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It’s been over a month since Whitmer issued the ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’ order, rolling out the weirdest month on record, at least for me. Soon after closing the schools, a close friend messaged me, saying that she knew I loved apocalyptic stuff, so how did I feel about pandemics so far? It’s hard not to sound like a twat saying so, I’m enjoying this shake up.

Maybe that makes me deserved of catching the damn virus myself, and maybe I will, and maybe that’s what I get. But have you ever driven through a construction zone on I-75 at rush hour on a Friday? With angry, hungry children who have been at school all day and are tired and frustrated and screaming at you to stop at McDonalds? Know what it’s like now, with everyone quarantined at home? It’s amazing. Like wind in your hair, singing your favorite song, going to be ON TIME to your next event amazing. And that next event? It’s nothing, because you’re doing nothing, and you’re going to be early to do it, and then if you stay up too late doing it, that’s ok, because you don’t have to get up the next morning.

It might sound like being cooped up with your kids all day and night would be exhausting, especially now that home schooling is mandatory through the rest of the year. But it’s kind of great. There was a learning curve, but we have access to the best technology and resources available, and these kids have naturally curious, growing minds. We have two ‘sister families’ so the little ones still get a small change of scenery and a couple of extra playmates. The parks are closed, but we have a big backyard and the swing set and trampoline. And I’m actually getting to see the teenagers. Alex is eager for a quick outing of any type, and a drive is always a nice time to talk. Ed has been here with America quite a bit, baking and watching movies. They’ve made pretzels and heart-shaped cupcakes and angel food cakes. Alex & Ed are literally making pretzels behind me as I type.

Nick built us a couple of extra shelves and we stock up on extras whenever we can, as the stores are often low on or out of certain staples. We ordered groceries online until that became nearly impossible due to demand. We’re using bamboo toilet paper. Everyone in the universe decided to learn to bake bread, so yeast is hard to come by, but I used one of my last packets to make a sourdough starter that is in the fridge now.

Mail delivery is spotty and slow, packages arriving before you even get a shipping notification, or arriving two weeks late.

Going out to the store is surreal, not only because of so many empty shelves, but everyone is tense, wearing masks and gloves, keeping ‘social distancing’ up in a way that is so weirdly isolating. I’m sure the introverts are rejoicing, but I miss making six friends every time I stroll through a Target.

The most odd part of all of this, by far, is how well Nick and I are getting along. I could feel the entire neighborhood steel itself for our close confinement, but an odd thing happened: we stopped bickering. (Well, mostly.) I’ve tried to explain it: I get enough sleep now, he can work in sweatpants, we don’t have the stress of driving through terrible traffic 3-4 hours a day, there’s nothing to do publicly so we don’t argue about what to go do… but I really can’t put my finger on it. I’m sure it’s just a combination of the above along with the slower pace of life.

That’s the most notable, and wonderful, change I’ve noticed. The pace of life has slowed. Everyone is out walking all the time, and people actually stop to chat. People are reading books, sharing recipes, chatting online… and not in that frantic, I-have-to-fit-this-in-between-work-and-dinner-and-cleaning-and-yoga-class-and-hair-appointment-and-bedtime way.

I’m dreading going back to the grind. I’m glad school is out for the rest of the year. I love our webinars with the teachers as much as I hated struggling to get the kids dropped off to a room full of strangers by 7:30 every morning. I love Nick coming up out of his ‘office’ in the basement to scrounge for lunch as much as I hated the 1.5 hour round trip drive to pick him up with miserable children. I love sharing dinners with Melissa and Kyra every night, I love watching the kids learn to cook, I love the surprise of meeting new neighbors.

We got a new hamster. And I’m looking into chickens. I just need this lock down to last a few more months.