Kavi said, as we were settling down to Dr. Who, that she was confused about how long quarantine was going to go on, because it seemed like some people were saying it was almost done, and other said school would start first, and others said school wasn’t going to start again in the fall, etc.
I took the opening to explain that while they might see more kids playing outside soon, because Illinois was about to open up a little, that we’d have to wait and see whether more people started getting sick again before we knew if it would be safe.
Then I said that since they were pretty big kids, and we thought they could handle it, Mommy and Daddy were planning for our family to keep sheltering-in-place for a while longer, so we could try to help keep people from getting sick and dying. We thought that those of us who have the option and the luxury of being able to stay home and work from home should try to help those who don’t.
I’m proud that both kids immediately said they were fine with staying in for a while longer, if it would save lives. Honestly, Anand is perfectly happy to stay in this house forever, or at least he thinks so right now, as long as he keeps getting access to YouTube and video games. It’s harder on Kavi, who really misses her friends, but she understands the reasons for this, and is committed.
I promised that if they started to get too stir-crazy, we’d go out to the forest again, and Kavi said that she’d be happy to go to the forest anytime, so I think I’m going to start scheduling forest trips once a week, at least. Next Tuesday is looking pretty open in the calendar, so if locals have suggestions for good places other than Thatcher Woods, where we can maintain social distancing, I’d love to hear them. Ideally within 30-45 minutes drive for right now.
Onwards.