Our new normal: week 3

Week of March 29, 2020

Our week started cold and gloomy. We flew kites in the cold wind. It was announced publicly that Mr. P accepted the call to Valley Lutheran and this brought great sadness (each day gets better, but it's a tough pill to swallow). We did another optional "spirit week". We made one last major shopping trip to Meijer and Aldi with the hopes that our food would last beyond next week's predicted peak of sickness. We started washing walls in the laundry room, and soon will be patching holes, and sanding and priming (don't have a color yet, bummer). We learned during Governor Gretchen Whitmer's press conference that returning to school for this school year would not happen. Online learning will continue.

I know the tone here is pessimistic, and believe me, the previous weekend was awful emotionally. But on that Sunday night a staff member emailed a devotion she wrote based on Psalm 91. This prompted me to open my YouVersion Bible app where I discovered an entire 21-day devotional on that very Psalm. I now read one every night before I go to bed and fall asleep saying the Lord's Prayer. These two things have given me peace and confidence, despite the discouraging circumstances that surround us every day.

Here's the Week 3 list of highlights from everyone:

On a super windy day, we flew kites from the end of the driveway.
We logged on to a ton of Zoom meetings. What a great way to stay in touch.
The weather improved! More sunshine, sightly warmer temps.
Grilling dinner two nights in a row.
Took our first family bike ride of the season.
Matthew "graduated" from Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems :)
We spent a lot of time in the woods: we dug a second fire pit on higher ground away from the river and cleared (and burned) sticks and brush. Had some afternoon fire snacks: s'mores and smokies. We walked around and noticed a tree with burls. We dreamed about what that part of the land would look like "cleaned up" a bit.
More yard work, too: trimming hedges, digging stumps on the top tier, cleaning out under the deck, killing weeds, raking back leaves in preparation for future yard grading, starting green bean seeds, setting up deck furniture.

The highlight of the week for me? I started and finished the first season of Downton Abbey.