Adventures in Quarantine

Day 142 I'm wondering about even numbering the days anymore...142 days since school shut down, we sheltered in place, and my world stopped. But slowly life has opened back up, and in a few weeks we will head back to school in a hybrid model. Maybe I'll find a new ways to count the days once school starts again? Anyway, "The Hard Days".  We've all had them. It is hard to really comprehend the enormity of what we are living through.  But when I'm stressed, and anxious, and ready to scream at the kids, and just when I'm at the brink of exhaustion and anxiety and I'm reeling with uncertainty... I think of my Grandma Millie.  Alfred and Millie before World War 2: It was March of 1945. My Grandmother Millie lived in a small apartment, in Attleboro Massachusetts.  Her husband, my Grandpa Alfred, had just been deployed in the Pacific. She had two small children, a 1 year old and a 3 year old. She was pregnant with her third child, who would be born in July.  S...

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...