This Week at Our House # 26

 Our refrigerator died on Monday. Tuesday we spent the whole day cooking. Wednesday we picked out a new fridge, but there's something with 2020 and panic and refrigerators because nothing was in stock in three different stores. We picked out a large plain white top freezer old fashioned sort of fridge that's supposed to be delivered on July 16th. We have three weeks of no refrigeration. We've put a plastic bin over one of the floor central air vents and that is keeping one gallon of milk and some cheese from spoiling. Otherwise, we are learning how to shop and eat with no refrigeration. So far that means no meat except on shopping day, a very little milk and

butter and few fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables.

I shopped with no refrigeration in mind for the first time on Friday. We bought chips and crackers and canned chili and bottled juice and some fruit, bread, and dried bacon. Some of the little kids noted that we get a lot more junk food when we have no place to cool meats, fruits, and vegetables. Kate and I noticed that we really don't need to cook very much right now.

 Wednesday afternoon we went to the beach. Johnny and John stayed home as is the usual. Sometimes I can get Johnny to go with us, but John has not come for over a year.

The beach was fairly crowded, though not so much that people were close to one another. Everyone was like 12 or more feet apart. We've always sat in a place that's away from others. I think of our family as social distancing geniuses. It's weird writing this all down. But it's what we think

 about and what we worry about others thinking about us in 2020.

I never like taking my kids into crowds because it's much harder to keep track of them. So I have always moved our family away from the group.

The water was delightful. It has not gotten to that warm bathtub temperature that it usually is by now. But it is warm, and the waves were large.

I took Arwen out beyond the break.

 She loved it and talked about how wonderful it was to be out swimming beyond the break of the shore for three days afterwards. I think she'll bypass Josh as being the next swimmer.

I took Josh out. When a large wave came, I told him to plug his nose. Instead, he climbed, on top of my head, in terror. When the wave passed, he requested to be taken back to the shore. I obliged.

Anya and Susan stayed on shore jumping the waves in the shallow end. Susan loves it and dives under them constantly. She swam the entire three hours we were there. Ruth held Susan and took her out to the deeper softer water for a bit. I think Susan will be swimming with the big kids in a year or two. She loves the water as much as Ruth ever did. Ruth was our youngest to learn how to swim.

The waves still scare Anya and she is most comfortable where she can easily stand up.

 Rachel and Joseph are now allowed to swim with the older kids. They swim well enough and always take floating devices with them. While we were at the beach, I was thinking how two years ago Joseph would not stay with us and would continually go off to swim in the deep waters by himself. He doesn't do that anymore. I can trust him much more now. Though, those memories keep me from giving him my full trust. When he is older and has proven that he can

 obey and stay with the family, then I will give him my full trust.

Sam still won't go in the water. I took him in for a little bit, but he kept telling me that he does not like the water. Ruth, Kate, and I take turns sitting on the beach with Sam and Gideon or  swimming out with everyone else.

I also took Gideon into the water and flipped him up in the air when the waves came. He loved it and he liked the water coming up and washing over his feet. When we went to the sand with Sam, Gideon would ask to go back to the water. I think he'll be swimming next year, and I think that Sam will continue to sit in the sun playing in the sand.