This week Aubrey will finish her last few days of online learning. The statewide stay-at-home order has lifted and places that were closed for the last couple months are beginning to gradually reopen. We have made some summer plans that will include a few simple, safe vacations as well as a lot of outdoor activities close to home. I have decided to consider this week our last week of this home-based endeavor, although I hope to maintain a similar routine for the next few months.
This is my review of the last 70 days.
We started off with customizable daily schedules that balanced exercise, creative activities, and household tasks. These daily schedules were abandoned early but the balance of those three kinds of activities was fairly well maintained throughout the stay-at-home time period.
Blogging turned out to be one of my favorite parts of this period of time. It provided the opportunity and platform for me to observe and reflect on my experiences and the experiences that others were sharing with me. Moving forward, I would like to establish a routine of writing on a regular basis. I might take some writing classes and start some new projects other than just blogging.
My other favorite activity during the stay-at-home time has been homesteading projects. I planted basil and dill and cilantro and tomatoes and peppers. I helped Aubrey plant some flowers. I baked cookies and pies and made cheese and ice cream and chicken curry. I pickled asparagus. I mowed the lawn.
Many evenings I stand at the top of our property and imagine all the projects I still want to do…build a chicken coop and a three-sided barn and some fencing and a yurt and fill all these empty spaces with animals and people and love. Setting aside time in my regular schedule to make all these dreams come true is another priority I want to maintain moving forward.
I set out in the beginning of 2020 to fill my time with activity and commitments, taking on jobs and volunteering opportunities left and right. But I quickly grew disenchanted with this aimless perpetual motion and recognized that I needed less action and more intention in my life. The opportunity to stay home and stay inwardly focused has been a blessing to me and a chance to reconsider how I invest my time and energy. My goals moving forward are to say no when I need to without feeling the obligation to provide excuses and explanations, to consider my work at home as equally valuable (if not more valuable) as my work outside the home, and to recognize that prioritizing my own needs benefits everyone else in my life.
Happy almost summer. Stay tuned for future writing projects.
Angie Gustafson 