“It’s my toilet paper, it’s my toilet paper!” Hands we’re scrambling to grab the last of the ore in our game of Catan. Four adults stuck at home, finding anything to do to pass the time, and we found ourselves in a riveting game of Catan.

Memes about toilet paper, homeschooling woes, and being quarantined flood the internet daily. They are funny, hilarious even, but Coronavirus is serious, and something nobody wants to catch. Societies around the world are weathering this pandemic inside their homes. People suddenly have TIME.

I have time. For the first time in four years since I’ve had a full time job, I got caught up with my laundry. Like, every single item washed, dried, folded, AND put away!! Crazy, and embarrassing to admit, but I still haven’t quite figured out how to efficiently manage the upkeep of my home while being gone for the best hours of my day.

I have time to cook and bake. I have time to play with puppies. I’m going to have time to plant my garden. I have time to blog!

We laughed so hard playing that game of Catan and in that moment I realized there was something very special about our “shelter at home” order. None of us had any expectation on our lives, nothing pulling us all in different directions so we could fulfill our obligations to our schedules or to others. The only expectation we each had and still have is to stay at home. I felt this sense of warped freedom. It isn’t really being free, but it was being free from being busy.

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to absorb this “unbusy” time and soak it up. I’m going to give myself permission to just be. I’m not making lists of how to be overly productive during this down time, what area of my home I can turn into a big project, or set myself a rigid schedule to keep while I’m here at home.

I’m going to enjoy this warped freedom, accept this second chance with my now adult kids being home again, and we are going to keep laughing, playing games, and enjoying each other’s company.

Coronavirus needs to go away, but until it does, I’m going to enjoy this life with no expectations on my time.