Normally at this point in the school year, I’m looking forward to our summer plans. But, the COVID Pandemic has thrown a wrench in every—single—one—of—our—plans. Thanks, COVID!

We had planned on taking an extended family trip to the beach for a week. We also planned on checking off my bucket list trip to Maine. Plus, we planned on signing the kids up for swim team and spending lots of days at the pool. But, now we can’t.

Instead, we are fixing up the backyard for lots of sprinkler play, water gun fights, and freeze tag. We will tend to the vegetable garden so hopefully we have lots of fresh veggies. We will ride bikes and go for neighborhood walks. Maybe we will try some new recipes – both food and drink. Maybe we will finally get around to cleaning out the garage and unpacking some of those boxes we moved from the old house in 2016! We might even start homeschool a little early this year so that we can end earlier next summer, when hopefully this pandemic will be over. Then, maybe we can plan to do all those things and then some!

Is it the fun, amazing summer we had all hoped for? Absolutely not. But you know what? We have our health. We have outdoor space to play and be active. And we have a house that allows us personal space and also allows us to come together to cook or watch movies as a family. So, what if we have to wear a hot mask on our walks? We can suck it up and do something that will help protect the community and ourselves.