Yesterday this “shelter in place” homeschool crew took a field trip. Shhh, it’s okay, don’t worry, we self-contained within our vehicle nearly the entire time.
The second I said the word car, there was a flurry of action, shoes being tossed out of the entryway closet. “Do we need coats?” Nathan hollered. “Big coat? Lil-tle coat?” came Adam’s two cents. They clambered into the car and quickly settled into car seats. These very car seats that used to be a battle have turned into a treat. Down our driveway; out our subdivision, past the Walgreens, beyond our typical school route turns, to the onramp of the highway. FREEDOM. 30 minutes later we arrived at my grandma’s retirement community. Besides staff, no one in, no one out for two weeks now. Our job was to deliver two jugs of distilled water that can’t be purchased online - water that was pulled off the shelf by a friend’s son who stocks a grocery store, brought to her house, picked up by my husband, stored in our garage the required time to be considered “safe,” placed in bags we’ve had since December, and then delivered to the sidewalk outside her building door by a gloved hand. The one with the green roof. I hopped back in the car. My grandma slipped out the door. Through closed windows we waved. My boys waved furiously, still strapped in, and called, “Hi, Oma!” “I love you!” she mouthed. And then she and the bags were gone. Just as quickly, we were off, searching for horses, tractors, and trucks as we found our way back to the highway. Anything outside the four walls of our house or beyond our neighborhood walk radius seems like an adventure these days. This 30 second human non-interaction, bookended by a 30 minute drive, was just the field trip we needed to close out week two!
3 Comments
Susan Dillon
3/28/2020 07:49:45 pm
I guess the simple things are now becoming exciting to us and our kids. Good for you for making that trip an adventure!
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ADRIENNE GILLESPIE
3/28/2020 08:14:12 pm
In some ways, this reads like a black ops mission - the way connections had to be made (water supplier), the stealthy delivery of a package.
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3/29/2020 12:15:50 pm
Ha ha! When driving feels like freedom. I took my car out for a half hour circle of the freeways that connect our bay area cities. It was marvelous -- nonstop driving with a view of the east hills and open sky.
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