With all that is going on in the world, it probably slipped by you that I haven't blogged in a while. With all that is going on in the world, I haven't had the faintest idea what to say about it all. What I thought was a temporary state of being has turned into something without an end in sight. We finished up school under strict quarantine. Natalie finished elementary school without the big celebration and ceremony she would have had if we were in session. Moses finished his first year of pre-K and will be starting "full-time" school next year. All three kids did excellent in their classes, despite the stress and boredom of never leaving the house, staring at a computer screen for way too long and trying to interact with classmates and teachers over Zoom. Scotty trudged through online teaching- trying to keep himself focused while surrounded by his wife and three children and a myriad of other responsibilities all day long, while also trying to figure out how to engage his students and convince them that they did still need to turn in work if they wanted to pass his classes. We got into a groove by June, but it was still a massive challenge for all of us.
So, we're on school break! And, we won't start back until several weeks later than we normally do, so we have more time! But, Bolivia is still in quarantine. A few weeks ago, the very strict quarantine I wrote about in my last blog let up and we were actually allowed out Monday-Friday and able to drive! Wow! Getting in a car and going into town where there are real shops was a treat. But, not one that I did very often. We were able to deal with a few health issues in that time and Moses got glasses and then they put us into a 3 day total lockdown where no one could be out on the street at any point. Now, we're back in a pseudo-quarantine and the reports are that we won't hit our peak until September, but cases are out of control and hospital systems have totally collapsed. Kids are still not allowed to leave the house unless of a medical issue.
So, this is not the vacation I was expecting. Most of the other teachers at Highlands managed to get back to the U.S. (on repatriation flights, normal air travel is still completely shut down), but we are home. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a little bit sorry for myself from time to time. Although it's good to see my friends in the states starting to enjoy a little bit of "normal" again, the reality of being stuck here can feel heavy. I'd love to take my kids on a road trip so that they could at least get out of the house for a bit, but we can't. And, Highlands has (wisely) decided that school will be online at least until January 2021. While this option feels safer to me than sending my kids to school during our covid peak, it also feels a bit overwhelming to know we can't really get out of the house much during our break and then will be back to all working from home every day for the rest of the year.
So, Scotty has been helpful in encouraging me to trust that the Lord has us right where we should be and in the situation that He is in control of. Although there is nothing exciting happening, we can enjoy this time together, take a slower pace and find contentment in the small things. We are pressing into that and so very grateful that we are together and have our health. We've seen a couple friends in the last week, outside, and keeping our distance. But, that's something, at least. We're doing projects around the house and we got a new kitten to distract us.
I'm still involved in the women's ministry through participating in Bible studies, leading a break out group (over Zoom) and doing a little teaching as well.
So, that's us right now. If anything interesting happens, I'll be sure to let you know.
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