I honestly have no clue what day it is and after the first day of the month, everything runs together and it has been this way since approximately March. When the pandemic first began I was actually pretty excited because it was an opportunity to slow down and spend time with my family and it did just that, we watched the news, movies, played games, and had theme nights. I typically work a lot of hours and before the pandemic admittedly didn’t have much time to cook dinner or be as engaged as I would have liked to be. On March 24th my employer said that we would be remote until further notice it was met with excitement as well as a bit of trepidation. How would my family react to this? How could I keep my 3 and 4-year old entertained? How can I work with a 3 and 4-year-old? Even though there does not seem to be an end in sight, when I reflect back on this time, I want my children to remember the pandemic because it has been a time that for better or worse kept us together.
While we were required to shelter in place I only had one goal, to not let my children feel the sadness of this pandemic. I wanted to maintain a sense of normalcy in a very abnormal time. Although the news was on constant rotation in our home as their parent I wanted Weslie and Trey to feel a sense of calm in a time of calamity. Therefore my very creative 
girlfriend came up with “theme nights” for her family. Nights like Tacos and Tequila, Burgers and Bourbon (tequila and bourbon for the adults), and mocktails for the kids. We did a camp out in our living room with pizza and s’mores and we all slept downstairs in the living room.
We also watched had movie nights, where we would invite my parents over and watch movies from the 80s and 90s. We Netflix and chilled, we baked, popped popcorn, and played games. My children have had the best time and now every weekend they want to know what activity that we have planned, even as things have begun to reopen.
This is why I want my children to remember this time with their family. This pandemic will go down in history as a time where the economy was bad, public health was worse, and simply wearing a mask became a political statement. Nothing right now is normal. This time is unprecedented and it has been scary and unpredictable. However, there may never be another time like this where we are together as a family in this way. A time where Mommy has time to cook at least 4 times a week and time to plan camping activities and theme nights. Even though the circumstances are less than great, the time with my family has been something I will remember forever and I want my children to remember as well. Yes, the time has been unfortunate and the history books will reflect that, but my prayer is that Weslie and Trey remember all of the fun that we had in the living room.
