It’s amazing what a pandemic will do to your household rules.
I willingly bought my seven year old dozens of Sharpie markers. When he uses them he’ll draw quietly for long stretches of times. I even let him draw on paper on my brand new white studio floor.
Thanks to magic erasers, I’m considering expanding his collection. It’s a small price to pay for peace and quiet (and beautiful art).
We’ve had a container of plastic Playmobil gravel hidden away for over four years. There are many, many good reasons why it’s been out of rotation for so long. We took it out this past weekend and encouraged the boys to spread it all over the kitchen table along with every Transformer we own. They spent most of the day arranging and re-arranging battle scenes.
My beautifully decorated and bright office is now a greenhouse. Each week new pots arrive and we now have dozens of seedlings growing. My husband keeps sending me MLS listings for rural properties so I figure indulging the office greenhouse is in my best interest unless I want to embrace homesteading and goat farming in 2021.
Our style has become avant garde. Do you want to dress like a unicorn? We’ll allow it. Do you want to wear Christmas pyjamas and a Star Wars shirt. Why not? Who’s going to see you, except us. We’ve since instituted some rules about weekday wear since we discovered its actually possible to run out of clean pyjamas.
We have two cats. Both cats like to play with things they shouldn’t. They also like to eat things they shouldn’t. Rainbow loom elastics are tiny and oh so appealing to cats. They also result in hours of peaceful crafting. Bring on the tiny dangerous rainbow rings!
I hope when this is over our boys remember the rules we broke and the fun they had. I know we will feel the repercussions of what’s happening for years but when I watch how their daily life has continued, my hope is that they’ll look back on this time with at least some happiness and awe at what unfolded at home.
