Lockdown Files - Week 4

Day 22: This morning the kids played some elaborate pretend game where Little T walked around with her chitenge calling everyone “my deahhh” and (at Big T’s command) “my boy-boy.” It was kind of hilarious to listen to while I cleaned house and kept them entertained for quite some time.

We got a new baby! “Birdie” is a tiny preemie boy who weighs only 1.6 kg (3.5 lb). He spends most of his time sleeping but needs to be fed every two hours or so around the clock. Thankfully my housemate (who was staying elsewhere for the lockdown) has moved back to care for him, as the rest of us are already pretty swamped.

We had another fire tonight and I taught Morongwa how to play Battleship...it was fun.

Day 23: I am, somehow, managing to fit some reading in, although not without some external motivation. The first book is for school and I am REALLY enjoying it. To be honest I wasn’t super excited about reading yet one more book on marriage - this module has had quite a lot of assigned reading on the topic - but this one, I’m just loving it so much and would highly recommend it even if you aren’t married and even if you think you might not even want to get married.

The second book I am discussing (over the phone) with a friend. Trusting God is a reread, but just as relevant and applicable now as when I read it two years ago. As you can see, I was a bit behind and had to read while I was making dinner (deep fried Ranch wings).The kids watched Up while I cooked. Little T said “Thank you for letting us watch the Higher movie!”

I’m also working on reviewing memory work. I had the book of Philippians memorized a couple of years ago and my goal is to have it back by the end of lockdown. I’m almost there!
Tonight I had several little visitors during class time. The front building (baby home) is the only place my phone data seems to work well enough to connect to any kind of video call. But they were well-behaved and quiet (for once!)

 

After class we watched the president address the nation - he gave a lot of info on economic and social grants (I was sitting there wondering how much an extra $30 a month is really going to help people but I guess it’s something to buy food with anyway) and not an awful lot of hope that they will lift the lockdown anytime soon. The 2T’s REALLY wanted to watch it. It must be nice to be a kid and not worry about the state of the world. I remember when 9/11 hit I was 11 and thought it was “just a plane crash.” I wouldn’t go back to childhood, but some parts I kind of do miss..

Little T and KK have the same hairdo (lots of little pigtails). The 2T’s have a thing where if they each have the same of something (same color cup etc) they do “cheers” and hit it together. This morning Big T really wanted them to “do cheers with your hair!” i.e. bang their heads together...

Day 25: I broke my 3.5 week streak of not leaving the property (except to take the trash out, which always felt like a tiny, tantalizing bit of freedom). I needed to go to the dentist, and decided to pick up some groceries while I was out. I think our poor preemie may have been wearing size 4 nappies.

I had a large cavity in my wisdom tooth that I just discovered on Friday. Yes, I still have them, they don’t ever cause me pain anymore and I’m kind of attached to my body parts and would prefer to keep them all if possible. Unfortunately because of the way this one came in, it’s trapping stuff back there (I’ve had multiple cavities in that tooth) and they say I need to go back after lockdown to get my gum trimmed. Sounds super fun. Not. At least dental work costs much less here than in the US.

It was so strange driving around town. It’s super quiet - even more than Sundays - and everyone you see out walking is carrying groceries, not alcohol. I don’t have to compete with the taxis for the road, which is probably the strangest thing and not something that’s ever occurred in my five years of driving here in Pretoria. I didn’t see anyone begging, either, as they took the homeless people - well, the ones they could find, anyway, I’m sure some have an aversion to being cooped up - and put them in temporary shelters.

So, Big T asked me if rats sleep upside down. I think he mixed them up with bats.

Day 26: Today we baked cookies - yes, we baked AGAIN, the kids do enjoy it so...and there’s lots of little hungry mouths around here...we do feed them but they keep asking for more! Imagine that!

Day 27: Today felt a little bit like Christmas! We finally got the new WiFi hooked up after a month of no internet. We switched out ADSL for satellite - a thief stole the ADSL cable somewhere on the neighborhood and no one has bothered to replace it...although we are still getting billed for it. So happy to be able to join the church prayer meeting even though it still hurts to not be able to meet together in person. 

We had to put the kids all to sleep in the same room while “the WiFi” (as Big T thought he was called) installed the equipment. Putting four small rambunctious children to sleep in one room is not a great idea or one we ordinarily espouse, but given the circumstances it couldn’t be avoided. Big T, however, did his best to motivate and inspire the younger two towards good behavior.

“Kk and B, when you are in our room you must not talk or else you might wake us up and then we will have to tell you not to wake us up because we are going to go to sleep. If you do not obey, when I grow up I’m not going to buy you any ice cream. But if you do obey I’m going to buy you chocolate ice cream - when I grow up - and a Barbie cake with SPARKLES!!!” 

Day 28: Today we did science experiments with Legos. First we tried a balloon-powered Lego car, which didn’t work at all. I think it didn’t help that we don’t have little Legos - the big ones are kind of heavy. So we watched a YouTube video showing how it was supposed to work. Then we built a Lego zipline. We experimented with different heights, tensions, and most importantly, tried to figure out which type of cable car/vehicle wouldn’t fall apart before it even was carried to the top, and how to cushion the impact at the bottom. (The last one is the winner.) Emmett the Lego had an exciting day, took a lot of tumbles, and had at least one upside-down ride. I’m pretty sure one highlight for the kids was getting to climb up my burglar bars!

Tonight I got word that my dad was in the ER with some kind of infection. My mom is not allowed in with him. So that is stressful and difficult. Please pray for them and for me as well. My mind always wants to run to worst case scenarios. He does seem to be doing better, so I’m thankful for that. I talked to him on the phone for a little while this evening.

Tonight the president addressed the nation again, regarding the lockdown. Basically, a few more businesses will be allowed to return to work, and we might (?) be allowed to go on walks, but that’s about all the more freedom we will have. No church, no spending time with friends, no hugs, no social in-person activities of any sort, and no hope of any of those things in the near future.

I know most everyone is in the same position, but to be honest, that doesn’t really help much. It feels like if I say something is hard, everyone else can say “well, everyone else is going through that too” - so basically suck it up, you’re not the only one with problems.

And all the information on Facebook doesn’t help - percentages/social distancing advice/personal rants/empty psychology/opinions on government overreach, vaccines, mask use, etc...I suppose they all have their place. But none of them cure the loneliness that comes from being physically cut off from some of my closest friends, or the anxiety that comes from losing my freedom, and none of them can change the weird lightbulb that burnt out in my pantry that I can’t get at the now-closed hardware store. (The memes help at least. Gotta laugh so you don’t cry.)

We can all have opinions on what should be done, what shouldn’t be done, what isn’t being done, or whatever else...but we largely can’t change much about our circumstances. I’m really wrestling to rest in God’s sovereignty through all of this. I know it’s true...I just need to be able to find peace and comfort and joy in that truth, and to trust that even in this, He is good and wise. So please pray for that.

Also, I'm happy to report that our preemie is growing!