Day 10 and it's a doozy. Just saying we've hit double digits is daunting in its own way. This isn't short term. This isn't going to be a quick stint. This is a long haul, and that's scary.
The kids are taking the days in stride to a degree. Which I am going to call a parenting win, because it means that as anxious as I feel, I'm at least keeping my kids from being too upset. My mom called this morning- they received their grocery delivery last night, and got multiple bunches of bananas. In her words "more bananas than we'll be able to eat before they go bad, so do you want some?"
We were supposed to have a delivery come from Wegman's today, but glancing at the lack of fresh fruit in my house, I agreed we would be happy to take some off her hands. So despite the driving rain, she and my stepdad cruised over in the minivan (with their dog, a rescue named Abby, in the backseat), and dropped a bunch of bananas on the back porch. The kids ran to the porch to wave, and then we realized that if they opened the car windows, and I held open the living room window (and I mean held- the chain in it is broken, and it doesn't stay up, so you have to hold it), and we were able to talk for a few minutes. There was much giggling, and E. tried to demonstrate couch arm jumping behind me, but I can't be sure they could see anything from their vantage point. Bryan dropped the rear window down, and Abby stuck her head out into the rain. When she heard the girls' voices, she started wagging her tail and spinning in a circle on the backseat.
It's the first time the girls have seen their Nana and Popum in over two weeks, which is one of the longest stretches they've ever gone. As I mentioned in my first blog post, we lived with them for a little over two years (until last July), so it's strange to not see them frequently.
It was tough saying good-bye, simply because we don't know if there will be more strict shelter-in-place restrictions enacted. I'm hopeful we can do another social distancing visit next week, on E. and her Popum's birthday (they've spent every one together since the day she was born, when he came to the hospital to meet her).
There was school work to be done, though, so we got going. E. decided the couch jumping helps her to think, so she decided to write her letter to her phys ed teacher recommending that they learn soccer in gym by calling out one line at a time as she landed. Run, jump, land, "DEAR MISTER REIN!", roll off couch, spring back to the start. Run in place while collecting thoughts. Run, leap, "WE SHOULD PLAY SOCCER IN GYM BECAUSE GIRLS AND BOYS CAN PLAY!" Giggle, flop off couch, run, leap, "IT'S THE BEST MOST POPULAR SPORT IN THE WORLD!" More giggles, roll onto the floor, more giggles, walk to start, think for a second, run, leap, "WE PLAY IT AT RECESS!" And so on. It was a quality letter by the time she was done.
I did more research on grants for my school, and online learning materials. There was one on chemistry games that I was able to send to the science teachers, in addition to NASA images and Virtual Field Trips and Labs (I tested it by doing a trip to Shark Bay Australia). I also discovered books that can be instantly translated into other languages for our world language teachers. It's incredible what is out there.
The girls also received a letter from their cousin S., who typed it on a typewriter. The girls were
fascinated by the type writer letters, and wanted to know what a typewriter was. "It's like a computer that you can't erase on" I explained. "Mommy used one when she was younger for papers, and applying to college". They of course wanted to know how they could use a typewriter, but alas, I neither have one here, nor the disposable income to go buy one. I also explained that writing one would suffice. E. decided she would wait for tomorrow, because she's been working on writing letters for school, and this way, she could get an assignment done, and also write to her cousin at once.
After school, we unfortunately couldn't go through our usual routine of outside recess (this administration frowns upon going outside when it's freezing and pouring. So instead, we spent copious amounts of time watching television, playing with Legos, and inventing new games. In addition to couch arm jumping, we have added indoor living room soccer to the mix. This began while I was cooking lunch, and involves a piano bench at one end of a narrow strip created by the couch and the wall. At the other end is a goal made with two small fluorescent green plastic cones. E. worked on give and go's using the wall (she hits the wall at an angle with the ball, it bounces back to her foot as she runs forward), and scored through the bench hard enough that it comes back. She then does a spin, and heads the other direction, give and go, and scores through the cones. This goes on until she gets tired, or her sister tries to interfere by playing goalie, and goes to get a glass of water (the only liquid left int he house- we are officially out of both soymilk and orange juice).Alas, our Wegman's order was not to be. Around 7:30 (it was supposed to be delivered between 7 and 8), I received a text message that the order was delayed. Then I got one around 8 that it would be delivered between 9 and 9:30. But at 10, I got a message that the delivery would not be delivered today, and to go to the website to either reschedule or cancel it. However, since it was supposed to have been delivered, rescheduling was not an option. When I tried to just do a new order, there were no delivery days available. So I emailed them and am hoping they can figure out some sort of resolution soon.
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