The last week has been a strange experience. Last week, we received the call late Wednesday evening: Max’s school would be closed on Thursday and Friday leading into Spring Break. Not a huge deal for us. Ashley is on leave, bonding with Adelaide. We had already planned a Spring Break trip to his grandparents’ house for Max. Through the weekend, we realized we were all uncomfortable with the idea of Max traveling during this time. Max was devastated, but we canceled his trip. We assured him he would get to visit his grandparents soon, but we could provide no timeline. It was difficult.

The gut punch came a few days later: school is now closed through April 3rd. We now realize how unrealistically optimistic even that timeline is. We felt it was necessary to prepare for the long haul. Ashley started putting together a schedule and a homeschool plan. Fortunately, Max is in kindergarten. It is easy to piece together a small lesson plan for him. Unfortunately, Ashley is caring for Adelaide at the same time. Ashley is remarkable though; the energy and thoughtfulness that she is bringing to this challenge is inspiring.

The most difficult part of this experience for me has been the time Max has missed being a kid. We are isolated in our home, leaving him unable to play with friends from school or even from the neighborhood. To his credit, he has handled this situation with patience. There have been a few questions of “Why?” and “Why not?”, but for the most part he has been great.

It has been an adjustment. I am fearful for the time that he finally asks, “When will this end?” I have no idea when things will get back to normal, or if they ever will get back to normal. At this point, I am just hoping for a “better than now normal.”