The Durneys Go Dutch: Coronavirus Report from the Netherlands

Hello friends and family who feel farther away than normal. I thought I would update you on the state of affairs over here across the pond. On Thursday afternoon, following the WHO pandemic classification of COVID-19, the Dutch PM addressed the nation and shared that it was to be business as usual and that Dutch schools would remain open so that parents could serve essential job functions (doctors, nurses, police), though gatherings of more than 100 people would be prohibited. In spite of this, ISA announced Friday afternoon that they would be closed from Monday (today) until March 31st. Pete and the kids were meant to go into school Monday-Wednesday this week for teacher remote-learning training and creche for teacher's kids so I prepared myself for three more "normal" days before the great unknown. However, Sunday evening, the PM addressed the nation again and ordered all schools, daycares, restaurants, cafes, etc. closed effective 6pm Sunday. So ISA called off teachers needing to come in for their remote-learning training and creche was cancelled. Then I panicked.

I had a full roster of work calls scheduled today from 12-4pm and again from 9-11pm, but thankfully Pete's online meetings were mostly in the morning. So I entertained the kids from 8:30-noon and then Pete took over for the afternoon. This is going to be our new normal as he will be mostly responsible for morning check-ins with students and my work doesn't start before noon due to the time change to the US. I am grateful to already be a remote worker so am, as of now, not experiencing any changes to my work routine. I will be cutting back on my evening hours though as I will need some self-care time after a full day spent with the kids/working (I usually get all of my self-care in before noon each school day). I expect that in time, IVF centers will be closing temporarily and then my work volume will go down. Nothing I can do about it, so just working as much as I can now in preparation.

So how was your day 1? And how are you feeling about having your kids home and juggling work responsibilities?? Anyone lose their mind yet?

I am taking things one day at a time, because if I think about the prospects of the kids being home from school indefinitely, major anxiety starts to kick in. And I deal with anxiety by biting my nails (so much for keeping my fingers away from my face) and stress eating (so much for our stock of food we built up last week)! And day one really was fine, good even! My parents, who we facetimed in the afternoon, might tell you otherwise based on what they saw, but that was a mere moment of an otherwise fun day. We spent the morning making paper with a kit I had from when I was a child and scooting to the playground (social distancing at playgrounds is not a problem when your children don't speak the language of everyone around them). The sun was out, I exchanged "Hey, you're in this situation, too? We've got this!" looks with the other parents scattered around the playground, and the kids had a blast.

I am going to try to see the joy in every day of this new life and look for the silver linings. Today, it was the fun I had with the kids, sharing my love of crafting with them and seeing all of the resources being made available by celebrities to help everyone cope. I cried at Yo-Yo Ma's cello piece of the day, I loved doodling alongside Mo Willems, and listening to Oliver Jeffers live store hour. How fortunate we all are for technology to help us through this difficult time!

Our April break trip to France with Oma and Opa has been canceled and very sadly, Oma and Opa will not be coming over at all. Our college reunion (which we finally, today, got ISA's approval to attend-irony!), will likely be cancelled. None of these things have been devastating though and we know we have gotten off easy in terms of disruptions to our lives/livelihoods.

Wishing everyone strength to get through this! Please continue to share resources, positivity and love!