March was rude. We were just bee-boppin’ along, minding our own business, enjoying the arrival of spring temperatures, then BAM! – the Coronavirus hit like an F5 in May. Our city shut down around the middle of the month. After the shelter-in-place order it felt like March lasted 3,479 days.
I can’t complain, really. Even working in the oil and gas industry Chase still has his job, we’re all healthy, and we have a stocked pantry and freezer. We don’t have it bad. It’s just an eery time that has me slightly stressed which in turn makes Chief a little out of sorts. We’ve had to get creative, but we got this.
Before Covid19, we had a storm shelter installed. BEST. DAY. EVER. – according to Chief. We had a mini-excavator, a cement mix truck, and a large trailer full of dirt in our driveway that made Chief’s eyes grow as big as his head. He pulled out his front end loader and worked right along beside them.
The mix truck driver asked Chief if he wanted to sit in the truck. Without hesitation, Chief threw his arms in the air inviting the driver to pick him up. He loved every dirty second, but I think we’re going to have to talk to him about getting into big trucks with strangers. It’s not men in a van with candy I need to worry about, it’s those dang construction workers.
Chief began dressing himself this month. He woke up one morning, insisted he put on his own clothes and hasn’t looked back.
Most of the time his shirt is on backwards, sometimes his pants too. For about a week he intentionally put his jeans on backwards because he said it was easier to get to his pockets if they were on front. I can’t argue with logic.
With some free time on our hands, we decided to replace part of our fence that needed some attention. Chase and Chief tore it down over a weekend. Chief wanted so badly to help Chase that he ended up with about 5-6 splinters in his little hand. We promptly ordered toddler sized work gloves, but not before he was completely traumatized by the removal of “splinter-woods,” as he calls them.
As soon as his new gloves came in, he put them on and proudly said “I can use a chainsaw now!” You’re overestimating those gloves, kid. He worked for a week on that fence with Chase. He wore his jeans, hard hat, and work gloves and pushed a wheel barrow full of fence boards to and from the backyard. He was pretty proud of himself.
He sings a catchy tune about an excavator. When he’s digging or showing off for a neighbor, he sings (with a lot of passion, I might add) “EXCAVATOR! Hey dirt, see ya later!” on repeat.
We got to see family before we quarantined ourselves in our house. We made a trip to Grand Lake to see my side of the family at the beginning of the month and Big and Honey came to visit right before things started locking down.
Funny things Chief said (In addition to the things noted above):
- “That’s what I call a rare find!” When he comes across a deer track in the woods, a golf ball in the yard, or even a Magnolia blossom on our afternoon walks.
- “I’m a broccoli in a pretend stove, put salt on me Dad!” He’s so strange.
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