Lockdown - Week Two Recap

We just ended our second week of lockdown, and we are still here, doing well.  France has advised that the lockdown will continue until at least April 15.  If I had to guess though, I would assume it will go until the end of April, if not longer.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe stated that these first few days of April will be the hardest yet, as France is seeing the number of cases doubling every three to four days.   The health officials are continually asking for patience in assessing if these confinement measures are working.  So we are being as patient as possible, keeping our distance from each other.

For its part, France is working hard to fight this virus. So far France has increased the number of hospital beds available from 5,000 to 10,000, with a hope of reaching 14,500 soon. The French are trying to make 8 million masks a week, in addition to ordering 1 billion more from China.  They have also ordered 5 million coronavirus tests, and hope to be able to carry out 30,000 a day by the end of April.

There continues to be a real sense of solidarity here.  Knowing that we all are going through this as a country, unites us and has us giving slight smiles to those we pass, albeit at a distance.  There is also a sense of international camaraderie as well.  Switzerland, Germany, and Luxembourg have all accepted airlifted patients from France to help with the overload.  A few TGV trains have been converted to transport patients to other parts of France from the hardest hit portions of the country.  Even with the death toll rising, and people feeling isolated, every night at 8:00 p.m. we open our windows with the rest of the country, and cheer for all the medical workers working hard to fight this virus.

Getting the TVG ready to transport patients.

Patients loaded up.

Every night at 8:00 p.m., we show our solidarity and appreciation.  

Grocery stores and smaller food stores, like butchers and boulongeries, are still open.  The open air markets, that are in neighborhoods twice a week, are closed. But pharmacies are still open, only allowing 1-2 customers in at a time.  A highlight this week for me was visiting one of those pharmacies, when there wasn't a wait.  I was able to just explore, reading up on French eye creams and grabbing travel size sample of lotions and lip balms to try at home.  I have never washed my face so much as I have these past few weeks trying all of these new products!

Eye cream, body spray, and lip balm.

As a family, we are feeling blessed that we have such a safe space in which to reside during all of this.  Not only do we have a wonderful apartment to live in, but we have our normal routines to keep us busy.  We are also grateful for the amazing weather.  Since March 17, when we began confinement, there has only been one overcast day.  All the others have been sunny, with clear blue skies.  This has had a tremendously positive impact on our mental states.  Jeff and I get out every day to exercise in the incredible park that is next door to us.  Even with the new restrictions to stay within 1 kilometer of our home, we are still able to sneak in there for a good workout.  The kids are also enjoying the space to scooter, run, and walk.

Will and Edy are off, scootering and running!

We continue with our homeschooling routine as well.  Each morning, after breakfast, we do about 4 hours of school.  We are working hard to get ahead, so that by the time we are allowed out of the neighborhood, we can go and explore Paris again.  So far, we are about 5 days ahead of the Northfield Schools.  The kids are really enjoying the afternoons to just "be."  For Will, that means creating his favorite 4 Morons comic books, while listening to recordings of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" on his iPad.  For Edy, this means working on art projects.  She has really gotten in to watercolor painting, thanks to our dear friend Mrs. Norrie.  She is also enjoying more Facetime with her Northfield friends, due to their confinement, as well.

Will's comic books.  

Edy's painting of Split Rock Light House.

Jeff continues working from 12:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. in the apartment, just as before.  He is enjoying time in the morning to write and read, and takes his "lunch break" to run.  He is trying to run as many streets in Paris as possible, so this new restriction, of how far he can run from home, has put a crimp on acquiring new streets.  But he is finding ways.  His biggest struggle though is that he didn't get enough books from the American Library in Paris to last longer than 3 weeks.  He may have to start reading books on a device!  He is quite disgusted by this.

I continue to do well, partly because I have been listening to so many self-help podcasts, that I can't help but feel good.  In all seriousness, I anticipated feeling much worse, much more trapped.  But like everyone else, I am slowing down and enjoying what the means.  What that looks like daily for me is that I am no longer rushing to the next thing.  Before when I would go out and workout, I was always checking my watch to make sure I got back "in time" for the next thing.  Because there is nothing to return to, I am enjoying the extra time to do things, like sit on a park bench or even lay down on the grass.  After all, we are still in Paris.  I also make it a priority to try and see the Eiffel Tower every day.  Just seeing her, reassures me that everything will be alright.

Blue skies!

Within the apartment, I also feel unburdened.  Since it isn't our home, I don't feel there are projects I "should" conquer.  With limited items of our own here, there also isn't anything I need to go through.  Instead, I am reading books, working on my online class, and watching movies with the kids.  There is really NOTHING to pull my attention away from those things.  That being said, I can't help but keep us clearing.

Spring cleaning!

Finished!

Every day there are also pleasant surprises that I probably would have missed if things were normal.  Today, the street cleaners came, for the first time in weeks.  (They used to come every few days.)  The  post office, next door, that has been closed, was open today for a few hours.  I also had time to document the final momentous moments when Edy is still shorter than I am.  And late one night, I caught this light display on one of the buildings across the Seine River.

Thank goodness the street cleaners are back!

She is closing in on me!

Love the heart on this building.

Like all of you, I am finding ways to cope when things feel hard.  Much of what I am doing, I have learned from many of you, who have posted on Facebook or Instagram.  Thank you.  A few additional things that have helped me are below.  I am listing these here more for myself to remember when times get tough.  But if the help you too, then please use them.

One thing that really resonated with me last week was a podcast I listened to from the "Lazy Genius."  In episode 150, "A Pep Talk for Being Stuck," Kendra shared 5 things to remember during this time of uncertainty.  All 5 have become my daily mantra.  http://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com

1.  You don't need to make every day amazing.
2.  YOU don't have to be amazing every day.
3.  Look for the helpers.
4.  Scatter joy.
5.  Do what you wish you would have done.

While I would love to have science experiments and art projects available every day for my kids to explore, I am giving myself permission not to.  While I would love to make the most of each day for myself, I don't need to. While I might not be able to help others in big ways during this time, I can look for those who are able to help and applaud them each night.  And in small ways, I can still do my part and make sandwiches for the homeless in my neighborhood and surrounding area.  I can scatter joy in small ways, whether it be in buying a bottle of bubbles for the kids to enjoy or in a distant smile to someone I pass on the street.  Finally, I can engage in the one or two things I will have wished I would have done when I think back to this time.  For me, the means working out every day and watching movies with my kids.  I can definitely make both of those a priority.

I also realized that the words from our two churches have also been ointments to my anxiety.  Pastor Jonathon Davis, from St. John's Lutheran Church in Northfield, MN, reminded me this week that we are allowed to feel the complexity of all of these feelings, as he talked through the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  Pastor Davis shared that we can experience many differing emotions at the same time - beauty and devastation, gratitude and anger, sadness and joy.   Many of us haven't experienced this before.  We are used to the simplicity of one emotion.  But now we are being tested and tried in many feelings, at the same time.  Is anyone else exhausted by this?  And on top of that, all the many layers of grief we are all feeling.  Maybe instead of feeling alone in this, we can find solidarity with one another in this grief we are feeling.   (He also sang part of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables, which on its own was amazing.)  http://stjohnsnorthfield.org

Then there was the sermon by Pastor Scott Herr, from the The American Church in Paris, France, where he also preached on the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  Before this miracle occurred though, Pastor Herr reminded us that Jesus waited two days before going to Lazarus, even when he knew he was dying.  He was only 3 kilometers away, yet he didn't go.  Like many things in the Bible, we don't know why Jesus waited.  But maybe it was for times like these.  Maybe we are in those same "two days" of waiting.  Maybe, like Mary and Martha, we will experience this time getting harder before it gets better.  Maybe we are wondering why it feels like God is staying away longer than necessary, when in reality He is really here with us.  Maybe this is when we most need to turn to God, with our wondering and uncertainty.  Thinking about this makes that miracle of Lazarus's resurrection that much more spectacular.  https://www.acparis.org

In addition to podcasts and sermons, music has also begin to speak to me in different ways. I now have a Quarantine playlist of songs that I am being reintroduced to during this time.  Right now my playlist included Gloria Gaynor "I Will Survive," because that is what our neighbor plays every night at 8:00 p.m. when we are cheering on the medical professionals.  Adele has brought lots of inspiration to me, in her rendition of "Make You Feel My Love."  I ask myself everyday what little things can I do to reach out to those I love, to make them feel MY love.  I have fallen in love again with "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables, remembering all of the dreams we have all dreamed that have passed us by these past few weeks.  And finally, Ben Platt reminded me of this most important message of all, when he and many others from the cast sang, "You Will Be Found," from Dear Evan Hanson.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_10msPMEick

Even with the dark comes crashing through, 

when you need a friend to carry you, 

and when you're  broken on the ground, 

you will be found.  

So let the sun come streaming in 

because you'll reach up and you'll rise again.   

Life your head and look around.  

You will be found....  

You will be found... 

You will be found... 

You will be found...  

You will be found!

What is inspiring you during this time?  Please share.

Much love,
Betsy