Adventures in Quarantine

Today marks some interesting milestones! First, we started week two of distance learning. We are finding routines, even if we aren't getting a lot of actual academics done. S met with his SLP via zoom in the morning, then with his kindergarten class in the afternoon. The kids knew when it was snack time, when it was free play, and even went outside without being asked. Mike was on the kids all morning while I locked myself in our little office. The weekly work I assigned my students last week was all due on Friday, so today was a matter of going through each class, seeing who had done what, giving feedback, emailing students and parents who had missing work, and so many emails. So many emails! And those poor parents who must be getting a million too. Oh wait, I am  also one of those parents, lol. I took over at lunch, Mike sequestered himself in the office. Kids were great, but I definitely got the easier part of the day. We had reading, screen time, made bagels, recess, and ...

I am realizing that I really do need to post everyday, because if I miss a day, I forget everything! Everything is changing so fast that yesterday already feels like so long ago, and it is hard to remember all the details. I'll try. Saturday was a nice day, weather wise. I made my first try and sourdough bread with the starter my friend had brought me. It wasn't what I would call a success, but we ended up with something edible. Dough was too wet, stuck to everything, overproofed and collapsed... But it overproofed because we got out for a nice long walk with the kids. It was really nice. We walked over to my brother and sister-in-laws who live a few blocks away and gave them homemade bitters and half of our deck of Cards Against Humanity. We hung out in the yard while kids ran around and biked. That night, after we put kids to bed, we did a google hangout and had cocktails and played Cards Against Humanity together. It was a great time, and felt surprisingly like social...

Happy Friday! (Weekend means 2 days in a row with no home school!) Today I am feeling a lot of gratitude for  my community. The picture above is once again beer from our local brewery, and take out is becoming a Friday night tradition. They are giving away free meals for kids and offer a sliding scale, pay nothing, or pay it forward system. Today they said their "pay it forward" fund was overflowing. I love our little community. I've always joked that, when the apocalypse does come, we live in a really good part of the world to weather it.  In fact, do you remember in the zombie movie, "I am Legend", where the survivor colony is? That's right, it's in Vermont. And there's a good reason! With small, tight knit communities and lots of space (and good cheese and beer!) we are in a pretty good place to withstand these kinds of events. ... I went the whole day without looking at the news. Met with my department via google at 9am, and it was r...

I missed a day. Buckle up, a lot has happened. First, I missed posting last night because S had a fever at bedtime. I did my typical spiral of worry and doctor google and more worrying, and was generally just kind of a mess until I managed to get to sleep. S woke us up about 3am, saying his head hurt and still feeling really hot, and he and I never quite got back to sleep. First, the good things that happened yesterday! Brother in law went to the co-op! He found garlic, YAY!  And he got my the only flour they had left, a 50 pound bag.  Am I officially a hoarder? But part of the reason I needed flour was because my super awesome friend stopped by today with a dozen eggs from her chicken and her sourdough starter! So now, to officially alleviate my hoarder status, I need to start making bread at least once a week!  Today I finished one bag of flour, making bagels and pie crust for our quiche, so I am on my way! One more thing from yesterday, a local...

Mike worked today, I was home with the 3 kids. This is how far I got through my coffee this morning before two things happened: 1. All four us had cried, and, 2. The remaining coffee got spilled all over the floor.  The morning started with the news that my niece, the kids' cousin (with whom we planned to share child care) would not be coming today or for at least another week due to a potential exposure. The kids were so sad, particularly my oldest M who is in third grade with her.  There were tears, and it snowballed from there. I cried through a heart to heart timeout with 5 year old S, hugs were exchanged, I made some more coffee, and we pulled ourselves back together. We didn't get too much done for academics today, but it felt like one of those mornings where emotional needs just had to come first. M was gloomy all morning and was grumpy about all his assignments. S got to do some Lexia online and was pretty happy about that. E's preschool teachers sent ...

Welcome to our first day of home school! Professor Papa is in the house. Mondays are Mike's day to have the kids. I had the whole day cloistered away in my new home office: Ok,well, hopefully a desk is coming soon. I spend the day updating google classrooms, creating assignments, meeting (via google) with my department, answering emails from students and parents, google chatting (text only, no video allowed yet) with students, and catching up on grading past assignments from "real" school the past few weeks.  It was productive! The kids spent the day working on their work from their elementary school teachers. They did quiet reading, math, watching some Mystery Science videos, listened to a music video sent from the music teacher, zoom conference with their AMAZING teachers (they are so great!) and did a google hangout with cousins in Colorado. Mike was a rock star. I overheard him running a morning meeting. He gave the kids name tags for their first day, had th...

Writing today just feels heavy and hard. It was a good day! In some ways, it is easy to go through the motions: We fed the kids, did laundry, payed the bills. I made a meal plan, went grocery shopping, using a small bead from my only bottle of purell before and after shopping (and washing with soap as soon as I put the groceries away). Then we got the kids out for a nice hike in the woods. It was still cold, about 30 degrees, but it was sunny. We were outside, and except in the occasional moment we passed an oncoming hiker and left a wide swath between us, it all almost felt like a normal spring day. On our walk home, which led us by the Elementary School, someone had come by with sidewalk chalk. They had drawn hearts everywhere, and messages like "These are the real MVPs" and "Thank You for your Hard Work!".  Such a kind and touching gesture. I've heard all these mushy reports on the news about how this virus is going to "bring the count...

It is always a tough balance: staying informed and protecting one's own mental health. Pretty much ever since the Orange Nightmare was elected, I've had to be selective about how much news I watch. Wanting to stay informed also involved feeling furious, personally attacked, stressed, and overwhelmed. But now, oh now, I had no idea... It is so wrong to want to take a break, to ignore it all for a few hours, and pretend like everything is OK? For the sake of the kids, I feel like this is what I'm kind of doing anyway. Trying to keep routines stable, not be totally panicked in front of them, not let them see too much alarming news...but then when I get moments alone, like driving to the farm stand to re-stock on maple syrup today (yes, cue another Vermont cliche, but I really did this today), I feel my eyes well up with the enormity of it all, and I'm just not sure I can keep it together. But in the moments with family, we had a nice, and productive, day. My brother an...

It doesn't feel like a Friday! It hasn't even been a week and already I have that sensation of floating along like an unmoored buoy, bobbing along on a stream of hours and minutes floating by. Also, Anderson Cooper is reporting from his apartment  right now. That's a little rattling, reporters holed in their apartments with a camera feels ever more apocalyptic. The news is scary. But we had some bright spots today! I am not much of a baker (I LOVE the creativity of cooking, but baking has always been hard for me). But my sister in law shared a recipe for homemade bagels, and given the dearth of baked goods on the supermarket shelves lately, I decided to give it a whirl. E was my little helper :) And the bagels came out great! I promised myself that this wouldn't become a blog with annoyingly cute mom crafts and overly complicated recipes where I say "But it was SO easy!!!", but in case you can't find bagels in your supermarket, here is the recip...

I didn't want to get out of bed this morning. Seriously, I just want to hide under the covers and eat all the Easter candy and pretend this isn't happening. I could hear the boys downstairs listening to a podcast on the new (impulse buy!) chromebook, pleasantly surprised they aren't already plugged into the TV. And I knew it was time to get down there and get them some breakfast. And I realized, I'm glad I'm not stuck at home by myself (repeat these words back to me next week). I mean, sure I'd be watching all the shows I've been meaning to watch and finishing the book I started last summer (seriously) and making nice meals and napping and catching up on cleaning and maybe even pursuing one of the things I used to have..what were they...oh yeah hobbies!  Making soap, scrap booking, dancing, actually working out, and all of those things...but I'd also hide under the covers all day, let myself wallow in pity, fall into depressive states of do-nothing-all...

Well, today was an emotional day. Today, instead of being home with the kids, I had one last chance to get into my classroom, clear out all my personal belongings, strip the walls, and gather whatever I needed to facilitate "continuity of education" for at least the next 3 weeks, but probably the rest of the school year.  I'd been on the verge of tears for days, but today, driving alone in my car, I felt tears welling up as I got closer to school. And for some reason, as I pulled in and saw that empty parking lot, the chairs on the tables in the cafeteria, the flag still eerily flying out front, I melted into sobs of grief and fear. I wasn't even really sure why, but I couldn't stop.  Our schools create such a sense of community and stability for our students. I have many relationships with so many students, kids who depend on me everyday, kids I just really connect with and enjoy mentoring. The thought of not being there for them, even though I fully sup...

There was supposed to be school today. A quick recap: Friday, Governor Scott said schools would remain open. Sunday night, he changed course and said schools would close of Wednesday, March 18th, until at least April 6th. Monday night, the Orange Nightmare came on TV and "suggested" to avoid groups larger that 10, and "suggested" that schools close immediately. So school was cancelled today, and it until at least April 6th, but probably longer. Today marks day 2 home with the kids for me, since I stayed home with them all yesterday even though there was school. Friday I had a low grade fever, and we are playing things safe until we figure out what the fever was, if anything. Of course, even though my students got back from France 10 days ago, they won't test me. Even with that risk factor, we currently only have the capacity to test 76 people a day in the ENTIRE state, so forget about a test unless you are critically ill, or about to have a baby. So...day...

Could this be the new normal? Will this ever be normal? Quarantine? Social Distancing? Self Isolation? Vocabulary that was once for others and far away has become part of our everyday existence. The situation has evolved so quickly and so much has changed in a week's time. Last week I was in my classroom, teaching French, and speculating with students whether or not we might end up closing school sometime in the future. But by yesterday, Monday, March 16th, it became clear that schools would close we'd be home with our children for a long time. 3 weeks, at least, but possibly longer.  If your a mom like the moms on this blog, the thought of three weeks stuck at home, alone with your kids probably sends you into a cold sweat and mentally recounting how much wine you have in stock. This blog is a collaborative attempt at sanity. A place to log our thoughts, support each other, and connect with other parents in the same situation. Is is an honest, sarcastic, and occasionally...