This morning I woke to sunlight streaming in through the window. It was muted because of the curtain, but still bright and I smiled, because normally, I wake up on Monday morning in the dark, since I need to leave for work by 6:30 AM. I know the reason that I'm home is a pandemic, but the extra sleep and sunshine are bright sides I can look to at this point.
Creeping out of the room, I found E. curled up in a blanket on her floor, reading Ivy and Bean: Doomed To Dance. Considering this is a child who, until this year, cried and did everything possible to avoid books, I take this as a win.
R. was on the couch watching The Suite Life of Zach and Cody (again- I think this season has 789 episodes- currently, they are on a futuristic oceanliner in outerspace and Mr. Moseby has a robot doppelganger. I love this show, but they may have jumped the proverbial shark).
First up was eating breakfast (cereal with milk from our already-dwindling supply), and calling the girls' Grammy to wish her a happy birthday via Google Duo. Videochatting isn't the same, but there was a round of "Happy Birthday" singing, and of course, silliness.
There was some eager anticipation as I loaded my computer and clicked open today's assignments from their teachers. Fortunately, reading was first, so both girls were calm and quiet, happily lost in their stories (R. is re-reading Eleanor Roosevelt is In My Garage- an autographed copy I bought from the author at the 2018 NJASL Conference, and E. is still on the Ivy and Bean book).
After that it was a schmorgesborg of frustration with some of the technology (My cursor won't move! The page won't load!). There were some difficult moments as I tried to alleviate both kids' anxieties while not losing my own head reading emails from work and conversing with a librarian colleague on the phone. I'm grateful for my librarian training, because it helped me with fixing Chromebook issues, knowing how to find additional eBooks (their school library has a limited supply, but I know how to get them from the town public library, which opens up LOADS of possibilities).
Oddly enough, the most frustrating part of the homework was actually for my second grader, on an art project where she had to fill in frames with things she is grateful for. She loved the idea, but the frames were tiny, and she wanted to add details and make them perfect. Alas, her perfectionist goals and her fine motor skills were not cooperating.
I eventually sent R. upstairs to work on the first day of a 30-Day Lego Challenge (she's building a rollercoaster design). Both girls reaped the rewards of technology with virtual play dates with friends. They also got to go on a virtual field trip to the San Diego Zoo, where they were super happy to see baboons (and baboon butts). There was a family soccer game, and excitement at simply being outside, and not cooped up in the house.
There is massive fear among friends as the reality of the "new normal" sets in. Companies are cutting back hours, and people are nervous about layoffs. There's a shiver running through the texts I read, that this may continue, that we aren't prepared. It seems like forever ago when I was worried people would think I was crazy for pulling my children out last Wednesday, instead of waiting for the Superintendent mandate that finally acquiesced to closure on Monday. At the time, it was a gut reaction- we need to stop this now. I don't want to wait the extra days, I don't want to go to work myself (even though I did. Even though I hid in my office and was washing my hands literally every time I touched a surface or a pencil or a Chromebook). I'm still nervous that exposing myself to my school on Thursday and Friday was a bad idea, but I'm new and was worried about taking the days off.
As it went, I took off Monday with the blessing of my administration (who I am so grateful for) because my town went to lockdown status. We are using the next two days as "snow days" and go live with teaching on Thursday. I'm just grateful right now to be in our home, to have my children with me, and to at least be on the cusp of spring, since I can't imagine how awful this would be if we couldn't go outside.
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