Oh, the quarantined life. As you well know, my friends, there is depth of emotions surrounding this one word - quarantine. Each of us is experiencing this worldly coronavirus pandemic in our own ways, yet we are united as there is no one not affected. We face struggles, hardships, new ways of life, fears and worries, job losses, illness and death surrounding us all. I acknowledge those hardships and realities with deep empathy for the hurting world and, simultaneously, hold on to hope for redemption.
With all the unique challenges facing us today, I first want to have a grateful heart and acknowledge the beauty of quarantined life on this little farm with my family. We are beyond blessed to overall have a high functioning and healthy family. My kids bicker and fight like there’s no tomorrow, and Eric and I will raise our voices trying to control them, but all in all, this little gang likes each other a whole lot. We also have plenty of room to roam – outside. Quarantined life on the farm in sunny and mild sunny Southern California is pretty rad.
In non-quarantine life, we thought our land was awesome, but we viewed it as a constant mild headache – always beckoning to be weeded, mowed, taken care of, maintained, something on the to-do list. But our views of our land in quarantined life have changed – we are grateful for it, treasure it, tend to it with care, and acknowledge the blessings in it.
You see, my kids have endless things to do outside. Quarantined life for them is going deep into our “lower lot” to play a game of Home Run Derby where they can hit as far as they can or playing a game of 3-man football running across the weedy, rocky field. They go down where the eucalyptus trees wildly grow and climb through their Ninja course or jump on the trampoline for hours trying to master their backflips or establish rules for some made up wrestling game. In another area, they literally swing from ropes hanging from trees or get super muddy trying to dig out a bike track next to the avocado trees. They dig under rocks and logs collecting crawly creatures like lizards and roly-poly’s. The fun doesn’t stop– up closer to the house they have a full-on mini ramp they helped build as their Christmas gift, a basketball goal, a makeshift tennis court on the driveway made out of plywood and cinder blocks, a very shoddy looking treehouse they’ve worked on and off building for years, more tree swings they jump on making themselves dizzy until they fall over. Best of all, they have each other and dogs, a pig, and chickens that roam around with them.
Quarantined life on the farm is pretty superb. My hope and prayer is that my children remember this season as a time of deep family bonding, endless days playing outside and getting filthy, exploring every piece of opportunity on our land. Trying to see the beauty in the chaos will help change my family for a lifetime.
