We got the voicemail. A positive covid case and we were told Charlie’s class was to quarantine to minimize any spread. Once I heard it, I did what any parent might do in 2021… panic. I thought of everything that had been scheduled that was now being tossed out the window (including my own appointments). I’d have to add calling and rescheduling those to my growing list of responsibilities. Not to mention, figuring out the balance of a lively, busy toddler and my workday. How was this going to work?

In my head, all I could see was a week of stress, tears, and frustration. Most likely there’d be some fights and time outs. The 3 of us would be dreading the next day before it even began.

But… my fears could not have been further from the truth. Because what really came out of our 10 days together was a gift. Everything being cancelled meant no plans. No plans meant playing together all day. And I was able to complete my work during the afternoon naps. We had no distractions and watched the sweetest little personality blossom as he showed us his interests and hobbies. We were there as little light bulbs came on when we worked on our colors, numbers, and letters. We watched movies and actually ate our meals together everyday as a family. It was magical and so, so fun. We laughed and laughed and then laughed some more at Charlie’s silly side. And then we ended the night with race cars, building Lego towers, and reading books.

In today’s world, very rarely does anyone have a reason to stop what they’re doing and just live without thinking about the to-do list. I started the week so anxious, but I ended the week so very grateful. I was afraid of letting anyone down by having to fully give my attention to the Mom Life. But our boy is changing and growing everyday and I’m so thankful I got a chance to take this front row seat and soak in his little voice and his giggles; even if it included singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider many, many times. On our last day, it hit me that Charlie had no idea we were even quarantining. To him, it was just a never-ending weekend of jammies, fun and family. And because of that, it was definitely a quarantine to remember ♥️