The Social Dilemma

 

Am I the only one who has a love-hate relationship with Facebook, that these days is trending more towards hate than love?  The place where I used to go to feel less isolated from other adults, to get a quick shot of entertainment, to connect with friends - is now causing frequent bouts of agitation and frustration.  The cost-benefit analysis is tipping.  Part of the agitated, frustrated feelings is all the difficulties of 2020 - but this also begs the question whether Facebook is actually making an already very difficult time more difficult?

I used to love Facebook without qualms, and in fact one of my first posts on this blog was things i love about Facebook.  (Facebook is apparently a favorite posting topic - here are 3 more: in defense of political posts on Facebook (which i now somewhat disagree with myself on),  thoughts on taking a Facebook break,  and the medium (social media) is the message.)

Today's post is inspired by a recent viewing of the Netflix documentary "The Social Dilemma".  If you haven't seen it yet, you should check it out.  Most of it will not be new information, but to see all the different concerns about social media compiled in one place, and voiced by former top executives at the social media companies, makes you stop and think.

The documentary lists so many issues, but here are the top 3 problems that were most compelling to me:

1.  Everyone has their own reality - It used to be that we would all watch the same few news channels and read the same local newspapers.  We would all form our own opinions about politics and current events, but we were starting from the same set of facts.  Now, with the endless vault of the Internet and the algorithms that tailor which articles and posts we see to our exact preferences, we each start with different sets of "facts" via our Newsfeed.  When it feels like we can't even talk to the other side any more, that we're not even arguing about the same issue, that we're too polarized to find any common ground, any compromise - there are reasons for this.  The algorithms are instructed to keep us engaged for as long as possible, to keep us clicking and liking and commenting and sharing, and it turns out that extremely partisan content (on both sides) works well for this.

2.  Addiction - I would love to keep my time on Facebook limited to 15 minutes every few days, just to see the truly significant events going on with my friends and in my groups.  But I don't have that kind of self control.  Instead, I'm checking several times a day every day.  I've deleted Facebook from my phone and then reinstalled it multiple times.  Thank you, Netflix documentary, for showing me that it's not all my fault - teams of very smart people are constantly brainstorming the best ways to keep us "engaged" (addicted) as much as possible.  And sometimes the algorithms they build for engagement operate in ways that they can't anticipate, and that aren't good for us (individually or societally).  

3.  Affect on kids / teens - I won't get into this one, as it's beyond the scope of this blog (worrying about my own brain on social media), but there is lots of reason to be cautious with kids and social media.

So, having said all that, why not just delete the Facebook account?  It's not like it's a required part of being a human being to  participate in social media.  (Although it does feel more and more like that all the time...)  It's because I still really value the connection to people.  There are many people I wouldn't be in touch with at all if not for social media, and others who I'm able to stay connected with day-to-day in a way that never used to be possible.  There are groups that allow me to give and receive invaluable advice and support.  And honestly, if you come across a funny meme or take a cute picture, it's fun to share with friends.  I'm not ready to give those things up.  

I end many blog posts this way, but I especially mean it this time -- what solutions have you found?  When you want to limit your social media time and cut down on aggravating content, but not quit completely, what has worked well for you?  

The Newly Revised School Decision

I suspect that I am really pushing the limits of navel gazing to write not just one, but two, blog posts about our school decision.  However, countless conversations and articles and social media posts tell me that I am not the only one struggling with this.  We thought we had come to a decision 3 weeks ago, when I wrote this last blog post, and now we're making a change.  I'm sharing our evolving process with all of you so that we can all feel less alone as we muddle through these hard choices, and please feel free to share your own thoughts / process / decision (or indecision) in the comments.

So, our change of plans is for Zoey.  We were planning to have her do distance learning mostly because we're trying to keep Josh protected from germs (the life of a special needs sibling) and she did not seem to care much one way or the other.  However, as the first day of school creeps closer, she has expressed a strong preference to go back to school in person.  She is assigned to an awesome teacher, she misses having the in school teaching experience, and she's ready to be around her peers.  She's able to wear a mask well.  She herself is low risk, and both the AAP and the local pediatrician's office recommends that low risk kids should go back to school.  I think the in person educational experience is vastly superior to Zoom, and I can see why she doesn't want to spend 4+ hours a day in front of a screen.  It started to seem like it was the wrong decision to *not* send Zoey back to school.  So we consulted again with our [very patient] pediatrician, and she said that it's basically a judgment call - there is some potential added risk for Josh (though he remains quite protected by being home himself), but likely benefit for Zoey.  Based on all of this, we've decided to send Zoey back to school in person.

The distance learning plan for Josh stays in place.  We need him to stay home, on the advice of his doctors.  We need him to stay linked to the school in order to get all his IEP services.  I think that he may not do well with 4+ hours per day of Zoom time either, and I'm hoping that the distance learning teacher will be flexible and let me do some of the teaching.

Ivy will soon be turning 4, so I'm also going to try to fit some "home schooling" in with her.  I put that in quotations out of respect to those of you who are true homeschoolers -- you're using a curriculum, you've thought this through extensively, etc.  Our home school will be reading and crafts and working our way through the Costco Pre-K workbook, leaving lots of time for her to sharpen her comedy routine.  This is more or less what I did with Zoey, and she was prepared for kindergarten.  

So if people have questions about the pros and cons of any of the 3 school options for the year, we will soon have experiential knowledge of all three!

This is a year where flexibility and adaptability are going to be key for all of us.  I think the schools might cycle through seasons of being opened and closed as outbreaks happen and caseloads fluctuate.  It might quickly become apparent that we chose the wrong path for one child or another, and then we'll pivot.  A vaccine might make spring much safer than fall!  A second wave might make the country shut down again.

I'm not good at this.  I like to have control, a plan, and routine.  Unprecedented times and rapidly evolving situations are not at all my jam.  I don't usually have this much struggle with decisions - I do like to think things through, but once I've done that, I can usually stick to my decision and feel some peace about moving forward.  This time, I'm struggling to find that peace.  I do think this is a chance for spiritual growth - to trust God when you can't see the way forward, to grow those faith muscles.  My prayer for myself and for all of us, as we make our way through the many changes the year might bring, is this verse:  "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:7

Love to all of you as you navigate this in your own lives!

The School Decision: Corona Edition

Ahhhh, summer.  The time for lazy mornings, afternoons at the beach, dripping ice cream cones...and new this year, stewing about the upcoming school year!  Our school district in Reno is offering families the choice of distance learning or in school learning.  (We are supposed to start on August 17th, but I'm betting dollars to donuts that there will be a delayed start to in person learning.)  Many parents (and  teachers and school staff) are feeling stressed about the upcoming school year, and it doesn't feel like there's a great answer - all of the options have serious pros and cons.  This blog post will cover some of my considerations as the parents of a child with special medical and developmental needs, and what we are planning to do about school this fall.

[Some caveats:  I am very grateful that we are in a position where this is even a choice.  I'm not trying to tell anyone else what to do or judge families who go a different route.  We're all in different situations and we're all doing our best.  This is just a window into one IEP parent's decision making.]

My oldest child, like many kids on IEPs, has both medical and developmental needs.  For the past few years, things have been going great.  Medically, he's been healthy and stable.  We still have quite a few doctor's appointments and medicines, but in general, things have been good.  Developmentally and socially, we've seen great progress, and tons of credit for that goes towards our wonderful school and the teachers and staff who care so much about our kids.  We've never had to try to decide whether the medical or developmental side is more important.

Enter COVID-19.  Now, I'm trying to weigh pros and cons in a comparison that feels apples to oranges, but with both being important pieces of fruit.  Developmentally, school provides structure and specialized instruction and therapies and socialization.  These things are hard to reproduce at home.  We participate in everything we can by Zoom, but a big part of the helpfulness of school is that the child also has to interact with peers, act independently as one of 30 children in a classroom - be pushed out of their comfort zone in ways that I can't replicate at home, and be instructed and supported by adults with masters degrees and years of experience. 

Meanwhile, the health risk for medically complex kids is higher.  In general, the risk for kids seems to be pretty low and the general advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics is to send kids back to school.  But the data is clear across every age group that the medically complex are the most at risk (although, again - medically complex kids still seem to be low risk because kids are so low risk).  There's the pediatric inflammatory disease on top of COVID - it seem to be quite rare - but the inflammatory disease also hits medically complex kids harder.

How do you weight these things against each other?  Developmental and social skills are very important, and this is the limited window where kids are sponges, soaking up all the things, and where society provides instruction for free via the schools.  Medically, the numerical risk is low, but the stakes are high.  There's just not a great answer.

We decided to follow our doctors' advice.  We talked to both the pediatrician and the pulmonologist this month.  They both advised that we should seriously consider keeping J home for the first few months, and if we do that, then we should probably also keep (low risk) Zoey at home for that same time.  They took into consideration the following three things: 1) It works with our family / job situation,  2) Josh has asthma and a small airway and  a body that is sometimes hit much harder by viruses  (I'm not sure that asthma by itself would've been sufficient for this recommendation, since many of you might have kids with asthma - I think it was more the totality of his health situation than the asthma by itself),  3) Nevada caseloads are high.  Given these doctor recommendations, we are planning to keep both of our kids home for at least the first few months and do distance learning through their local school.  (This is how distance learning went for us in the spring.)

I'm hoping that the situation will change by the next semester (or sooner?!) - that there are better treatments, that there is better containment (at least in Washoe County, hopefully also in the world), that the news coming out of schools is good.  We love our school and we love our teachers and barring the current situation, I'd be gladly sending them back to this school community in the fall.  I do continue to worry about whether this is the right decision, and I do think there's a good chance that we'll send them back before there's a vaccine or herd immunity, because both of those things seems to be at least 12 months out.  (Here's an article I just saw on six reasons for optimism, though!)

Hugs to you parents making this same decision, whether your child has a disability or not.  Hugs to all the school teachers and staff, who are going back at risk to themselves, teaching in a whole new environment.  Hugs to all the parents who are going to tackle distance learning again, while also balancing a work schedule or babies at home.  Someday this will all be a distant chapter...

Reflections on Psalm 42

Hi all! Our church put together a devotional book based on the Psalms for encouragement during

the time of corona, so I'm sharing mine below (starts with the Psalm, reflection follows):

PSALM 42 (ESV)

1 As a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

2  My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?

3  My tears have been my food

day and night,

while they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”

4  These things I remember,

as I pour out my soul:

how I would go with the throng

and lead them in procession to the house of God

with glad shouts and songs of praise,

ca multitude keeping festival.

5  Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation 6 and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;

therefore I remember you

from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,

from Mount Mizar.

7  Deep calls to deep

at the roar of your waterfalls;

all your breakers and your waves

have gone over me.

8  By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,

and at night his song is with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.

9  I say to God, my rock:

“Why have you forgotten me?

Why do I go mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?”

10  As with a deadly wound in my bones,

my adversaries taunt me,

while they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”

11  Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.

REFLECTION:

This psalm expresses weariness: how long is this trial going to last?  It feels like there’s no end in

sight.  The psalmist is feeling desperate for God, and feeling intensely sad.  Interestingly, the

psalmist is feeling downcast and far from God in part because his circumstances have placed

him far from the sanctuary, so he can’t physically go to the house of God and worship corporately

with God’s people.  All of this -- a trial that’s dragging on, a feeling of weariness and discouragement,

an inability to physically gather with God’s people -- sounds pretty familiar during this season of

social distancing, doesn’t it?

This psalm is instructive and encouraging to me for two reasons:

First, the psalmist shows us that it’s okay to come to God with our hard emotions.  We can turn to

Him in our despair, discouragement, and exhaustion.  Our prayers can fluctuate from despair (v. 3)

to hope (v. 5) back to sadness (v. 9) back to hope (v. 11).  God knows we are feeling this way, and

He knows this is when we most need Him.  Furthermore, turning to God even with these hard

emotions is an act of faith - it shows that you believe He’s there, He’s listening, He’s in control,

and that He cares to hear the desperate pleas of your heart.

Second, it demonstrates what to do when you’re feeling down.  Start by sharing these feelings with

God.  Then, talk to yourself - remind yourself what God has done.  Remind yourself that God is

your hope and salvation.  Remind yourself how He has delivered you and others in your community

from hard times before.  Remind yourself how He has delivered His people throughout history,

as written in the Bible.  Remind yourself that you will again praise God, your hope and salvation. 

It’s okay if you don’t get to a place of perfect emotional peace and hope at the end of the prayer,

but following this process over and over is the road back towards joy and praise.  

PRAYER:

Lord, these last few months have been difficult.  Thank you that we can turn to You honestly with

all our emotions.  Please help us to remember all that You have done for us.  Thank you for being

our hope and our salvation, and please bring us to a place of praise.  

Decision Making as the World Re-Opens

Another corona blog post!  I wanted to write a post about decision making as the world re-opens, but even just thinking about it feels like a mangled mess in my mind and in my gut, so I decided to write about that instead.  (If you're looking for some actual "how to" guides, here are two good ones:   1) assessing your personal risk as the world re-opens, and 2) Experts Rate the Risks of 14 Summer Activities.)  This is more an assorted collection of my feelings and reflections on certain things as we walk through yet another round of uncharted territory (or, as Brene Brown puts it, FFT).  I would be interested to know if any of you are feeling the same way.  (Also, if any of you are feeling totally differently!)

So, I think there are three broad categories making this re-entry time hard for me:

1.  When you're making choices for your family, it's hard to know what information to trust.  Some examples:

• Are kids relatively safe from corona?  At first it was thought yes, unless you're a kid with a medical condition; then, just yes in general; now there's this pediatric inflammatory immune response; but this seems to be both rare and treatable.  So the answer is:  yes, probably, but the answer might be different next week.  (Our pediatrician has "enjoyed" hearing questions from me every time there's a new twist in the data.)
• Our leaders haven't been super clear about whether we're re-opening because it's an economic necessity, because it's actually safe in terms of public health, or because there's an election in November and that's driving the bus.  
• Lack of information - since this virus is new, it's a mystery to all of us, and so the information coming from the CDC tends to change (see, e.g., recommendations on contaminated surfaces).  And because there hasn't yet been widespread testing, we don't have the best information about exactly how much of a threat we're facing. 

2.  I am very motivated to avoid conflict and keep the peace (shout out to my fellow Enneagram 9s), and no matter what choices you make, this is hard right now.  Some examples:

If you make different choices than other people about what risk is acceptable for your family, this can lead to both sides feeling judged because of their differences of opinion.

If you get together with anyone at all (and here I'm talking about everything from the totally necessary to the totally frivolous - and many of our activities fall somewhere in between these extremes, another landmine!), it affects the risk you pose to other people and the length of time before other people will feel safe getting together with you.  And this leads to a whole host of possible hurt feelings.

It's a weird time to post anything at all on Facebook.  (Doesn't stop me from posting daily!  But still weird!)  Like, if you post a picture out in nature, you might be angering people who feel that stay at home should mean literally stay in the 4 walls of your house.  If you post a masked selfie, you might be angering your freedom loving friends.  The list could go on and on. 

3.  It's hard to walk the line of wisdom - not being ruled too much by desperation to get back to regular life, but also not being ruled too much by fear.  Here are a few things I'm eager to see come back sooner rather than later (but I only want to happen if they can be done safely for everyone involved):

• Getting together with friends and family - this is the #1 thing I've missed, and we've played it conservative on this front.  In some ways, this feels much more optional than getting food from the grocery store or medicine from the pharmacy - - but now that we're looking at how to handle things over the course of several months rather than 2 weeks, it's becoming abundantly clear how important these connections are to sustaining our souls, and how Zoom is an imperfect substitute.  I'm not saying here that everyone should just throw social distancing out the window; I'm saying it's okay to mourn the loss of in-person get-togethers, and as you're weighing the risk of limited, small group  (and also best practices: masked, outdoor, and socially distanced) get-togethers  you should also weigh the value.  (Caveat 1:  some of you are in situations where you need to completely social distance until a widely available vaccine creates herd immunity; others have been getting together this whole time, with no precautions.  I'm not looking to start a fight!  See point #2!) (Caveat 2:  I'm definitely not saying here to just open the floodgates and get together with everyone all the time.  I'm saying to consider how you might see those few people who are most important and necessary to you in a safe way (and in your area or your life situation, there may not be a safe way yet.))  Look at all those disclaimers!  And this paragraph still might make people more angry than maybe anything else I've ever written on this blog!
• Church - I miss you so much, Covenant Presbyterian family!  I missed celebrating together at Easter, the Memorial BBQ potluck that would've happened this weekend, the craziness of in-person VBS that would've happened next month.  I miss shaking the pastor's hand and singing together and taking Communion together.  These are big things for me.  But it also seems very clear that there are significant hurdles to clear before a large group gathering like this is safe, so I appreciate that you're taking it slow, following government guidelines, forming a task force to make it as safe as possible when re-opening is possible, and taking advantage of technology to continue Sunday mornings and VBS in the formats that are possible right now.  
• School - I'm sure many of you have seen the meme floating around about the CDC guidelines.  I was in a rage about what that would mean for special education at first, but the place I'm in now is - we are about to go on a 10 week summer break.  Meanwhile, the information about this virus changes by the day.  Schools in other countries are opening, so we will have much better information one way or another in 4-8 weeks.  In the meantime, we can all  hope and pray that there are advances in medicine, testing, and the data that make it possible for school to be back in both a safe and doable form ASAP.  (And thank you, teachers and school staff, for all you do, in regular life and in corona life - we appreciate you now more than ever!)  (More thoughts about distance learning in my previous post.)

Hugs to all of you who are also finding this to be a confusing and anxiety provoking time.  I miss you, friends!!  Tell me how you're feeling about this new stage we're in. 

Distance Learning in the Time of Corona

Distance learning!  One of the many, many things that none of us expected 2020 to hold!  Here in Reno, we just finished Week 4 and we will complete 5 more weeks this spring before Summer Break starts.  (And then, of course, fall 2020 TBD...)  Since this is something unlike what's ever happened before in our lifetimes and (hopefully!) unlike what will happen anytime following, it seemed worth memorializing with a blog post.  I'll describe how it's being done in Reno, and then what we've liked and what's been hard.  Friends in different districts, please feel free to weigh in with your experiences in the comments.

What do the students do each day?

For elementary age, the kids are expected to do daily reading, writing, social-emotional learning, and math activities - each of these takes about 20-30 minutes - and then there is a checklist of science, social studies, music, and literacy activities that the student completes over the course of the week.  All of this is listed in a paper packet.  It is up to the parents to administer the activities (which is pretty easy if the students are self directed and willing to do it, and pretty challenging and hands on if the students are resistant or needing lots of help and direction).  We are doing work from the packet for about 2-3 hours per day.

Will the homework be turned in or graded?

My understanding is that none of the work for this 4th quarter will be turned in or graded.  My kids are in 2nd and 3rd grade, so for them this matters not at all - it doesn't affect their willingness to do school work, their future college prospects, etc. - but I can see this being a bigger deal for older students.

What is the teacher's role?

The teachers are in lots of communication with the parents, offering help and additional resources.  They are doing one or more Zoom calls with the class per week, which is usually a chance for kids to share some of the work they've been doing and then sometimes an additional activity or read aloud.  I'm sure they are doing tons of other work behind the scenes.

How is special ed being handled?

Our special ed supports are doing an awesome job.  Speech, occupational therapy, counseling, and resource (tutoring) support are all doing Zooms with us at least once a week and also sending additional resources.  Between general ed and special ed, and between two students, we are facilitating about 12 Zoom calls per week, so this lengthens the amount of time spent on home school stuff.  (Which, some days it's helpful to keep them occupied, and other days it's difficult to fit all the Zooms in.)  I thought it would be a big challenge to accommodate the academic work in the paper packet as we went, but the teachers have been helpful with suggestions and flexible with accepting whatever I decide to do.

What have we loved?

• More down time - if the kids get right on task by 9 am and only take short breaks between activities, we are usually done by lunch time.  This leaves plenty of time for getting outside, read alouds, Minecraft, and anything else that's fun for them.  It also allows for breaks in between subjects to jump on the trampoline, play with our dog, etc.
• There is more flexibility to tailor to the kids' interests and abilities.  Josh loves natural disasters, so we use natural disaster books for his reading time, and suddenly he's able to read several levels above what his standardized test scores would indicate.  Zoey wanted to start a newspaper, so I let her do that for her writing time this week.  It's fun to let them run with their passions.  
• It's cool to see the creative ways the teachers and school staff have found to reach out and interact with and teach the students via our various technologies. 
• This one is extremely specific to our family, but -- it's great having Josh home all day e'ryday because I can get food in his hands six times per day, and that's the key to helping him maintain and gain weight, which is an ongoing challenge.

What's been hard?

• Figuring out how to prioritize - there are days that are heavy with Zoom calls, days where a certain assignment takes way longer than anticipated, and days where either me or the kids are just not that motivated to work hard.  I am a big time rule follower, so it's hard for me to just cross things off a checklist with abandon, or to even choose which things to cross off.  (Although it's getting easier as the weeks march on.)
• This is no fault of anyone (except the corornavirus!!) and it's certainly better than no contact, but Zoom calls are just not the same as in person interactions.  The teachers have gotten good at figuring out how to make the most of it with read alouds, directed drawing exercises, sharing time, nature videos, etc., but we are all very limited by this format.   
• The kids miss things about school that I just can't pull off at home and with the current world situation: time with classmates, science days, field day at the end of the year - things like that. 
• Everybody is balancing things that used to be much more separated out - teachers are parenting while teaching, parents are teaching while parenting - it's been a lot for everyone to adjust to, balancing different roles all at the same time.  I'm very lucky that I'm not currently trying to balance a job with everything else, but it's still a juggle.  
• All of us are operating under the corona cloud - fears about sickness and finances, disappointment about things getting cancelled, missing get-togethers with important people in our life - and I think that can't be separated from how we're performing our day-to-day functions.  

As you may have noticed on Facebook, my emotions are fluctuating pretty wildly during this time.  Sometimes, I feel so grateful for this time with my kids.  Sometimes it feels so hard.  Often, it's both feelings at the same time.  I would be very interested to hear how distance learning is going for the rest of you!

Opportunities during the Coronavirus #StayHome

How unbelievable is it that in 2 weeks, life has turned completely upside down?  Less than a month ago, we could do things like go out for dinner with friends, make predictions about March Madness, make plans to get together for Spring Break, and just generally count on the world to march on as it always has.  And then we hit this moment in time that is unlike anything any of us has ever experienced.

This is hard.  I absolutely do not mean to minimize the very real health and economic impacts that are being felt around the world.  Every family is dealing with major changes and stressors.  Everyone is worried for loved ones near and far.  Some people's jobs and careers are on hold and finances are stretched thin, while others are going in to work every day to help get us through this crisis at great risk to themselves.  Some are learning how to work from home while also being the teacher and child care provider; others are living alone and greatly missing contact with other people.  Love to all of you, whatever your situation, wherever you live in the world.

So we're all staying home a lot more, and while there are certainly challenges in this new normal, there are also opportunities (some of which will only last for the stretch of time that we're doing the #stayhome).  Here are some that I can think of:

• A chance to notice how much we need and love people - We've all heard how we look at our phones too much.  But all I've heard this week is how much people miss seeing their friends and family, or how people are breaking rules in order to see friends and family.  It turns out the phones and Netflix are waaaaay less appealing when that's all you've got, and what we really want is to all be together!
• A chance to see people helping people, and to be the helper - I've seen so much kindness on social media this week!  People offering to help others, people posting helpful information (like senior shopping hours, local businesses that are open for curbside, where school kids can get food if needed, etc.).  It's beautiful.  Depending on circumstances, it's also a chance to be the helper.  And it's a great chance to be praying for people.  
• A chance to spend extra time with the family - Ironically, I wrote 2 months ago about some of the things that are lovely about homeschooling and that I would like to add more of in our life - I didn't anticipate that it was going to be *quite* such a "your wish is my command" situation.  But lemonade from lemons, we've been able to add almost everything I wanted.  We're having family dinners every night (also breakfast and lunch, and snacks #1, 2, and 3).  Playing board games.  Taking walks and getting out into nature.  Getting to art kits and science projects and Pinterest crafts.  Reading together a lot.  Not that there hasn't been plenty of boredom and screen time and refereeing of fights - it turns out there's time for all of this AND quality time when you're together 24/7!
• A chance to re-evaluate the schedule - With every single activity wiped clean from the calendar, this is a very rare opportunity to notice the things you REALLY miss and the things you don't miss at all.  To the extent that activities are optional, this is a chance to make some life revisions.  
• A chance to give and receive grace -  I don't know about you, but living in close quarters and under a stressful world situation has not brought out the best in me.  I'm crabbier to everyone in the family, particularly Kenny.  My kids are feeling the fear in the world and the major changes in routines, and they are having strong emotions.  There are lots of moments every day where grace needs to be given and received, which is a perfect reminder of what we celebrate coming into the Easter season.  

Please add your ideas and thoughts in the comments!