIL and I are texting and laughing about how her oldest daughter can effectively boss people around across state lines.
Anyway, quarantine continues. We find ways to relax. Liam absolutely loves to take baths while reading a book. I may have mentioned this before, but I keep bringing it up because it cracks me up deeply. Calgon is taking him away already at age 9. Craig also loves to take bubble baths, but they are less relaxing and more apocalyptic-flood-the-whole-room type events. I do charcoal face masks and while I am not entirely sure they do much for my face, they do a lot for my mental health. Jack is reading and doing art more than he ever has. We had migas for breakfast the other day.
I’ve been taking super long walks – 3-5 miles every day. Uptown New Orleans is pretty spectacular, particularly in spring, and I listen to podcasts and stroll and take iPhone Portrait Mode pictures of flowers and chipper NOLA buildings and messages. I’m going to make the boys make rainbows later today to put in our windows, because they’re just so brightening. (Like the hotels – have you seen that empty high rise hotels are lighting up their empty rooms in the shape of hearts, around the world? TEARS.)
I also saw a Confederate jasmine “Christmas tree” on my walk the other day – and on a closer look spotted a new friend.
The boys were supposed to compete in the piano March Music Challenge this year – playing pieces before judges. Craig in particular was excited to get a trophy. So their piano studio decided to host their own April Music Challenge – small selections of students did a zoom meeting and performed for each other. Craig was all seriousness – he tends to freeze up and stare at himself on the screen solemnly and silently whenever on zoom. But he played Old MacDonald with aplomb. The other two also played well. There has been a LOT more time for practice these days.
And a lot less time for napping.
Here are some pictures of an Easter Egg hunt we did for the boys on Palm Sunday. Craig told me that it was fun, but the one on Easter morning will be harder because “the Easter bunny will hide those eggs, not you and dad, so you and dad won’t know where they are and can’t help us!” He paused for a thought, and then added “Gee, I hope the Easter bunny doesn’t TOUCH us. We gotta be safe!” *Insert laughing-turning-into-crying meme.* Anyway, thank heavens I bought a ton of Easter candy and such weeks ago. We stuffed 64 eggs and tossed them around the house and backyard.
And now I’m out of stories, and out of patience. I have been interrupted in the writing of this post approximately 700 times by various children trying to download/register for/figure out Messenger Kids, as well as kids sending me stickers and chats and video calling my phone, and so I’m going to go manage that and set some ground rules. Have a lovely Easter weekend, dear hearts. I wanted to say next Easter won’t be like this, but I’m trying to ease my heart and mind into the possibility that that’s not true – that we’ll be in some version of this until we have a vaccine – so instead I’ll say find your blessings where you can, and rant when you need, and stay healthy and well and safe, and have a beautiful Easter (or just-passed Passover! Or weekend!) and keep on going!