Today felt like a normal day! When I say normal, I mean before the pandemic, before Ella has her seizures, before the world as we know it fundamentally changed, kind of normal.

Steve picked up some overtime this morning, which used to be a common occurrence, and I was forced to get up and tackle the morning routine alone. I have been so grateful to have him home most mornings to help, but it was starting to feel like an expectation, and I know it won’t be forever. I needed to be reminded what mornings will look like again. We fell right back into the old flow and it felt great.

Ella was in a spectacular mood all day. We haven’t had a day like that together in a long time. We sat together, played together, and laughed together. Not once did she get upset, and was enjoying all of the company that came by. There was no shortage of smiles. Even until the moment I put her in bed, she was just so happy. I didn’t once feel defeated or overwhelmed with her behavior today. We found our groove and didn’t push her too hard. I wish everyday was like today.

CJ had a friend over in the early afternoon and they kept each other busy for quite some time. Only once did they tell me they were bored. After listing at least twelve possible activities they found something to do on their own. For one of the first times in the last five months, it didn’t require participation on my end. What an amazing feeling! Then, early evening he went with Steve to visit his best bud and meet his new puppy. Spontaneous visits to friends were a common occurrence pre-pandemic. It felt natural.

I also had the opportunity to visit with an old friend and her daughter when she stopped by to get her son. We chatted and laughed about everything and anything. Sitting at my kitchen table, engaging Ella in conversation, watching Jack be silly, and yelling at Gibbs for shoving his face in everyone’s lap, felt right. Those are the little things I miss. After Steve and CJ left, my mom dropped by with some pancakes for the boys. We got time to catch up and spend time together. I can’t tell you the last time it was just the two of us. I almost forgot how much I loved having company.

Dinner and bedtime went smoothly, and I am actually sitting downstairs on my couch in silence writing, after eating an uninterrupted dinner. The littles are both asleep and CJ is taking a bath. I am not quite sure what to do with myself after this. I already cleaned the kitchen up and ran the dishwasher.

We as a family are all for social distancing, wearing masks, and frequently washing our hands, but we are also all for living our life. There has to be a balance. We still don’t go out with large groups of people, and we always wear masks and socially distance when necessary. We are very conscience of where people have been and who we see. We have no problem staying home if we feel uncomfortable going certain places, or being around certain people. We are surrounded by too many medically compromised individuals to take those kinds of risks.

Today my kids were happy. Today I was happy. I have to believe that while things wont ever truly be the way they once were, we will all find a new normal that works for us. It will surely look very different than the old normal, but if it means keeping everyone safe and healthy, and looks anything like today, I am perfectly okay with that.

I made some videos with Ella today and posted them in my Instagram stories. Check us out at https://www.instagram.com/zurlnick_five