The Quarantine Chronicles || Chapter 6 - Ashley

"It's been a wild couple of weeks.  They feel historic and gigantic, probably because they are.  I find myself irritated and hopeful within a minute. It's a tremendous time to be alive.  We lose lives, we lose jobs, we lose freedom, we lose trust in economy and friends, we lose knowing the future.  But, I wake every morning and fight for the hope I have.  I think people think it comes easy, let me assure you, optimism is a skill.  And Hope is a person, not an idea.  We were never in control, it was a mirage.  So now we see where our Hope has been, and it feels messy.  The hope and promise is that God doesn't drive an ambulance, he knew this was coming, and he has a plan for redemption.  Let's keep hope alive, it's all we have today.  Believer, will you be known for your demands and fear, your criticism and politics, your causes and conspiracies?  Or will you be known as one who flies hope higher than all of those things?  I hope we choose hope."   

Jami Nato

Throughout this whole Coronavirus situation, I have felt sheltered from so much of it.  I am one of the lucky ones.  Able and encouraged to work from home.  Able to still get paid.  Able to home-school kids and keep them home in our warm house with a fridge full of food.  Because of these circumstances, I have been able to find much joy amidst the storm.  I have hardly had the TV on since the week we left for Jamaica and it's been necessary as the kids are here and our days are full.  But last night, I turned the nightly news on while they were downstairs and was quickly knocked back to a devastating reality in our world right now.  The numbers are staggering and the outlook feels overwhelming and grim.  The images of nurses, many of them moms and dads themselves, with burns on their faces from wearing the same surgical mask for 12 hour days, fighting their own selfish desires to keep themselves and their families safe while serving the sick with love and care.  Video footage of elderly patients in isolated care facilities, their family members waving and smiling from the other side of a window.  These pictures get lodged in my brain, they swirl around with the simple pictures of blessings under my roof, and they unlock all sorts of feelings - of gratitude and guilt, joy and sadness, comfort and fear.  

Christian believers talk a lot about the importance of finding your purpose - and sometimes, we make it into this big blueprint type thing that feels weighty and confusing.  I led an entire study on a book with a curriculum to help determine our unique purposes.  And while that heart work and reflection is valuable and important, I sometimes think we make it harder than what God ever intended it to be.  I won't forget one night at our book study, Deb, our oldest participant of the group, said that to her, purpose was simply waking up every morning, living simply and confidently in who you are in Christ and where you can serve others in His name.  And then, as the years pile up and you are blessed to look back on them, you can hardly believe the ways God worked through your daily obedience.  

Those words were so freeing to me that night.  And I've been able to put them into practice since.  Maybe purpose is simply in the everyday, getting up and doing well in whatever God calls you to do.  Purpose today could be

-Choosing patience and thankfulness as the kids are bouncing off the walls during another day of home-school

-Learning to be quiet and hear God in the silence of another day at home by yourself

-Putting on that mask for another day of serving God's people at their darkest hour

-Making a faithful step in your small business

-Sending a hand-written note to someone as a means to connect

I think what God is showing me through all of this is that everyday purpose actually leads to revival.  That is hope.  That is God.  

And watching the people on the front lines of it all?  Man, they push me to do better in the everyday.  They push me to praise and pray and stand in awe at the hands and feet of Jesus.  

I keep replaying the words in my head - see the gifts.  Be the gift.  It's all around me.  People calling out the simple joys.  People loving others well in so many different ways.  When we don't know what lies ahead, I think we put a much better investment in our daily lot.  And we give the rest to God.  Maybe that's really what it's all about.          

The Quarantine Chronicles || Chapter 5 - Ashley

What do Lego Masters challenges, noodle sorts, and eggs soaking in bowls of vinegar have in common you ask?!  Somehow, they've all become curricular topics of study this week at one of the many new schools springing around our country.  Our school, The Jorgensen Academy of Excellence, reluctantly opened its doors this Monday and we are having a whole lot of fun learning together and making a few mistakes and messes along the way.  I feel like I'm in my first year of teaching all over again - trying lots of new things, ditching what doesn't work and strengthening what does, observing so much about my little learners, and going to bed fulfilled and exhausted every night!  I've been having a lot of fun creating a schedule that works well for us, getting a firsthand look at what Cruz and Mila are learning and the unique learners they are, and setting aside time in my day to do the things I often don't have time for - like reading Harry Potter to Cruz during my morning coffee and getting outside together before we start dinner.  My goal has been to create a mix of the kind of learning they're used to at school, lots of hands-on learning that they don't always get at school, and lots of home-based learning that is just as important as the other stuff.  Oh and lots of board games, movies, and outside play (as soon as the sunshine is released from quarantine!).  So far, the kids wake up every morning excited to get started and I'd like to think they're pretty fond of their new teacher. :)  

A few fun memories from our first week of home-school...

-Every morning, after we all get ready for our day and Cruz and I read some Harry Potter together, I carve out space to do some of my own work.  During this time, I've been giving the kids "center time" with different spontaneous challenges to work through together.  Monday, they had to create a Lego car wash for their Hot Wheels.  Tuesday, they had to construct a water park with marble towers and Magnatiles.  Wednesday, they had to see how many puzzles they could put together in an hour and then sort to decide which ones they didn't want anymore.  They then got to sell them and use the money they earned ($14, thanks Sell and Swap!) to purchase a new puzzle.  When I explained the project to them, Cruz responded, "So basically you're making us sort?"  

Why yes, buddy, did you think this was all about YOU?!

These little challenges have given them some independence, allowed me to get some work done, and I've witnessed so many good cooperative learning and problem solving skills along the way.  This morning's challenge was to create a maze out of Jenga blocks.  Not only did they succeed and create a great maze, but they made signs and played theme music for me as I tried out the maze.  I love to see what they come up with when they're given a prompt and the space to use their creativity and imaginations. 

-I'm a big fan of inquiry based learning and wanted to spend time teaching them to ask big questions, to investigate and explore a topic they're passionate about, and then present some products to each other.  Every Tuesday, we are going to work on our "Passion Projects."  Cruz chose Greek Mythology, Mila chose owls, and I picked gardening.  Yesterday, I curled up with Mila on the couch and we learned about tiny Elf Owls and silly Oriental owls.  I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with for a project.  

-Mila sorted a bowl of noodles while I made lunch the other day.  She showed me how she could organize them in piles of ten, and then counted by tens to determine the total number.  Then she had fun quizzing her dad and brother, carrying around her little clipboard and asking for their predictions.

-We went on an ABC walk through the neighborhood yesterday, taking turns identifying all the letters of the alphabet on street signs, license plates, and electrical boxes.  We found everyone but Q!

-Let's not discount chore time and home economics!  The kids have sorted laundry, cleaned the toilet, washed dishes, watered plants, and taken out the garbage.  Cruz even folded Beau's underwear with a tongs. :)

-We had SO much fun doing our first little science experiment today, some super easy, EGG-cellent tricks that truly blew our minds.  We learned and used words such as observation and hypothesis as we tried lots of different activities with a dozen eggs, some salt, and some vinegar.  I even made a little video of our fun!

  
-And when we got a little tired or started bouncing off the walls a bit, we rested!  We popped popcorn, ate Sour Patch Kids and watched Aladdin in the middle of the day, and went to our rooms to play when we just needed a little break.  My favorite part of this whole thing has definitely been watching Cruz and Mila together.  They have relied on each other for friendship and fun these past few weeks and I'm so proud of them.  They're closer than ever and I sure love that they have each other. 

  
Week 1 is in the books and we're all here for it!  I think Beau is the only one of us starting to lose it.  His enneagram 7 ways can't handle the limited people interaction, space, and things to do.  I asked him if he was going to go on Jack Nicholson from The Shining on us and he didn't really give me a straight answer one way or the other.  I think he might need a project to start this weekend... ;)

The Quarantine Chronicles || Chapter 4 - Cruz

My mom and dad always give us a challenge to do in the mornings.  Yesterday's challenge was to build a water park out of marble tracks and magnatiles. First we made blueprints and then combined our ideas to make the slide. Then Mila and I had to build the walls so Mila built 2 TVs and two swim up bars and then we filled the end with water and tested and IT WORKED!

For science yesterday we did a Humpty Dumpty challenge with eggs. The first experiment was to put the eggs in water. At first they sunk to the bottom but then we added salt and they started floating up because of density which makes things to float to the top. The 2nd challenge was to put an egg in the palm of your hand and then squeeze with every finger and it won't break. The 3rd challenge was to put your foot flat on the eggs and they won't break...at least sometimes😅. The fourth challenge was to put the egg in vinegar and watch how it changes after a few days. Yesterday it lost its shell and you can see the yellow yolk in the inside. It also feels squishy when you touch it and it can sort of bounce!

Today, we felt the eggs...They are no longer bouncy because when I bounced it sort of broke💔 but they got ten times squishier and when you broke one the outside layer looked like ... A PAPER BAG

My favorite part of the experiment was when I felt the egg and it blew up in my hand! What I learned was to never squeeze an egg once it was in vinegar for three days.

Our Jamaica Spring Break | Surprise!

I'm quite positive we will never forget our first international vacation thanks to Coronavirus.  Although our trip to Jamaica was booked months before we had ever heard of this monster, things definitely started escalating about the time we needed to start packing for our trip.  Because I'm a bit anxious leading up to any sort of travel regardless of a global pandemic, I was on high alert and did my very best to make an informative decision as to whether we would travel or not.  I booked doctors appointments for the kids to get checked and cleared for takeoff ahead of time, spoke with our travel agent (thank God we had went through a travel agency this time) several times to get her perspective, and stayed well informed about all the things on the never-ending news cycle.  But things took a wild turn in a new direction the day before we left.  President Trump closed U.S. borders to Europe, UNI announced campus closure and online learning through the rest of the month, and talks of toilet paper extinction started circulating.  And the virus was spreading in China, Iran, South Korea, and Italy at alarming rates.  There was a lot of fear of similar stories and numbers in the U.S., but things didn't look bad yet.  Our church mission trips were still planned to take several students to Haiti and Jamaica, and most of our friends were still planning to travel.  Beau and I went back and forth a hundred times and finally decided to go for it.  There was no Coronavirus in the Caribbean, our airline assured us they would get us there and get us home, and our doctor and travel agent recommended we go.  So on the Thursday before Spring Break, we sent the kids on a little scavenger hunt to surprise them with our trip.  They were completely oblivious to the worries and fears we were carrying that week and their excitement helped settle us and energize us to go for it.  

So ready or not, JAMAICA HERE WE COME!

The kids had no idea what was in store for them!  Beau and I have been on all-inclusive vacations before and always talked about taking our kids on one once they reached an age where they could be independent enough to hang at the pool and enjoy the many amenities of resort life.  On every vacation we've ever taken, their favorite part is always the pool and the hotel.  It doesn't matter where we are or what we're doing, they just want to be in our hotel room or playing at the pool.  So a vacation that pretty much involved eating, relaxing, sitting by a pool and not leaving our place for a few days, especially when we were all in the middle of a world crisis, sounded like a pretty great idea to all four of us.   

Beau always tries to get me to go to Mexico the same week open-enrollment ends at his work.  It's also always the week before Christmas, aka, one of my favorite weeks of the year.  A few years ago he almost had me, so much so that I went ahead and ordered the kids' passports.  I've been saving them ever since and surprised them literally an hour before we left.  They didn't really understand what it meant to have a passport, but when I explained that they could now travel outside the USA, Cruz's response was, "Does that mean we're going to China?!"  Not this time, buddy... ;)

What's funny is that all news took a turn for the worse the same day we arrived in sunny Jamaica.  Public schools closed for at least three weeks, travel restrictions widened, airlines started cancelling flights, and "social distancing" became a thing, impacting business owners everywhere.  Our friends from BASIC cancelled their big trip to Jamaica which left us feeling a little vulnerable.  But we were there, safe, healthy, and surrounded by warmth and sunshine and lots of social distance.  And it ended up being such a gift to get away before we returned home to weeks of quarantine.  So we stayed put and made the very most of our time together at Jewel Runaway Bay.  

More to come!     

The Quarantine Chronicles || Chapter 3 - Cruz

In the mornings my mom and dad always give me and Mila a challenge to do. Yesterday's was to build a car wash out of Legos. Mila and I got to work! We decided to use a Hot Wheels ramp that would lead to a Lego ramp and then go to a bowl of water where the workers would take it to dry. When we tested it, Mila launched it and it went up the lego ramp in the bowl of water where the workers dried it off and everyone was so surprised even mom! 

This one is for my papa Curt...

Today for my daily chore I had to sort the laundry. Mine was easy but then I asked mom what to do next and she said...

FOLD DAD'S UNDIES! 

And even though they were clean I didn't want to touch them so I got the tongs and folded them that way. It was disgusting, more disgusting then broccoli.

The Quarantine Chronicles || Chapter 2 - Cruz

This weekend, we never left the house. We found things to entertain ourselves. So me and my dad tried to build the Great Hall from Harry Potter but we had only 2 days or else my mom would get mad so we got to work. First up was the characters so while Mila built the the characters I built the snake, phoenix, and the mirror that shows what you want. Dad handed me and Mila the pieces. After the characters in bag 1 we built a little bit of the cafeteria.  We finally finished the castle yesterday and Mila and I played with the set.

Sometimes it's boring not being able to go outside and play with friends but there are advantages. For example, I got to play basketball with my new mini basketball hoop all day. I also got to face time with one of my best friends, Lincoln, while trying to play Madden 20 together! I also get to be home schooled which so far is super FUN!

The Quarantine Chronicles || Chapter 1 - Ashley

It's hard to believe that the last time I blogged, the phrases coronavirus or Covid-19, social distancing, and flatten the curve were nonexistent to our vocabulary.  And in a month's time, our entire world has changed because of them.  Schools have closed, gyms and restaurants and movie theaters are shut down, and many Americans are adjusting to a new normal of working from home offices while trying to home school kids.  We traveled out of the country over Spring Break, a decision that was not an easy one, but we returned safely after six days on a sunny beach in Jamaica and were so glad we were able to get away.  And now, our new normal.  We are on day 5 of our 14-day self-quarantine.  I have only left the house once for a much-needed grocery run.  Beau has transformed the bar into his office and sends me random texts telling me when he'll be home at night.  I am working on a virtual field experience for my college students with hopeful opportunities for them to build some fun learning partnerships with my friends' kids.  We've built forts and Legos, started a quarantine cribbage tournament, cleaned closets and cooked a lot of food, watched movies, finished books, and doodled over the lunch hour with our favorite, Mo Willems.  Overall, we are thankful for a cozy home to hunker down, a fridge full of food to eat, and jobs that allow us flexibility when so many others are working hard on the front lines of hospitals, government, and big businesses we depend on for our livelihood.

I have so much I'd like to write about, but one of the things that has continually stuck out to me throughout this Coronavirus pandemic is the creativity of people in the midst of a true crisis.  Saturday night, we tuned in to a Facebook Live concert with our favorite local duo, Brad and Kate.  There were around 600 other people watching, and we read comment after comment from local friends in their living rooms doing the exact thing we were doing.  The kids got a little shout out, we recorded their dance moves and sent them to Taylor and Kate only to receive silly dance videos in return, and all crashed at the end of the night in a pile on the couch.  The next day, I received a stationary bike on my front porch, personally delivered from the sweet owner of my favorite spin studio, Joywheel.  In order to pay rent, Jess was able to rent out every single one of her bikes to members.  This morning, I woke up at 5:45 and did a spin class via Facebook with one of my favorite instructors.  And last night, we took our hoards of toilet paper and sat on our front porch for a few family pictures to capture this crazy time, courtesy of our neighbor and friend, Michelle Stricker.  Michelle walked around the neighborhood to document families, all from a distance of course, and created a little series called "The Front Porch Project."  Restaurants are transforming into "Victory Cafes" for Friday night takeout, barbecue joints are offering free kids' meals to anyone who might need one, people are using their sewing skills to craft handmade surgical masks, churches are leading Sunday morning worship for online service, and neighbors are decorating sidewalks and hiding teddy bears in windows for bear hunts.  And I could go on and on and on.  It's all too easy to get caught up in the endless and often depressing news cycle, but it's the everyday stories of people's resilience, creativity, and grit that give me a lot of hope in the middle of this storm.  

And as funny as it may sound, I've maybe felt more connection the past five days than I do in an otherwise normal week of seeing many people throughout my day.  Maybe it's because we aren't moving so fast.  Yesterday, I realized I had all the ingredients for a mushroom and swiss quiche and doubled the batch to make two.  I texted our next door neighbor to see if she liked mushrooms and she responded with an emphatic YES!  And then she asked if we liked lattes in return. ;)  We swapped breakfast dishes, and later swapped books!  There's a shared, unique sense of fellowship when we're all fighting a common enemy and something tells me all this time spent under our roofs with our people may just open our eyes to some things we've been missing along the way.  I'm looking forward to reading a little longer at bedtime, to more dinners around the table together, to celebrating the people who use their gifts to serve this world, and then celebrating even more when we all get to be together again.  But for now...

The Jorgensen Academy of Excellence started today and so far we've had a great day of learning.  But I don't think I should be the only one to tell that story.  From now on, you'll be hearing from not only me, but a little third grader who will be working on his typing and contributing to this blog while home schooling with me.  Cruz and I will take turns writing about our stories from quarantine.  Please give him a shout out if you feel inspired to do so - I shared with him that writing for an audience is a pretty important skill to develop. :)