Stuck at home for 2 weeks or 14 days of quality time with my girls? It’s all a matter of perspective!
Lisa arrived here from London last week, so Bridget and I decided that we would quarantine with her. We all have work/studying to do but there is time each day for some Netflix and yummy food and just catching up…heaven!
Since he has to go to work and out into the world, Gilles has moved out to his heated workshop for the 14 days; he says it is like being at a hunt camp, so he is making the best of it! We have met a few times for a socially distanced meal in the garage or outside for a bonfire, allowing him to get some visits in too.
Quarantine is also not a hardship for an introvert…again, it’s a little bit like heaven! There is time for meditation, gratitude journaling, prepping delicious food, walking on the treadmill and yoga. Add in great company, all the comforts of home and some time for blog writing, and this may have many of the elements of my best life!
There are 2 things I am most proud of in this world. The first is that our kids have grown into really amazing adults and the second is that they have really wonderful relationships with each other.
There were times on the journey here when neither of those things seemed likely, but the end result is better than I ever dreamed.
I don’t know about you, but in our family 15 was THE YEAR. You know what I mean, it was the year when I wondered if I really liked my kids. It was the year when I wondered if they would ever be the kind of adult I would like to hang out with. It was the dividing time; before that they thought I could do no wrong and knew everything…or at least, something. Then there’s the year when I couldn’t do anything right and didn’t know much at all; 15 was that year.
I remember getting some really good advice from a counsellor when Lisa was 15; he told me to focus on our relationship and find something we could do together, because some day she would come back and it was important that there be something to build on when that happened. BEST.ADVICE.EVER! And I followed it with each of them.
It wasn’t always easy to hang out together through that year, but we always found a laugh or two and, as the year went on, it became easier to communicate and find common ground again. The laughs became more plentiful and our relationship grew. And at the end of the day, they did come back even better than before. They came back as adults I feel so blessed to know.
The same rocky road also applies to their relationships with each other. There were times when they couldn’t look at each other without a fight breaking out. Especially the two closest in age at different times throughout the years. And it seemed to go on for a long time with each pair.
But look at them now! They travel to see each other. They travel here whenever we can make a visit with everyone home happen. The past couple of years, we have managed a visit at Christmas, another in the summer and then big occasions. I am not going to dwell on how different 2020 has been and the grim outlook for 2021 when it comes to in-person gatherings.
Instead, I am going to celebrate the fact that I am here with my girls and able to enjoy the beautiful relationship we share with each other. I am going to celebrate our phone calls with their brothers and their families. I am going to look forward to Gilles moving back in, having Max and Erika join us in person, and facetime visits with Phil, Jessica and Ethan.
All in all, quarantine with my girls is a highlight of this crazy, crazy year!
