Suddenly under house arrest or rest (?)

Well I'm here in my house. As you are.  As the world is.  Patiently waiting for something...or nothing...maybe a miracle...or death.  We're not really supposed to leave, but I admit I have sneaked out...to get ice cream, exercise, toilet paper, milk...and OH I got my hair done this afternoon from a man I don't know because my hairdresser's salon was shut down right before the very hour I was supposed to go.  Some of you are mad I sneaked out and I am sorry...sorry I wasn't going to let you see my gray hair this week and let you know exactly just how old I really am.  We shall save that wonderful event for month 2 of being under house arrest....when the city is completely still.

Something magical has happened at my house.  It's chaos alright...but either I've stopped caring that the house has exploded, or the oldest child is finally acting like a small adult and doing man chores like cleaning bathrooms well (enough) or doing the dishes at night without being asked.  It's kind of like I have a small servant on my hands.  And then for some reason, our family is

getting along.

I can't even believe I said it.  I mean, this morning I left the house for outdoor yoga at the neighbor's, came back in and they were lined up like soldiers on the couch staring at our virtual church on the big screen...and most of them wanted to be there...and some of them actually opened their mouth and sang songs, then suggested another awesome Bible show to watch together.

And tonight we sat down as a family and all made a lego creation each.
THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED *******NEWSFLASH*****NEVER EVER EVER EVER.

I am not exactly sure what the magic was, or what the secret potion was to our calm and creative table...maybe it was my husband insisting on using a tablecloth for something new...or maybe it was the popcorn, or the topic, which was, "make something that travels".  

Just this scenario up there would not have happened a couple years ago, mostly because one kid up there would have pulled the tablecloth off and thrown the legos across the room with obsessive velocity...and another was so depressed that he was beyond recognition, and had movements similar to a cat, and the other one would have been busy feeding her baby dolls in another room, unaware of what was even going on in the kitchen.

So after spending two solid weeks with all these little people (my kids had Spring break the week before), not having distractions of places to go or places we have to be, or people we have to see, we have changed for the better...somehow we are finding each other again, finding a small rhythm, finding some grace to give each other when things aren't exactly perfect, finding a reason to celebrate our family, when the reason used to feel forced.  

Every sunrise seems more colorful, every bird more melodic, every insect more interesting, every rain drop more refreshing, every hug more warm, every book more fascinating.

We are finding our way...with this sweet and unexpected gift of time-

Because last week I felt like I was under house arrest...and just today, for the first time in two weeks, I feel mostly, well...

rested.