margin

whenever we find it in our busy schedule, i get excited and find myself breathing it in deeply.

the randomly discovered friday night or sunday afternoon that we end up riding our bikes on the beltline or playing in the yard is so coveted but so hard to come by.

when the spread of the virus reached the point that warranted school closing, our family went into shelter-in-place mode. ruby's lungs and immune system are inconsistently compromised, so we don't need to take any unnecessary chances. it's my opinion that if we are going to do this, let's do it all of the way.

the first week found us learning the new normal with school, work and play all taking place at home. there were some bumps along the way, but for the most part, we transitioned quickly and jumped right on board with the extra time to just 'be' as a family.

what that is currently looking like is breakfast and lunch with at least one other person, savored 'coffee' time (ruby drinks 'coffee milk' or 'fancy milk' in a mug with her pinky up), bike rides, family walks, evening foot golf in our yard, dinner together EVERY night, lots of family movie nights, random house organizations and yard projects, and chalk. so. much. chalk.

there was never a better time to have a new driveway and back deck - i am SO grateful that we were able to replace those two things in the last three years. they have made this time much more comfortable. and the timing of this life shutdown in our kids' lives is on-point. in another few years eli might be away at college, and maddux could be driving. having this happen while we are all under this roof still is a gift.

but most of all, i'm in awe of all of the margin we've been afforded. it's pretty much a 180-degree shift from our usual life, and as much as we love all of our music and sports and activities and therapies and gatherings with others, this never-knowing-what-time-it-is, nowhere-to-be, party of five lifestyle is working pretty well for us.