I’ve been so wishing for a little normal and on Sunday I got my wish. Our family has been trying to balance between being COVID-19 careful and still being a family. I’ve not seen Georgia since mid March. I’ve not seen Jasper since early March and I can’t remember when I’ve last seen Buck and Lora’s kiddos. I’ve yet to meet baby Lilly. It’s all a bit much. I’m sure all of you can relate.
I’ve been so thankful that I’ve seen Kalissa’s boys Carver and Gannon. We walk regularly me staying the 6 feet distance away. Kalissa hasn’t been in or let the boys in my house.
I’m totally on board and really believe in self isolating. I’m high risk, my family all knows that. BUT, at what point does this become a quality of life choice to? I recently talked with my doctor about my risk and childcare and seeing the grandkids. It was a tough talk but a needed one. I have a few takeaways from that talk and am making some decisions. One I made is this. I’m okay to isolate but I’m ready to take one small step forward out of isolation. I’m going to start seeing the grandkids.
We’re going to be careful but I, as head of the household, have decided that I’m going to gradually start moving back towards normal family life. No we’re not having a full household family get together but I am going I go back to being around the kids a little more. My rationale? Covid is going to be with us for a long time. I am not distancing myself from them for 2 years until a vaccine is found, until testing is figured out to see if a person can have an immunity or any of the other “what ifs”. We are going to move ahead very cautiously.
As I said, we aren’t jumping into this…but I’m not going to give up seeing my kids or my grandkids anymore. I know how each family household is managing themselves. I know how often they are out and who they are seeing so it’s a somewhat controlled environment. For example, Kayla has been home with Jasper since she had him in January. She’s only been in town to go to the doctor when needed. Spencer does all the errands. She’s more isolated than I am. Buck’s family is much the same.
So Sunday when an opportunity to see Georgia came, I took it.
I cried when I saw her. Yes, I see her on facetime but in person is so much better. My life for the last 33 years has revolved around my kids and the grands. I am not willing to give that up even if it puts me at some risks. The kids are more hesitant than me. Kalissa has said, “Mom, I can’t forgive myself if something happens and you get Covid from me.”
I told her, I might only have a few years with you all and I’m not spending it isolated from you guys and if I get it from you, it was my choice to take the risk.
No, I didn’t snuggle Georgia all up. I didn’t hold her a lot. The two pictures you see are the only real time we were really close besides diaper changing. Like I said, we’re only taking baby steps.
The day was just what I needed…a little family but still in baby steps. Kalissa needed to borrow the lawn mower. So Karl and I watched her boys while she moved lawn. First it was her lawn, then she mowed mine.
While she was doing that Georgia slept and Gannon tried to take a nap. Carver and I decided to make pie. Baking is my favorite thing to do when family is around…. Here’s Carver rolling out pie crust….
We made a lot of pie…
I’ve been missing Craig so pulled out all of the stops and made his favorites. Strawberry Rhubarb….
Then peach. We had extra peaches so the one that leaked in the front right is peach with blueberry.
I’m super frugal and hate wasting the pie crust leftovers. There was enough for crust for two pumpkin pies so I made them too. I’ll send some home with Kelli when she picked up Georgia and some home with Kalissa for her and Craig. Karl and I will eat up whatever is left.
I can’t tell how good it felt to have somewhat of a “normal day”. I missed lots of reading and rocking chair time with the grands…we’ll work on that in the days ahead. For now I was content with a little more space than usual between us.
I know each family is struggling to make decisions on what is right with you for family contact with Covid here. Some of you are completely isolating…some of you see each other normally. Who knows what is right? For now, this felt right for our family….and Sunday night, I went to sleep with a very happy heart and pie in tummy. That’s about as perfect as it gets.
Good decision for you and your family! God will protect you. Those kids need you and you need them.
Good for you! Do what’s right for your family!
Good for you! Our daughter’s grandparents have only seen her in person once since this all began and that was through the car window. We’ve decided to take a chance and visit on Mother’s Day as we’ve all been social isolating.
I am in your position and I feel the same way. Quality comes into play. I want some human interaction.
I understand completely! I have asthma and any cold I get goes immediately into my chest. So I am up there in the at-risk category.
Our oldest daughter lives across the street with their 19 mo old daughter and another coming in mid-August. We, are not isolating from each other even tho’ her hubby must work. Our younger daughter is in bank management so we continue to watch her 2 yr old. As she and her HH both continue to work full time, we talked it over as a family and they offered to stay away if I wanted them to and I said absolutely not. We have her 4 days a week and although we adults never hug or kiss when arriving or departing, we continue on as normal. I have to restrain myself because I really miss hugging my kids! Our son and his wife are expecting their first in July. They, too, continue to work full time. We have kept our 6’ distance because of the number of people they come into contact with every work day. It’s killing me tho’, I feel like I am missing her pregnancy. I have not felt my grandson kick and I could cry just thinking about it. But, we are thank God, all healthy. I am glad my Daddy passed in early February before this whole thing became so real. He was 2 months shy of 80 with heart disease and COPD. I am glad the Lord to him as he dozed off in his recliner and went peacefully without illness.
We are teaching the grands to cough into the neck of the shirts, we wash our hands frequently, eat properly and get outside to garden and play as often as the weather allows. With God’s grace, our good health will continue. I made masks for the whole family. Our daughter said her 2 yr old asked for masks for her Anna and Elsa dolls so they could go to the (play) store. Kids are so adaptable. Just accepts it as normal.
Enjoy your family. They are what makes life worth living. God continue to bless you all with Covid-free health!
Our local son and his family live in another house here on the farm. We’ve interacted the whole time, I have the boys just about every day! DIL teaches online classes and the younger boy is here when the older one is online schooling. Not everyone is isolating with their grandchildren but this works for us.
Jo-you hit the nail on the head with how I feel. I only have one grandchild, and he is only 20 miles away. We used to see him once a week for his YMCA basketball, baseball or soccer games. We would have him overnight once a month at least. We have gone to their house twice since this started, but stayed apart and wore masks. I have several neighbors and friends who have had their grandkids overnight several times since this started. For now, we probably won’t change how we’re doing things, but I’m on the verge of changing that several times a day. Such a sad situation we are all in………..
Good for you, Jo!
I think we have all reached a point where we need to start living our lives. And going back to church is one of them. We can be safe, we dont have to hug or take communion. Its all just too much. Love your kids and grandkids!
Slowly, things will get back to a new normal, and this includes seeing our family, going to church, etc. I still wear my mask because, like many, I’m susceptible. However, this will change too. We just have to be willing to move forward. So glad you have taken that step.
Love and prayers
Good for you, Jo! I am thankful I get to see some of my family, we continue to have Sunday dinners together. Other than that we don’t go out much except for groceries. My husband has continued to work his part-time job, but he doesn’t come in contact with the public. He wears a mask and employer takes everyone’s temp every day. Being a senior, I can go for groceries early mornings. Family is a necessity!
That looks like just about the PERFECT day, Jo!! How did you feel the next day? When DS1 comes to visit, I usually end up feeling a little uneasy afterwards. The “what if’s” creep in. That part is very sad to me. I hate that we have a need to worry and wonder, but I think limited access (even without hugs!) is important for our mental health.
“A quality of life issue.” That’s just what it is. So many people are depressed and not handling this well and you hit the nail on the head. We always should be careful, but we need humans around us. Thanks Jo!
my family is still distancing from each other but it is for my mom’s sake. I am been helping my mom and staying with her. My youngest brother and his family live in the same town. As Jo said, all families are different. I have seen him and one niece from 6 ft. My sewing is keeping me busy. Stay safe and healthy.
Do what’s right for you and your family. Love those hexagon shaped pie pans! I’ve never seen those before!
I am so happy for you–and you look joyful in all these photos! I have always been a pie maker and a pie lover, but I have never made that many beautiful pies at once. You are an overachiever in so many ways :))
It’s a personal decision and if you talked it over with your doctor and can find a way that works for you, please do so. I cant imagine having grandkids and kids so close and yet so isolated from each other. Our children live in other states and we don’t have any grandchildren so our decision is different than yours. We still stay mostly home except to get groceries (every 3 weeks) and we walk every day. I enjoyed those sweet pictures of Georgia and Carver making pies.
I just did the same thing. I went and picked up my grandaughters for a 3 night sleepover.
I couldn’t stand it any more.
I am so impressed with your pies. I am just about ready to pick rhubarb and I think a pie will cheer us up. I have never seen a hexagon shaped pie tin. I’d love one. I assume they are “vintage” and now have something to search for. I assume anything is available on-line with enough searching.
This distancing is hard on all of us. None of my grand kids live in my town so I am not tempted to “stop by” but I expect we’ll need to take a drive one day soon. We’ve talked of and “end of the driveway” visit. They are old enough to know why we are doing this, and my son, their dad, is a physician. He may be the one who puts his foot down and says no, but we’ll hope for a visit soon.
Hi, we decided to do the same thing! My kids aren’t as lucky to live as close as you do to some of their family, so since we hadn’t seen some since December and others since February and have been isolating ourselves, we made the decision to see them this past weekend. It was EXACTLY what everyone needed!! We’ll all have to find our new “normal”
We got to see our first g’daughter last weekend & even got to hold her for about 5 min. I, too, started to cry. It’s just so hard to live this way, but hopefully, in the end, (which I hope is soon!), this distancing will all pay off.
Your pies look fabulous! Now I wanna make some!!
Happy Mother’s Day a bit early, but enjoy everything you’re able to.
One of our provinces in Canada has relaxed their self-isolation guidelines to include a two-house bubble, so we have done the same in our household in BC. Now I can see my granddaughters on a regular basis! It makes me so happy, I’ve missed them even though we have been visiting from the street. We all have to do what is best for our mental health as well as our physical health, and as long as we still careful, we will get through this. Hope you and yours stay safe, I see the numbers are still climbing in Iowa.
None of our kids or grands lives anywhere near us. The youngest grand is 7, so old enough to do online Grandma/Grandpa stuff. It is such fun! We have found that Zoom meetings are great for the family. Even the younger kids get into the spirit.
We were supposed to fly out to see our granddaughter graduate from high school. That’s not happening. Nobody has any idea of her college will have regular classes in the fall. So she just takes it day by day.
It’s a very tough time. We’re in NJ, which has staggering numbers of patients and deaths. We’re of that “age” where we need to be very careful, so we wear masks, avoid going anywhere except for walks. It’s not great but it beats getting the virus. One of our kids is a pediatrician, and she says that it’s not a matter of if, but when. So we figure that the longer we don’t get it, the better the likelihood that some treatment or other will be in place.
I am so glad that you were able to be with your family! Your pies look absolutely amazing (I love that hexagonal pie tin!).
Jo I have the privilege of having my daughter and granddaughters living with me. To not see them for so long would be awful. My grandson lives with his dad I haven’t seen him for going on 2 months it just feels awful. We grandmas are addicted to our grand kids. Enjoyed the pictures of Carver and Georgia. Those pies look so Good!!!!
I appreciate how you feel. I feel exactly the same. I’m afraid this will be our “new normal” for quite some time. Those hexagon pie pans are so fun. Got to look for one!
Hi Jo, I just came to the same conclusion this week. After two months of not seeing my 7 month old granddaughter, it’s time to let down the walls a little. I really miss my kids and granddaughter.
I’m getting to feel like you. Use to see the ones close by almost every day. We do Duo and Zoom but it’s not the same. I’m willing but my daughter is not. Praying all will continue in good health. Blessings.