Today was a lot of school work, and some good stuff. First, I figured out how to get my daughters to do their math homework. Two words: face paint. I have some that is left over from R's birthday party last year, when I turned her and her friends into "mermaids" using my artistic skills. I was able to get E. to watch the math videos from Pearson on quadrilaterals while I turned her into Ahsoka from Star Wars, and R. asked for her face to look "like the galaxy" (picture to the right).After the face painting, I ran to the girls' elementary school to pick up their school stuff. It was quite the sight, seeing plastic garbage bags, each with a child's name written on a piece of masking tape affixed them. This was the fun time of year, when the kids would be celebrating field day, end of year concerts, and graduations, and instead, they are relegated to flimsy blue plastic on asphalt (2020). When I got there, there was no one else around, so it didn't even have the feel of a normal pick up, where I'd see other parents and chat. I didn't realize how much I missed that until I got there and was by myself, with just the wind and the pollen to keep me company. It's the little things.
My principal put out an email the other day to our staff, asking if anyone knew someone "famous" that could record a short shout out to our high school seniors, who were going to have a virtual graduation in light of everything going on in the world. The only true connection I have is to a ridiculously talented young woman whose father, Jim, was a very good friend of my late dad's. When I was young, I would watch those two men play basketball at a local middle school, and knew Jim's daughter, who was paralyzed in a car accident when she was two. I remember my dad weeping when he told us (I was pretty young at the time), but I had an uncle in a wheelchair, who was a talented writer and one of the best people I could think of, so I knew she would be okay.
Well, Ali won a Tony last year, the first performer in a wheelchair to ever accomplish such a feat, and her dad Jim creates daily videos that are unbelievably positive and inspiring (no wonder this girl reached the stars). I reached out to Jim via Facebook yesterday, and today, we chatted on the phone. Of course, the governor announced yesterday that in July, there can be in person, socially distanced graduations, so he wanted to know if I still wanted Ali to do a shout out, and I said I'd love it, because even if it's not a virtual graduation, they can either play it at the graduation, or send it to the students as a virtual note of support. He said she'd probably want to send a full on message, something behind just a "Congratulations!" because, well, that's what this family does. They are loving and kind, and always looking to give to those around them.
I put out a few things on Facebook this week- one was contacting Jim, but then I also asked if anyone had curtains or curtain rods that we could use for staging, or if anyone was selling a stainless steel fridge (we need to replace the one in Sammy's house). Remarkably, my friend Erin was willing to give away her old fridge, which is in her garage.
We met years ago, when R. and her daughter B. were taking Irish Dancing lessons. I didn't get to know a lot of the parents, because I was constantly running back and forth with E. But I also saw her a lot when I was working in the public library's children's department. I loved that job, because in addition to being surrounded by books, I also got to converse with other parents, and E. was in there a lot with B, and with her son.
One day, we started talking about becoming a librarian, and she said she'd thought about it a number of times, but hadn't really dome much about it. I told her I was going to school to get my school endorsement for it (so I could be a school library media specialist), and that she should really consider it, because it can be a great gig.
Fast forward a while, and I'd stopped working at the public library because I had been hired full time as an elementary school librarian, but I was still a frequent visitor there, because otherwise, I'd spend all my earnings on books for my kids. I was just walking iup the steps when I saw Erin and her kids, and we started talking. I told her I'd started working at an elementary school, and how happy it made me, and that if she wanted to look into the program, I could tell her all about it. Our kids started getting whiny, so we agreed to discuss via Facebook.
Well, she's now enrolled in the program, and actually came to observe me right before the pandemic hit for one of her classes. I'm so proud of her for following this path- it's not easy making a career shift when you are a mom of two in your 40's, but it's worth it if it makes you happy.
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