The rain pelting against my window woke me up. I turned over to tap my phone on and 5:00 am smiled back. I realized quickly it was Saturday morning and we had a few more precious hours before the kids got up.

Even though we still live in the world of quarantine, at least we wouldn’t be sitting across from one another on the computers working and trying to coordinate conference calls. I snuggled up closer to my husband, rare there wasn’t a kid in the middle of us.

I guess that thought instantly woke our youngest. Because mere minutes later, I heard his footsteps in the hall and he soon appeared all groggy, in his little Spider-Man PJs, carrying his Ninja Turtles pillow. He jumped into bed and nestled into his usual spot right in the middle. He’s almost 4 and he’s not so little anymore, so we welcome him to lay with mom and dad anytime he wants.

A few hours later, our oldest, almost 9 walked in. “Hi mom and dad,” he said in his cute little voice. “Can I come in, too?” We opened our arms and he jumped into bed. We were all awake now and just chatting about the day…the quarantine games that Daddy would be hosting and the much-needed grocery order pickup.

We knew it was going to be a rainy one, so we were set to keep the kids occupied, as outside time was going to be slim. I woke up to cook breakfast, thinking I still had a package of bacon and I didn’t. Damn. Little pleasures like the smell of bacon are what keeps us all sane these days. Coffee was enough though and the kids had waffles.

The day was pretty uneventful otherwise, as our days are anymore. Yes, we did the quarantine games. Daddy had Nerf Gun targets set up, a Dixie cup water chugging contest, a ping pong balls in cups challenge and count the marshmallows in the jar, among others. We all actually got dressed and we ordered in lunch to keep supporting our outside world.

We chatted with family on Zoom and after Daddy picked up the groceries, from two different places, we spent time wiping everything down and cleaning the space. This is when we started to feel a little down. The annoyance of not even feeling safe picking up a cereal box and putting it away before wiping it off is just plain exhausting. And then the thought of staying in another night and then another day and another day, it kind of hits you all at once and you know you need to snap out of it and do something that makes you happy. The kids and I baked cupcakes, Funfetti of course, which made everyone feel a little sweeter.

After dinner and setting the kids up with a movie and snacks in their room (So. Many. Snacks.), we caught up on a few shows on the DVR (no, we haven’t watched Tiger King yet, it’s on the list!), FaceTimed my best friend from college and her husband in Florida to just chat, reminisce and talk about how our families are dealing with all of this and then we had a Zoom date with another best friend from college and her husband in Texas and played some virtual beer pong. Even though it was only seeing one another on a screen, it made us feel connected and we ended the night happy and laughing.

Today was such a windy day! We started with breakfast and got some piano practicing in early. The breeze coming in from the windows and the sunshine streaming in gave us a real boost. The kiddos got outside with yummy popsicles and ran off some energy in the backyard, while my husband and I cleaned the entire house. We only have another load or so of laundry and then we will be all set, for the hour or so that will last until the kids decide on their next project.

I’m writing this blog as the kids are now enjoying some tablet time. It’s a moment of peace. We still have many hours to fill before the end of the day. Even though it’s difficult remaining inside these four walls so much, we love being together and even when we are driving each other nuts, I couldn’t ask for a better group to be in the Q with.

When we get back to school and activities ramp up, when weekends are crazy busy again visiting family and watching sports (please come back soon sports) and summer BBQs start to happen and weddings get rescheduled and LIFE returns, we need to be able to look back at the time we spent inside and be grateful for the slow down it provided.

For those of you still working,  whether in healthcare or the grocery store or wherever else you may be, THANK YOU. You are out there risking your life daily and it does not go unnoticed. And for all my family and friends laid off or out of work or scared about their businesses, I am thinking of you, I am praying for you and I am here to support you in any way I can. For all my friends and family posting pictures of your families and sharing resources and offering ideas, thank you. I love seeing positive posts and so many people are using this time to learn new skills or practice old ones.

I know it’ll go back to normal someday and I guess I wanted to blog a bit during this time so I could remember how I felt, how we all felt. We will never be the same after this. I will never take for granted seeing my family, or getting to go to a happy hour or out to eat, or running to the mall, or grabbing a coffee with my biz girls, or working out with my hip hop girls, or watching my kids at a recital, or going out on a date with my husband or just sitting around and laughing with friends.

How are you? How is your family? What are you doing to pass your time in the Q?