Day #33: School's Out For Summer
When it was announced that the governor and the state superintendent were making a press conference this afternoon, everybody pretty much knew what they were going to say.
No more in person school for the 2019-2020 school year.
So, if I'm honest, this would have brought me to tears a week ago but today I was like, meh. My kid has been in many ways happier learning at home than he was in school and this is surprising to me. I wanted him to have his birthday in school and get to do those fun things and make me a Mother's Day present and have a kindergarten memory book but I'm kinda over it now. I feel for others...this has to be so hard on the high school seniors, really anyone graduating at any level, and I know there are kids who are worried about not having their safe place or safe people. And I know a lot of teachers and this is hard on them. So it's hard on a lot of people but for us it doesn't change our lives as much as I would have thought. It takes more to bring me to tears than it did at first. I think I am going through stages of grief or whatever.
What does make me crazy is when the idea is brought up that this current situation is going to last all summer. I know what people are saying is, wow, I have my kids home with me until September but for stay at home mom me, this isn't normal having my kids home. We are one month in with a month to go before the current stay at home order is lifted and what I keep thinking is I need my life back. I need my library. I need my parks. I need play dates and swimming and splash pads and the things that get us through summer. I understand that it's gonna be awhile before we get back to real normal...that it may be awhile before they can start baseball or open Disneyland or even have someone throw a big wedding. But I hope someone in some room somewhere has a plan for how to get the parks open. If it is September before my kid gets to see friends that will be six months. I understand that we need to flatten the curve and not overwhelm our healthcare system and all the things but it can't be good for anyone to be socially isolated for six months. Fortunately, I'm not an infectious diseases expert and not in charge of decision making but I just sincerely hope those that are are working on a plan. Because April is one thing, July is a whole different animal.
Today James got to see the neighbor girl from behind us. They haven't seen each other in awhile because the last time they did the social distancing...did not go well...but today he did much better at following the rules so he got to talk to her a bit. Playing together that far apart is just hard. They have imaginative games that they can do but it only lasts so long. Their play usually involves passing things through or over the fence. But at least he got to see her and talk to someone who isn't me. I kno he misses that.
We did get to do some baking today...we have so much flour now...and tomorrow we are doing bread. I'm so grateful for the milkman who comes on Tuesdays. He can bring so much more than milk...like iced tea and orange juice and baked goods...all sorts of things. Tomorrow he's bringing a ton of butter and more eggs so we can bake more. It's spring break and I'm not honestly sure how much school we are going to attempt to do even when it is going again, so we are going to learn by doing, by baking and crafting. And James is so good at that. Grandpa brought him a Lego kit yesterday, he was putting it together and following the directions and this morning when I was exhausted from having stayed up way too late doing nothing he invented another game...two mornings in a row he has rejected a movie to invent a game. Except for being an extrovert, the kid was built for this.
So that's two pretty good days in a row. There are gonna be more tough ones, but we are gonna get through this. I feel stronger than I did a week ago. I got this.
Today I'm grateful for cookies, poetry, uplifting kids books on feelings, James's creativity, playing outside, tiring out the dog, and health.
No more in person school for the 2019-2020 school year.
So, if I'm honest, this would have brought me to tears a week ago but today I was like, meh. My kid has been in many ways happier learning at home than he was in school and this is surprising to me. I wanted him to have his birthday in school and get to do those fun things and make me a Mother's Day present and have a kindergarten memory book but I'm kinda over it now. I feel for others...this has to be so hard on the high school seniors, really anyone graduating at any level, and I know there are kids who are worried about not having their safe place or safe people. And I know a lot of teachers and this is hard on them. So it's hard on a lot of people but for us it doesn't change our lives as much as I would have thought. It takes more to bring me to tears than it did at first. I think I am going through stages of grief or whatever.
What does make me crazy is when the idea is brought up that this current situation is going to last all summer. I know what people are saying is, wow, I have my kids home with me until September but for stay at home mom me, this isn't normal having my kids home. We are one month in with a month to go before the current stay at home order is lifted and what I keep thinking is I need my life back. I need my library. I need my parks. I need play dates and swimming and splash pads and the things that get us through summer. I understand that it's gonna be awhile before we get back to real normal...that it may be awhile before they can start baseball or open Disneyland or even have someone throw a big wedding. But I hope someone in some room somewhere has a plan for how to get the parks open. If it is September before my kid gets to see friends that will be six months. I understand that we need to flatten the curve and not overwhelm our healthcare system and all the things but it can't be good for anyone to be socially isolated for six months. Fortunately, I'm not an infectious diseases expert and not in charge of decision making but I just sincerely hope those that are are working on a plan. Because April is one thing, July is a whole different animal.
Today James got to see the neighbor girl from behind us. They haven't seen each other in awhile because the last time they did the social distancing...did not go well...but today he did much better at following the rules so he got to talk to her a bit. Playing together that far apart is just hard. They have imaginative games that they can do but it only lasts so long. Their play usually involves passing things through or over the fence. But at least he got to see her and talk to someone who isn't me. I kno he misses that.
We did get to do some baking today...we have so much flour now...and tomorrow we are doing bread. I'm so grateful for the milkman who comes on Tuesdays. He can bring so much more than milk...like iced tea and orange juice and baked goods...all sorts of things. Tomorrow he's bringing a ton of butter and more eggs so we can bake more. It's spring break and I'm not honestly sure how much school we are going to attempt to do even when it is going again, so we are going to learn by doing, by baking and crafting. And James is so good at that. Grandpa brought him a Lego kit yesterday, he was putting it together and following the directions and this morning when I was exhausted from having stayed up way too late doing nothing he invented another game...two mornings in a row he has rejected a movie to invent a game. Except for being an extrovert, the kid was built for this.
So that's two pretty good days in a row. There are gonna be more tough ones, but we are gonna get through this. I feel stronger than I did a week ago. I got this.
Today I'm grateful for cookies, poetry, uplifting kids books on feelings, James's creativity, playing outside, tiring out the dog, and health.
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