What does boredom do? Eventually?

The kids have a lot more access to electronics than they are normally permitted.  We definitely still have 'no device' times for the four younger kids, but this is a measure of electronic freedom they're not generally afforded.

But the bad and good kinds of boredom will creep in.  I'll illustrate using Anthony as an example

The bad kind of boredom is annoying.  You are whiny, take offense easily, want others to make your life a wonderful magical fairy land.  We definitely see this from my little guy sometimes.

The good kind gets creative.  And that is what I'm here to talk about.  We went to the park in Independence that lines the river.  Molly wanted to do this for her 'Social' time.  (each kid gets a day per week to decide what we'll do after dinner.  Participation is optional).  When Molly suggested going to a park on the river (besides Riverfront and Minto Brown, both of which we've been to, repeatedly, lately), I suggested this one.  And no one wanted to go.  It made Molly cry.  (She was pretty tetchy all day).  When the boys saw Molly was upset, Anthony who is very tender hearted, was repentant, promised to go 'I still don't want to go, but I'll go'.  So we loaded up (leaving Riker, who'd walked twice, so we didn't feel guilty).

It was beautiful by the river, and Anthony started pretending he was in the game 'Animal Crossing'.  He picked up sticks and called them his 'flimsy fishing pole' (That's a game thing).  Everyone had a great time.  Then we decided to tromp back down main street to loop back to the car.

Anthony found some dandelions and tried to wish for 'Pesto Sandwiches for dinner'.

Once we'd made the loop, a fountain was noticed, so we investigated this, and more importantly there was an ampitheater in this part of the park.  Jack stood center stage a lot (he misses theater SO MUCH).

Anthony decided on the drive home that he and Jack should put on a play.   They decided that it should be 'UP' (the Pixar movie).  He asked me if I could buy them wigs.  They discussed the set (we have cardboard)  They discussed how many times they would need to watch the movie 'Up'.  Jack said that it was a very big project.  Anthony responded 'That's why I said 'two weeks''.  They discussed who could do the old man voice.  Jack explained that because he was older, he had a bunch of voices he could do.  They discussed who the audience could be (basically no one, since lock down).
I really wish I'd recorded their funny little conversation.

So that's the upside of boredom.  Today on our family AM walk, Anthony was trying to invent a language that sounds like baby talk.  He's a keeper.

So we went for a walk in Minto Brown Friday morning.  I was finally feeling better, and we all wore boots, because there was a trail we hadn't gone down due to some water on the trail (under objection from the kids).

We crossed the water (it still went into Patricia's boots.  Partially be cause mid calf boots aren't very many inches tall when you are 4, and partially because she will splash when given the opportunity).

We trekked along a distance, and then decided to enter some woods to explore. 

We spotted another trail, so I figured we'd just go down that trail, in the opposite direction in which we'd been heading, and that it would eventually loop towards our parking lot.

It did loop, but it looped towards Riverfront Park.  Where we called Wesley.  Because we had some very done people.

I really don't think that 'growing out' of my poor sense of direction is happening so far.  Maybe in my 50s.

We had conference this weekend.  It was strange, fully twice I had tears dripping down my face.  Once while singing 'The Spirit of God' following the Hosanna Shout.
Once while singing 'We Thank the O God, for a Prophet' when they had congregations from around the world sing in their native languages.  I was very grateful indeed for conference this weekend.  We were extrememly lax with the kids.  We required attendance (everyone, even the tired teenagers were great about this), but we didn't ban electronics as we usually would.  I personally felt that right now, every day is conference weekend (tons of couch time, hunkering down at home), and that it would be counterproductive to go strict.  The calculation paid off, and I think we all felt the spirit.

How about a few thoughts?

I keep thinking of what to write about.  But then I feel overwhelmed, or tired, or busy with nonsense or I can't get my photos to sync.
But I do want to take the time to remember.  Things I want to remember.

I'm learning how to make facial masks that will protect SOMEWHAT for the virus.  Apparently even the good masks can't provide 100% protection I learned from listening to NPR today.  But I have friends asking for them.  And we may all be requried to wear out in public soon.  So tomorrow I'm buckling down and making a bunch.  I felt sick yesterday, so did Molly and Wesley.  It's terrifying, they are so precious, and they both are Asthmatic.  But then we were all doing better today.  I kinda don't get how we could even GET a regular illness with the LIMITED contact with the outside world I'm having (and I'm the one who goes out) and social distancing, and constant santizing of everything.

Lots of unhurried kid time.  We're trying to keep to a schedule but there's room for things like reading a chapter of Harry Potter a night and a movie or a board game EVERY evening.

The sadness and sweetness of being FORCED to be apart.  This was created with plastic cups at the Liberty Elementary fence.  I got pretty misty.  I miss the students I worked with too.  My good friends, my church friends, my theater friends, my friendly aquaintances.  I miss people I saw all the time and people I rarely did.

Time has slowed.  Usually when I think about the day of the week it is, I'm like "I can't believe it's already Thursday!"  Now I'm like, "Oh crap, it's only TUESDAY!"

So, what now?

Struggling but also thriving.  I think a lot of us are in that situation. 

Riker.

    Written by Lillian

Riker our dog loves getting walked and due to the corona virus we have been take walks at parks every morning Riker seemed to have noticed I'm almost always there so this morning when my mom was waking me up Riker came into my bed and curled into a ball right next to me (Riker loves comfortable spots and will plop down all tired) so it took me a while to  get up but when I did he followed me every where finally we went on a walk to northgate.

Crazy Lock Down at the Hare's

 Made by Lillian, Lately, during this long spring break, we have entered a war zone of what to do in the morning and whether or not to have video games (some times that rebellion's meeting is five in the morning.)
it was pretty rough the first day of break which scared us to think we might tear down the house with our fights but now it,s pretty much resolved but they are wars on who gets to play the new animal crossing.

It's pretty fun!

Here are the people who run the video game rebellion

                                                  Anthony: Their leader

                                                     Jack: Ally
                                                   Patrica: The Slightly Innocent Follower

Is this life now?

There is Patricia, March 13th, in what Wes Sr. called 'the last public performance in Oregon'.  I don't even know what exactly to say about what social distancing, cancelling school for 6 weeks (at least), cancelling every public performance, meeting, conference, trip, etc.

On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, they started cancelling things.  Big things.  State Basketball playoffs, DECA competitions, Choir tours for the kids at South.  Then theatre performances.  At a certain point, I was in agony for all the people who were having events cancelled.  I was struggling to concentrate at work, I was SO distressed.  I kept thinking... this is like an 'extrovert's nightmare'.

Finally, I did something I hadn't ever had occasion to do before.  I accessed my EAP benefits and arranged for a phone counselling appointment. Friday, I spoke for 45 minutes to a very kind therapist who talked to me...At one point she asked, 'I wonder if this is all triggering something for you?' and I said, 'Now that you mention it...'

When I was 20, I ended up with bilateral reflex sympathetic dystrophy in both feet.  It became extremely painful for me to walk more than a few steps, so I became wheelchair-bound.  My feet were swollen, hot, and tender.  To really compound the situation, we moved, as planned, to Eugene, to complete our education at the University of Oregon.  We knew pretty much no one, and the people who reached out from church were mostly rebuffed by me, because I was so ashamed of my state, of the state of the apartment.  Additionally, for most of this 8 month period, we didn't know what was wrong with me.  So we didn't know if anything would ever be better.  We lived on the 3rd floor of an apartment building, I did school remotely, and I was alone all the time except for Wesley.

She asked me what things helped me through this period.  Suggested the tools I used then might help me weather this hard time as well.

So amazed by how helpful 45 minutes can be. 

Lillian is getting braces soon!  She has two orthodontists right now.  They're dueling for her business.  She's seeing one of them everywhere she goes, so I guess he's really trying to have her as a patient!