April 2, 2020 is a memorable day for many. We are in the thick of it with this Coronavirus, that is spreading like wildfire and taking lives across the globe. We have a Stay at Home Order in Indiana. Going to the grocery, where some shelves are bare, is about the only reason for us to leave our house. The kids are being schooled by e-learning and let's just say its not the same as going into school.
Besides these challenges, April 2, 2020 was going to be an exciting day. It marked the beginning of our much anticipated Spring Break after another cold mid-west winter. Today, we were going to excitedly pile in our car after school and drive to Chicago and spend the night in order to be just a couple minutes away from the airport for our early-morning, direct flight from Chicago to Montego Bay, Jamaica. The kids first time out of the country and first all-inclusive resort . . .
But April 2nd turned out to be different than I expected. It was finally warm & sunny (at the same time) in Indiana. I am lucky to be able to work from home. I went on a very long walk (at a distance) with my good friend. The sound of a basketball hitting the ground was a constant as my son shot some hoops in our driveway basketball goal. We put out our volleyball net in our backyard so my daughter and her fellow volleyball playing neighbors could play volleyball (at a distance).
Somewhere in all of this we heard the news that school was going to be e-learning for the remainder of the school year. My Senior took it in stride. I don't think he realizes what he's missing - that last day as a Senior, Senior Prom, Senior Pranks, Senior Skip Day and the list goes on and on. All of my kids miss their friends and will appreciate actually going to school next year.
One of my goals in this 'time at home' is to continue to teach the kids to cook. It was Nick's turn to make dinner. I helped him make steaks on the grill, roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli and a Caesar salad. We ate on our china because this day was a special occasion. This beautiful, sunny, day that should have been so different, that had much disappointment mixed in it, actually was turning out to be pretty special.
After dinner everyone scattered to do their own thing. Backyard volleyball continued into the evening while my neighbor and I sat in our screened in porch (at a distance) and drank our adult beverage to talk about these crazy times. Before bed my daughter and I sat on the couch to watch Toy Story 4 on our now much-used Disney + channel.
As I woke up this morning I only briefly thought about where I was supposed to be - getting ready to board a flight to our tropical destination. We would have those big grins on our face that we have every year when our Spring Break trip is starting. Instead of that excitement or disappointment in that we're not going anywhere, my feelings are actually overwhelming that yesterday, April 2, 2020, was the perfect day. Kids at home, beautiful weather, a job, a delicious dinner, good friends and the feeling that we are okay as long as we're together. As much as life throws at us we will always cherish and appreciate these simple pleasures now. The day that turned out to be so different than expected was actually the perfect day.

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