Well, this “stay at home” stuff is an introvert’s dream, but even introverts hit a wall, and I think I’m getting there. I mean, it would be one thing if the weather was consistently nice and I could get outside of this small house to get some exercise. I did – for a few days. I got all the remaining leaves out of my yard and burned them. I got my pond up and running, which is probably the earliest I’ve ever had it cleaned out and functional. But then Mother Nature decided to play a little joke on us for Easter Sunday, and this is what the pond looks like today.
My poor waterfall has ice accumulating on it. Just a few nights ago, I was marvelling at how beautiful the frogs sounded while they were singing away.
This whole week is going to be cold – 30s and 40s – and truthfully this all makes staying home just a little more claustrophobic. If I could work in the yard, go for a walk, or get some sun, this would be a little more tolerable. Spring in the Midwest is seldom predictable; I should be used to this by now.
A couple years ago I wrote a post about a box of china I had purchased at the Salvation Army a few years ago. I had forgotten about it – the box with a label of “Lavon’s aqua dishes” scrawled on it in black marker. I marveled at how beautiful the china was and wondered when Lavon used those dishes for. They looked brand new. I vowed to use them someday soon to do justice to Lavon’s aqua dishes.
And then I got busy.
This “stay at home” time has encouraged me to get back into cooking and baking. I was often so worn out after work that I would just stick to fast and simple meals – tacos, spaghetti, some sort of quick casserole, etc. I mean, I think I was boring MYSELF with those meals. But now I have some time on my hands, so I started seeking out recipes and making sure that family meals happened more regularly. Unable to travel for Easter, I was – for the first time – able to cook an Easter dinner at home with my boys. I literally spent all day in the kitchen, and I loved every minute of it. My husband and I sat at the kitchen table and watched Rear Window (one of my all-time favorite movies) while I would get up occasionally to throw together another dish. I also made sure to invite a special guest – Lavon. Well, her aqua dishes, anyway. I like to think that Lavon was there – somewhere – enjoying the fact that her dishes were being used.
If there’s a bright spot in all this quarantine craziness it’s that us “non essentials” have found a little time to rediscover what is important in life.
Now if the weather could support this staying at home stuff and give us some extra room to move, that’d be great.