Shelter in Place

Image courtesy of wisdomquotes.com

After our family trip to Spokane, Washington, last week for a family funeral, Bigger had to be in quarantine for work purposes.  Given that Mama Bear works for the same company, Bigger couldn't quarantine at home, so he is temporarily living with us.

We should be used to this since we raised him for 18 years.  Please keep in mind that it has been seven years since he has lived here plus we have been full-fledged empty nesters for five years.  We are kind of set in our ways at this point!

There are some things I had forgotten about having Bigger under our roof.  One is that he eats a lot of cereal.  I don't know as we have actually purchased cereal since he left home other than to make rice krispie bars or crunchy chocolate chip cookies.  Malt-O-Meal needs to thank me for our recent spike in purchasing because I think I made their quota for this quarter.

All that cereal requires a lot of milk.  We don't usually have a lot of white milk on hand.  Chocolate milk, yes.  White milk...usually goes sour in our fridge before it gets used.  Don't judge; we eat six times our body weight in cheese every month so we are doing our part to support the dairy farmers.

I had also forgotten how much he likes to sing at the top of his lungs when he's taking a shower.  And how bad he is at it.  But he's enjoying himself so I don't say anything.

Bigger likes to watch movies and has gotten me hooked on the Marvel movies.  So far we have watched Captain America, Iron Man, and Iron Man 2.  I'm trying to convince him to watch Hidden Figures because I think he would enjoy the historical aspect of it, but so far he is resisting.  Captain doesn't watch movies, so he retires to the couch in the basement to watch ME TV on channel 47. 

I have been getting a lot of crochet done while we are self-quarantining.  The crochet-a-long I've been doing has been keeping me busy along with several other projects I have going simultaneously.  Bigger asked me what would happen when I ran out of yarn and I laughed and laughed and laughed! 

This forced separation from his family is hard on Bigger, who is very much a homebody and family man.  But technology is wonderful.  Every night at bedtime, Bigger video calls with Mama Bear and Cubby.  He reads a story (Mama Bear holds the book up to the phone so he can see it), they say prayers, and settle Cubby in for the night.  It is incredibly precious to see and hear this nightly routine.  We are finding ways to cope in new and challenging times. 

We hope and pray that you and your loved ones survive this pandemic unscathed.  I think we will see some of the very best of humanity over the next weeks; that's my hope anyway. 

Stay well and healthy, my friends!