The Tunnel

I have been searching online daily to see if summer camps would be allowed in the yellow phase. This morning we received word from Camp Susque that they have cancelled the camps and wilderness trips scheduled in June and July. The only things they *might* still have this summer are two wilderness trips scheduled in August and two weeks of family camp in August. One of the two wilderness trips is for middle schoolers, but it's full with a waiting list. So I emailed the camp director and said we would take option #1, which means the $100 I already paid will be credited toward when Nadia hopefully goes to camp in 2021. The other options were to consider what you paid a donation or request a refund. We haven't heard yet about Camp Good News, but after hearing from Camp Susque, I'm fairly certain that the Good News Club will likely make a similar announcement in the near future. I had registered the boys for a week of day camp AND a week of overnight camp. If given the option, I will request a refund from them because I paid a lot more than $100 when I submitted those registrations. In the middle of March when things began to close, I assumed that everything would be closed for at least two months, and I was at that point hoping that *maybe* we could still go to Maryland/DC in May. We had planned to drive down on May 18. I remember thinking it was dubious, but still we held out some hope for a little while. Then I became certain that we would still be at home in May, but I was hoping that by sometime in June we would be able to resume at least some of our typical activities. The kids were scheduled to attend camp the last week of July. Now that many things are being deleted from our calendar in July, I admit it's beginning to feel like we can't even see the "light at the end of the tunnel." When I was all alone in the hospital and missing Paul, Nadia, and Ian during Oliver's pregnancy, I kept reminding myself that a pregnancy doesn't last forever. My bedrest began in May, and I was due in early October, but I knew I'd never make it to my due date. I figured the longest I would be separated from my children would be until September. Knowing it would come to an end helped me, although I still certainly shed tears and desperately wanted to be reunited with my children. Oliver was born 10 weeks early so my bedrest only lasted until August 7 although his NICU stay meant I wasn't immediately reunited with Nadia and Ian. It seems like it's supposed to be a good thing that we have moved to the yellow phase, but this phase is far more restrictive than I thought it would be. When the kids were younger (before they started participating in summer camps and things like that), a typical summer day included a walk to a playground in our town in the morning followed by a trip to a swimming pool in the afternoon. At this point it seems like this summer will be totally different  - no church, no swimming, no playgrounds, no camp, no VBS, no amusement parks, no libraries, no fireworks, no parades, no museums or national parks, no zoos, no trips to the movie theatre, and the list goes on. We've been at home for almost exactly two months, and we will end up being at home for 4.5 months if we can't start going places again until August. That would mean we haven't even reached the half-way point yet in this quarantine. At this point we are hoping and praying that all our plans for August aren't cancelled  - a trip to visit Aunt Janet on Long Island in early August and our family vacation the end of August. 

So far the only difference between red and yellow for our family is that we are allowed to get together with a few other people. Technically that's assuming face masks are worn and people stay at least 6 feet apart. Nadia has invited two friends over to our house this Friday night. That will be our first instance of taking advantage of being in the yellow phase. A few other things haven't been officially cancelled yet such as the Wild Childs event at a state park in June, a homeschool day at the Hershey Museum in June, or the Youtheatre workshop that I signed Ian and Nadia up for in July, but I'll be stunned if any of those actually take place. Our church's Bible quizzing teams planned to go on a cabin trip this coming weekend, but thankfully that has only been postponed to July instead of totally cancelled. Nadia has at least one special thing to look forward to in July. Camp Susque is usually Nadia's favorite week of the entire year so it is a disappointment to have to forgo that in 2020, but I know we still have so much to be thankful for. We are all healthy. None of our extended family members or friends have the coronavirus. Paul's business has been deemed "essential" (frankly I despise that term - I think MOST jobs are essential). Although we cannot always buy everything we are hoping to get each week at the grocery store, we have plenty of food. And I am not alone in a hospital room. I am spending these months with three of my most favorite people on the planet.