Keep Calm and Carry On

Spring is starting, the flowers are emerging and it feels like the world is waking up. Monday was 72 degrees with a cloudless blue sky, right now it's 68 and sunny, and the forecast going forward looks to be in the 50s and 60s. Even though it's been a mild winter of rain instead of snow, spring is a most welcome respite.

Less welcome is all the scary things happening in the news. The spread of the coronavirus and all of the potential health risks and dangers that come with it. In NJ, our school district is officially shut down for the next 2-4 weeks (2 weeks for sure, then potentially another 2 weeks depending on the situation with covid-19). Offices and many businesses are closing temporarily. The grocery stores are packed with shelves stripped bare. Grocery delivery sites have crashed. The climate in suburban NJ is tense.

With spring finally starting, the irony here is that I've been living under a rock and was finally ready to emerge, just in time for the shutdown. It's been forever since I've posted. We knew this winter was going to be hard. With an asthmatic Matthew entering preschool we expected the germs, the sleepless nights of coughing, the doctor visits. We hoped Oliver would be healthy (so far so good), but what we didn't expect was me being sick.

In January Matt brought home a particularly bad respiratory virus that I caught. It was hard on him, but it was harder on me - he got better with steroids and rest, I didn't. Mostly because I didn't let myself rest - being a working mom I figured I would just power through it with a couple naps, kombucha and cold meds. I ended up with a severe case of pneumonia that required IV steroids and antibiotics, oxygen and so much albuterol I thought I might have a heart attack. I was sick for weeks and even once the symptoms were gone, I've never been so weak in my life. Like I got winded walking to the mailbox, I had to sit down after going up the stairs, I had to lay down after doing totally minor tasks. For WEEKS. My lungs were temporarily damaged from being sick so I wasn't getting enough oxygen to my brain and body to function properly.

I was told it would take 6-8 weeks to heal, 10-12 to feel back to normal (thanks asthma!). My mind was working but my body wasn't - and it was frustrating. I like to be doing things, I like to be busy. My mental energy (since physical energy was like zero) was put into planning, a little drawing, tons of reading and Netflix (at least I'm caught up on my watch list?). The only benefit was that laying in bed for weeks on end finally healed my bruised tailbone and broken toe (from an accident during the summer garden project and clumsiness on Thanksgiving, respectively). But, to add insult to injury, the high doses of steroids repressed my immune system to a point where I'd get sick when everyone else was healthy. Every week was a new "adventure" in illness. Things have improved a lot but I'm still tired easily and I feel very out of shape. It will take time to get back to where I was.

Morgan sunbathing in the nice weather

It wasn't all bad. I did manage to make some great plans for the garden this spring. Obsess over my seed, bulb and flower orders. Memorize the David Austin Roses catalog and decide on the perfect rose to add to the yard this year. Plan a big bed redo between the driveway and the neighbor's fence to showcase my dahlias. I planned changes I'd like to make indoors to improve our storage situation. I planned the basement cleanup, even if I have barely lifted a finger to do it yet.

This week Matt came down with another nasty respiratory virus with another round of croup and an ear infection (his ear tubes fell out this winter). My days revolve around him and work and all his doctor visits. Mike has taken over all the sleepless nights so that I don't backtrack, since rest is key for me right now (though he's always a good sport about the night shift). Matt's feeling a lot better today, thank goodness.

I'm ready for spring, I'm ready for a break in the illness cycle and an end to the germs. I'm ready to spend time outside in the garden, take the dog for long walks, and start working on projects again. A silver lining to the schools shutting down for weeks for the covid-19 is that it will also break the cycle of cold and flu too. I don't like the stress and panic that goes alongside this, but I am hopeful that this week will be the last week we struggle with sick kids for a while. Hopefully this shut down will stop the spread of covid-19 and keep everyone safe.

At our house, we are going to keep calm and carry on. We are going to practice social distancing as recommended. I will help my kids do their daily online school work and I will do my best to stay on top of my own work. One silver lining about being sick was that I had already slowly stocked up on supplies before all this happened, because I was worried we would run out of something when I was incapacitated.

I'm all about focusing on those silver linings right now. Right now we are safe, our family is safe and healthy, and hopefully all these measures will keep all of us this way. Cancelled sports practices, cancelled meetings and school events, cancelled parties and gatherings frees up an unprecedented amount of time on our calendars and schedules coming up. The lack of driving will help us save on gas! I can use my free time to spend extra time in the garden without guilt. We might even get a few projects done if the kids don't perish of cabin-fever induced boredom.

I hope everyone out there is able to stay safe and healthy, and I hope we can keep this scary virus from spreading.