We have been social distancing and living at home for over a month now, and there are many things I miss. For example: going places! And: seeing people! And: don’t get me started because if I get into specifics, holy shit, I’ll be writing all night!

But as we live through The Great 2020 Adventure, there is space and time for new activities. And you know what? I’d like to continue doing a lot of these activities when The Great 2020 Adventure is over. For example:

• Gardening! We usually plant a few things in the spring and then forget to water them … not this year! We planted basil from the grocery store and then planted all the seeds I could find in the garage: flowers, zucchini, cucumbers, and pumpkins. We have an avocado pit suspended over water near the aquarium and a plastic bag greenhouse with bean seeds taped to the window. (Preschool sent us the greenhouse project but it’s right here if you want to try.) There is a pineapple top drying out (that gets planted in a few days) and we are trying to grow a tree from a pinecone. Nurseries are still open in California, so I’m hoping to secure some more seeds and soil in the near future.
• Snail Mail!Oh, how I adore snail mail. It’s the thing that is often on my list of New Years Resolutions, and it’s the resolution that always gets abandoned by January 4. But Pippa has been writing letters to school friends, and Julian likes to dictate letters to his cousins. We spent a lovely hour this afternoon preparing letters with sticker sheets for friends. I think I’m going to start writing letters to my friends as well.
• Home Cooked Meals! We have been cooking a lot more than usual and discovering a lot of healthy and delicious recipes. I will be very excited when I get to sit down in a restaurant and order food off a menu again, but I suspect Nathan and I will be doing less take out even after this adventure ends.
• Dance Parties! I bought a cheap disco ball off Amazon and the kids love to have dance parties. The disco ball was especially helpful when we had a week of endless rain and the kids were going stir crazy. Dancing lifts all of our spirits.
• Music! I play music in the car but I often forget to play it when we are home. Well, now that we are always home, and almost never have cause to be in the car, I’ve been making an effort to play music that makes me happy.
• Phone Calls! Remember that thing we used to do before we had cell phones and texting? I actually enjoy texting my friends a lot. It’s especially convenient with young children underfoot. But I’ve been talking once or twice a week with one of my best friends from college, and I hope we continue our phone calls when this is over. I’m also trying to call my grandma 2-3 times each week and I’ll try to continue that as well. It just feels good to be connected!

I think we have found our sheltering-at-home rhythm. We might lose that rhythm at any time! But new habits, like writing letters and working in the garden, are taking root and giving meaning to our days. We are slowly figuring out the things we need to do to thrive during The Great 2020 Adventure. Our shelter-at-home order is currently scheduled to end May 15, and it would be amazing if that actually happens (oh please oh please oh please) but if the order is extended, I know we will be fine.

We just might need more stamps!