Things I’m Learning During the Quarantine

So we’re on day 12 of the quarantine, and I’m learning a few things.  Here’s a little sum up:

• Seven people, eating EVERY meal in the house, EVERY day, eat A LOT of food.  I’m not allowing much grazing, but even so, it is amazing how much we are going through.  I usually go to the grocery once a week, but this week I had to make another grocery pick up order to keep us stocked!  
• Regardless of the amount of food being eaten, I am absolutely loving setting the table for seven literally every night. During normal life, we try to eat together, in the dining room, as many times are possible each week.  But now, we have eaten all dinners together, in the dining room, for the last 12+ nights.  Each night, it makes me so happy to count seven plates out for the table.  In the history of marriage and family life, I don’t think we have ever had this many meals together in row, with the exception possibly of vacations.
• We have just enough rooms in our house to facilitate remote learning/working.  We have kids and parents working in the dining room, bedrooms, basement, living room and family rooms.  Everyone is plugged into a various device, which we just have enough of, and now and then we hear preschool music or teaching or a zoom/google meet meeting burst out of someone’s computer. It’s been fun to hear the kids’ classmates talking to each other, and see my college daughter’s profs teaching her classes.
• Schedules are my jam. All right, I already knew that one, but the quarantine has definitely reiterated it to me and our family.  We have rhythms in place now for work, school, meals, chores, family game and movie time, and free time.  Everyone balked at the loose schedule we decreed, but I think everyone has settled into it now.  I have gone back to my two-days-a-week laundry schedule, just like in  days of yore when I stayed home, and I love it.  The dishes are being washed by two happy begrudging children (more on that below) each day, and everyone is vacuuming and cleaning bathrooms weekly as well.  
• Just before Ash Wednesday, our dishwasher’s motor went out.  My last blogpost waxed eloquent about the joys of hand washing dishes and how doing so would bring us closer together.  Soon after it went out, I decided to give up the dishwasher for Lent.  The kids cried foul, citing that THEY didn’t give it up, and they would be put to work.  I was undeterred.  It would be good for us all, said I, and led us forth into Lent.  Aaaaaand cue the quarantine.  Remember what I said about seven people eating a lot?  Well, they also use a lot of dishes each day.  It probably hasn’t been the greatest timing to be dishwasher free, but I still maintain that the two kids assigned each day to the dishes (and the duo changes every day - each kid washes three days a week)  are enjoying quality sibling time.  And I’m still doing a lot of dish duty myself, but I don’t really mind it.
• And finally, in addition to all the glorious family time, I am being reminded daily, hourly, that God is one step ahead of us (ok, He knows the entire path ahead of us!) and that He never leaves us or forsakes us.  This slower pace has granted all of us more personal devotional time (every morning for everyone, first thing) and family devotional time after dinner.  While I am sorry for the circumstances of the quarantine, I am thankful for all the blessings God has provided us during it.