Social distancing.... day 23

Happy Sunday!

I slept pretty late today. I didn’t get up until around 10:00. That was nice! 

As soon as I woke up I started working on face masks. I made eight masks today. Once I got the hang of it it was fairly simple to do. By the time I finished them it was 3:30. The day passed me right by!

Seems like watching Tiger King (the documentary) is essential quarantine behavior so we watched while I sewed. It’s total garbage. 

The masks came out pretty good. I’m relieved to have something for al to wear when he does groceries. 

We were also able to see my dad again today. Al and aisling did his groceries for him. And we shared dinner again. We also brought him some masks. 

Red Sox, of course. 

While at poppy’s house Aisling and al did his groceries. They noticed the social distancing cues on the ground. 

He seemed to be doing okay. He didn’t sleep well the past few days he said. He seemed tired and a little disorganized today, but that may be standard during these times. It was at least good to see him. 

Our town is also doing a teddy bear scavenger hung for kids to find when they are walking. We added our bears today. 

All in all a decent day. It went by so fast making all the masks. A weird task but I’m glad to have them. Hoping it helps over the next few weeks. Stay safe everyone. 

Social distancing ... day 24

Another Monday.

Last night was a rough night. I was not able to sleep, and Siobhan was not able to sleep. I had some concerning news from one of my students which kept me awake. Siobhan was awake all night and just teary. This is a rough time for everyone and some days it just hits us really hard.

While I was awake I kept thinking that I should work on writing a letter to each of my kids, in case I get sick. But I'm not sure how to encapsulate all of my thoughts and feelings into a letter. The finality of doing something like that also just feels like so much to bear. I'd like to, we'll see if I am able to. 

Today was the first day that schools moved from enrichment learning to remote learning. This means that the kids are all required to complete the assignments they were given in order to receive credit. The schools for Connor and Aisling are moving from letter grades to pass/fail. That’s unfortunate but likely for the best. Once this is over it is going to be a learning curve to figure out how to get everyone to the same place in the fall. 

Siobhan settled right in and made her schedule. She opted to do it in the order of her usual class schedule. 

This morning the dogs dug up a bunny nest and brought a dead baby rabbit into the house. This happened at the same time I realized I was late for a meeting. It was a crazy morning. 

This afternoon was beautiful outside. Connor helped me to grab the outdoor furniture to start setting it up. Soon we could eat outside. 

Aisling and I took a walk today. Everyone else was busy so it was just the two of us. 

I do love that kid. 

It was overall a beautiful day outside and a busy day inside. The kids had a slightly increased level of work paired with an increase in dance classes. Siobhan also had a Girl Scout meeting. 

Aisling joined us in watching a movie tonight, which she never does. That was nice. 

A little “Lorax” to end the day. 

Have a great Tuesday everyone. 

Social distancing.... day 22

Errand filled Saturday. 

We ended up being out of the house several times today. I was able to get an Iced coffee from dunks for the first time in three weeks. THAT was exciting. 

While at the store getting the coffee I noticed the tape on the floors so we could wait in line while distanced. There was also some unfortunate conversation about the virus while I was there. People behind me blaming China for creating this virus in a lab in order to shut down capitalization. Interesting and slightly racist conversation.  

Aisling did her dance class today by going to RDA to use an empty studio. 

While we were there we ran into our good friend, “cousin” Ruby. Had a nice visit from six feet away. 

We miss usual visits and it was nice to say hello. 

Siobhan and Connor started dance classes over Zoom today. I think they were happy to have the interaction. 

We played a little game of scrabble during lunch today. We were able to make light of one of our words. 

Aisling and I ran an errand today to get some fabric to make masks. 

While out we wore our masks for the first time. 

It was a little unnerving. It was stressful to wear the Masks and certainly made everything feel more real. 

Once home I started making the masks. 

I’m not a sewer, so this was a huge learning curve. It took a long time and I needed to take it apart several times. I do think it will be easier to make more tomorrow. 

The new suggestion is that everyone where masks whenever they leave the house. So I plan to make enough for all of us. There is varying information on which fabric to use. I opted to use cotton. It’s a little emotional to think of why these are being used. I’m hoping we continue to steer clear of any infection so hoping these will help. 

I realized I was feeling stresssd and a little cranky today. I think it was the pressure of making these masks. Scary to think of wearing them every day and scary to think of not. 

I was able to have a little birthday celebration with my friends from vermont today. 

Overall a very emotional day, made better by the birthday celebration. Lots of laughs and love shared. We need that in this time. Hope everyone found some light and love today. 

Social distancing... day 21

TGIF. 

Today was a busy day. We are ramping up to move from enrichment to remote learning. I spent the day on the computer. It’s exhausting in a new and different way. 

The kids were also busy all morning. Then the girls hung out for the afternoon. 

Connor has a meeting for dance to discuss the new schedule. We were able to have take out dinner and watch a movie tonight. 

It was a really exhausting day. I purchased some materials to make some masks. The new suggestion is that no one leaves the house without a mask. I’m hoping I can get some made tomorrow. I’m not a fantastic sewer but I hope I can pull it off. 

Mentally exhausting day. 

Looking forward to the weekend. 

Social distancing.... birthday day. (20)

A very Thursday birthday. 

We started with our yoga, per usual. The dogs were very much in the way today! 

Siobhan again got right down to work. Connor and aisling also did a lot of school work today. 

Today was a long work day. I spent the day tracking down lots of families to discuss technology to determine who needs what for remote learning to start next week. While making phone calls is way outside of my comfort zone, families were all kind and happy to hear from me. That was nice. Nevertheless, it was a very long day in front of the computer. 

I did take a break to give connor a haircut. This was definitely harder than siobhans haircut, but he still looks handsome. 

Before:

During: 

After: 

And, finally, today was my birthday! It was a nice day. We did a zoom call with Kevin and the girls. He got me a new game for my birthday so we played that. It was chaotic fun. :) 

We also did some cake and gifts. 

While it wasn’t a typical day, it was a day where i felt loved and spiked nonetheless. 

I heard on the news tonight that recommendations are for people to start wearing masks. I think tomorrow I’ll order materials to make some masks for those. I’m not a great sewer, but hoping I can make them work. 

Hope eeeyone is staying safe. Thanks for the birthday wishes. 

Social distancing... day 19

Wednesday. 

Today was another hard one. Siobhan struggled a lot today. She asked if she could skip class work today and work on her mental health and I allowed it.

I didn’t have any emails or meetings all day so I spent my day focused on her. She tried a new tap class today. She did awesome but got in her own way when she didn’t do well. So she took a break from that. But it was great to watch her keeping right up with connor!

We worked on a sign for a friend’s birthday parade today! We ended up being late to the parade, but we were a parade of one! Happy birthday molly!

It was nice to get out of the house for a while. 

Today was also the day Siobhan decided she needed a haircut! 

I ended up cutting off about five inches. It looks really healthy. It’s definitely uneven but hey, it’s a pandemic! 

We took our usual walk tonight although it was just the girls today. Al ended up going to work to set up beds in case of temporary quarantine, which seems more and more possible. 

Connor also went to the studio tonight to teach his class. He did a Facebook live video (with siobhan as his partner) 

I also had a crazy evening working on contacting families regarding access to technology to begin remote learning. This was extremely stressful for a number or reasons. But we will see how it all goes. 

All in all an emotional day again. Taking it all one day at a time. Today was April fools day and I just didn’t have it in me for fooling anyone. 

I hope everyone had a good day.