What day is it? Wednesday? Saturday?
Is anyone else having this conversation with yourself when you wake up in the morning? I am losing touch with the calendar the farther and farther we delve into this life of quarantine.
I am also regularly engaging in inner conflict: Yes! I love being home / get me out of here, I will learn so much as a teacher / I hate remote teaching, I am scared / I am ready, I love the sound of your sweet voice / for the love of all things can I just have a little silence, I love these extra walks / I have no interest in walking on that same sidewalk ever again, I miss school / I want to stay right here in my bubble with my people …
Anyone else?
Before I go any further, I must recognize how good I have it. I am fortunate, privileged, and lucky. I fully realize that this quarantine life I am living is comfortable and safe. I know I’m a lucky one. I know that many, many others are not. When I whine, a swift reminder of this is good.
In the spirit of staying connected while apart, I thought I’d share a little day in the life.
Last Thursday began sweetly. I woke up before my people and snuck downstairs in my big furry robe, started the coffee, and dove into my current read. I love it so far. Put it on your list.
The author weaves her own tale of visiting a therapist with stories of her clients as a therapist herself. There are so many moments to stop and reflect (maybe some people call this self-diagnosing). I prefer “reflect.” Maybe I should see a therapist.
After a bit, I heard the muffled sounds of little steps. Down the stairs came my morning snuggler, Jameson. Always an early riser, he came to retrieve me, “Mom, bring your coffee upstairs! Can I have milk, please?” Up we went to cozy into bed and put on the cartoons. Jason was rousing, and Harper was up shortly after.
We are a family that can easily stay put here for a good while, but for the sake of routine and maintenance, we decided that on week days we need to get up, get dressed, and get rolling like normal. We have initiated breakfast meetings where we take a few minutes to look ahead to our “school” day. Jameson and Harper’s teachers both send out their assignments bright and early so we are able to get a head start.
The kids were both ready to roll with their school, and Jason graciously offered to start them off. I took advantage and snuck out for an hour on my bike. It was a beautiful, sunny morning. I paced up my favorite country road, and it was quiet and lovely.
When I returned, the kids were hard at work. Harper says that her daddy is by far the best and her favorite teacher. This is when I am supposed to say how sweet that is. Really I’m just jealous.
A little brain break was in order mid-morning. After dancing, I sent Jason out for a run while the kids and I continued to work on school.
Yay for lunchtime! Some days, I feel like it takes for.ev.er. to get here. Today, lunch came quickly. Really, it turned out to be more like brunch. We had no deli meat and were over PB&J, so egg burritos it was. But again, when you are losing track of the calendar and time, does it matter if it’s lunch/brunch/midnight snack … ? The kids were happy, and so were we.
Jason took Harper and Jameson out for a “recess” while I got on my own class meeting at 1:00. It was, as always, nice to see my students and to hear what they were up to. Most miss school and miss their friends. Of course, there are also a few who could probably stay home and play video games for the rest of their days and be perfectly contented. To each his own. After this, I tried to tackle my inbox for a while. Students submit work regularly, and I have found (in only two weeks of this!) that it is incredibly easy to get remarkably behind. I spent some time recording video of myself reading (that’s an experience … ) and fought with my online platform for what seemed like a ridiculous amount of time. Curse you, PDF’s!
But, the beauty of this quarantined work-at-home life is that I get to have recess, too. And so we did.
It was so nice out! We went for a family bike ride and then returned home to play cornhole. Sorry for those of you who hate that name. We returned home to play beanbag toss.
Like most good American families nowadays, we cleaned up from outside and came in to put the remote control in our children’s hands. Sigh.
Jason was working on videos for his classes, and I suited up to head to Walgreens. We need some toiletry items, and I had to go Easter shopping. Ha. I laugh as I type that. It reminds me of a story that my sweet dad once told. On one of his winter vacations home from the Air Force, he found himself doing all of his Christmas shopping at a Walgreens on Christmas Eve. Apparently, it was a success.
Back home, it was time to think about dinner. We haven’t been meal planning, because shopping has been rather hit or miss. Instead, we choose a protein we actually have and go from there. Jason has been the grill master lately because of our beautiful spring weather this week. We decided on pork tenderloin and a quick asparagus orzo. We ate outside. Gratitude.
On a related note, I am so appreciative of our grocery store workers. Those who know me know how often I frequent my local grocer. I know so many faces. Lately, I have been there significantly less but when I am, I am so happy to see them. And I am so happy that they all got bonuses. So deserved.
After dinner, I went out for my nightly walk. It has become habit, a time for me to decompress, listen to music or a news story, and enjoy the signs of spring. They are out there.
I always walk by my neighbor who changes her window sign thrice weekly, at least. I loved this one:
This quarantine day ended with a nighttime story from Harper’s teacher. She is wonderful, and Harper misses her dearly. I am very sad that this year with her was shortened. Harper looks forward to seeing or hearing from her in any kind of way. I love her sweet, happy face here:
We tucked the kids into bed after a few tears. Harper loves seeing her friends, but it makes her sad. She worries about her grandparents who she doesn’t want to be sick. Jason and I are trying our best to balance honesty with protection. We are trying to be excited about homeschool while also empathizing about our kids’ losses. It’s tricky. There is good and bad. Joy and fear.
Like most parents, we breathed easier when we checked on our babes and saw two peacefully asleep. And then? We picked up our laptops and tackled that inbox again.
A day in the life … lately.
