Between social distancing, self-isolation, and quarantines, I feel like it’s more important than ever for us to stay connected in whatever ways we can, so I’m checking in!
Hi friends – how’s everyone holding up? I thought I’d just take a minute to say hi and share what life has been like for us around here during all this craziness. I’m not always as consistent as I’d like to be with putting out regular “real-life” updates here and on social media, but I feel like it needs to be prioritized right now. It’s important for us all to stay connected as much as possible right now, and honestly I find myself not knowing exactly what to say a lot of the time after reading yet another devastating news story. I’m sure we’re all in the same boat there. I’m feeling much the same as I’m sure a lot of other moms who are small business owners are feeling right now. It’s a struggle to keep up with running the house now that it’s always full of people, picking up after everyone, keeping everyone fed, trying to keep us focussed on what’s important and what we need to do to be prepared, stay on top of the news updates, and figure out how in the world to navigate running a business (or two businesses, rather) in a completely new world with only five minutes per day to do it. But I’m trying! 🙂
The good news is that we’re so far all healthy, safe, comfy, and fairly well-stocked with supplies. We always try to keep a lot of basic food items in the house anyway, but we’ve increased those numbers just a little bit now just in case we move to being completely locked-down in our community for awhile. We’re following the directions to try to have 2-3 weeks worth of food and supplies on hand in the house and we’ve successfully resisted the urge to hoard toilet paper.
The hardest part, I’m sure you’ll agree, is the uncertainty. How long will all this last? Two weeks? Two months? Two years? They say that there will always be food in the grocery stores, but will there really? What are we missing? We’ve always relied so heavily on our health-care workers, can we really ask them for even more? The sacrifices that they’re making around the world are just beyond, beyond. When all of this is done, we as a planet will never be able to repay our debt to them.
It’s easy to go down a rabbit hole and get lost in your thoughts right now. It’s been mentioned thousands of times on social media how much getting outside for some fresh air helps. We’re lucky to be able to safely do that pretty easily right on our property and in areas nearby to where we live. I’ve always been a big proponent of fresh air and exercise, but lately I find myself forgetting that and wanting to hide out inside and scroll through the news one more time to see if there have been any updates.
It may start to sound like a broken record, but I think we need to repeat it to each other pretty much continuously right now. Every day. Get outside. Fresh air helps. Go for a walk. Order some birdseed in your next grocery order and feed the birds. Find some signs of spring out there and look at the sunshine sparkling on the water if you happen to have a river or a creek nearby. Even if the weather is terrible, only a few minutes outside are a great way to reset your thinking and clear your head. I promise I’ll keep reminding you if you keep reminding me. 🙂
Provincial parks were still open last week and we had a yurt booked for our March break, so we decided to go for it, especially since it’s only an hour away from where we live. We showed up armed with lots of disinfecting cleaner and hand sanitizer, although we kept our distance from the other campers (yurters?) who were there. It was great to see all the park staff doing their part to try to make it a safe and healthy experience for everyone. Even the security staff were wiping down washroom doors and stall locks every time they passed through the area. It was clear that it wasn’t really a sustainable practice though in today’s climate, and the day after we got home from our little two-day trip, they closed provincial parks indefinitely. It was fun while it lasted though. Walking through the middle of a forest with not a single other person for miles is definitely a great way to practice social distancing. The photos in this post are from our time in the park.
How have you been holding up? What’s going on in your part of the world? What have you found has helped you keep a level head over these last few weeks?
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.