Enjoy this time.

My family spending time together, 2001.
As a teacher, I have always valued the ability to spend summers and breaks with my family.  Whether staying at home, away camping, or a trip to the occasional resort, time together was a priority.  There was always some specter of urgency creeping up to claim our togetherness.  Soccer, piano, school, homework, church, friends, and extended family gatherings all vied for the little time there was.  Our own responsibilities claimed other chances as the needs of work and society took their respective tolls. 

Although the Covid-19 pandemic has brought chaos where structure and safety once reigned, there has been a silver lining to it, for some anyways.  It has meant time at home, for everybody, and a chance to renew relationships within the immediate family.  There are those who can not take advantage of this situation though, those who are themselves sick and those that are the front line workers have no such time on their hands.  Between self-isolation to protect their loved ones and time away from home to help others there is little left for family.

If, however, you find yourself at home because work is unavailable and your children have no school, think of this as an opportunity to improve family bonding.  Play games, read together, talk, go for neighbourhood walks, and enjoy each other's company.  At some point this will all be over and things will go back to normal, or at least "the new normal," and time may not be on your side anymore.  If you can, enjoy this time with those you love.

Thanks for reading.   www.ericspix.com   Eric Svendsen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hang in there, things will get better.

Image
The Svendsen Family - Eric, Samuel, Leanne, Joshua (top row), Nora, Kathryn, Chanelle, Emma If I could go back, in my mind, to a day in my life when I was really down, it would be nice to be able to see into the future.  If could see things as they are today, with the many blessings that have been given to me, it would give me hope knowing that things wouldn't always be so discouraging.   The message here is we do not know what the future holds.  When things are bad, it is hard to raise your head out of the mire to see beyond the darkness.  There are no guarantees, of course, that things will be better, but I think it is true that fortunes ebb and flow as tides do.  The trick is to see beyond the low points and not be too haughty during the high ones.  I know that, at this moment, things are very good.  What the future holds is unknown, but low and high points are likely in the forecast.   This is why taking satisfaction from the moment is so important.  Instead of looking forward
Read more

Working out life's problems.

Image
Kathryn and Eric - together for 35 years. Whoever said life is easy hasn't been alive for very long.  Yes, although there may be times when everything sails along very nicely, the truth is that hardship is just around the corner, in both directions. The essence of the problem is that we are imperfect beings and we live in an imperfect world.  Bad things happen, both to us and those we care about.  We make decisions and take actions that others may oppose or be hurt by.  Even when, after much thought and research, we do what we think is best or right, our opinions or behaviours are not approved by those we love.  People get hurt, and sometimes the hurt leads to serious repercussions.   I can say that Kathryn and I are happily married.  But I can also say that our relationship has gone through difficult moments.  A great deal of the challenges we have faced have come about because of differences in opinion, differences in problem management, and difficulties in effective communicatio
Read more

Dastardly Dachshund Destroys Fabrics.

Image
Murphy's blanket (left) and Sterling's pant leg hem (right) - It took only a moment. We have had 5 dachshunds now, Murphy being the latest itineration, and they have quite a few characteristics in common.  This blog is about one of them - they love to chew things, and can completely destuff and destroy a dog toy in moments.  Of course, that behaviour isn't just restricted to toys.  Blankets, quilts, articles of clothing, really any kind of fabric - these dogs love to have their way with them.  And that usually means making holes. We restrict the types of fabric that Murphy tears apart into his dog blanket and his toys.  However, he can turn his destructive influence to other chewy temptations on occasion.  We usually catch him before any damage is done, but if he is left unattended and has an opportunity, he can render a garment unusable quickly.  This fact was thoroughly established this New Year's Eve. We had friends over to celebrate the turning over of the calendar.
Read more