Day 2 of round 2

 This is not a monthly recap kinda post.  

Our current situation is that Dave's school has gone virtual, for the first time in this academic year.  

(For context, last school year was impacted by the coronavirus.  We went virtual in March and never went back.  We started the school year in person - well, Dave's district/school chose the hybrid model while the kids' district was in person.  It's been 7 weeks of this...w/rumors of everything shutting down again soon due to a resurgence in cases and deaths in our area.)  

It's day 2 of him teaching from home.  

(My fat fingers typed teachering - and now I'm laughing at that word!)

He originally was thinking he'd have to go in to his classroom during this time.  A lot of his supplies and technology are in the classroom but he figured out a way to do this from home.

(Anyone remember Elmo projectors?  I walk by that thing in the LR and am compelled to do the voice - "Elmo loves you!  HAHA - that tickles!")

So far today, my teacher husband has checked on the students and encouraged them.  I think there was a dad joke in there somewhere too.  He asked about their profile pics, showed interest in their lives, chatted about how they were doing w/this.

Oh.  And he taught math.

A lot of parents, myself included, have been expecting a lot out of our kids' teachers.  I have said that if 'they' don't step it up this year...not gonna lie, I went through and rated the job my kids' teachers did last year.  I am willing to give grace for all that though, b/c no one expected what was coming!  No one was ready.  This year?  I admit to being a lot harsher.  So far the kids haven't gone virtual but I know the teachers are preparing for it.  I have said (out loud!) that I expect my kids to be engaged all day, not just given busywork assignments that take 10 minutes (or 3 hours, depending on the skill and knowledge of technology of the kid/kid and parents...!!).  Some teachers last year taught class from home just like they would at school.  Some did not.  I am working on stepping my expectations back, just in case my kids go virtual, trying to get my mindset on some middle ground.  Having the big guy home, teaching in the LR, right behind me - helps.  I see all the hoops set out by admin, I see the old school tech he is jerry-rigging up to teach from home so he can be all things to all people at the same dang time, I see/hear how he cares for his students and their mental health first but their education a close second, I take note of how he feels lonely w/just me and the dog here...he misses his kids.  He wonders out loud why some of them haven't been 'seen' in a while.  We go for walks and talk about all this.  I should say that I force him to get outside to walk the dog and me.  Yes I need to be walked.  We never regret the fresh air and tiny amounts of vitamin D we can glean here in the frozen tundra.  I push him to take us on walks.  Sort of a bass-ackward motivation, saying I'm doing it for him (I am!) but really I'm doing it for me too.  

Anyway - I just wanted to document this...this stage...I wanted to say how proud I am of Dave.  Not that he needs me to say that.  But he's the rock of this family, keeping the boat upright and even when it dips, he's the guy handing out life vests and holding us up above the high water.  

Now, just for some humor...I wonder if Dave has thought of this?  Her shower is really clean...she must live alone!!  

2020 Months 6-7-8

I am combining these 3 summer months for various reasons.  I would love to get caught up!  Our summer fun options were limited/restricted thanks to the virus anyway...so since we didn't get in a lot of camping last summer, that was this summer's top goal.  The challenge was accepted and achieved!!

They weren't messing around when they built these fire pits!

June - no 8th grade graduation ceremony (thumbs down) but we were able to order a yard sign to celebrate the graduate's accomplishment!  We came home one day to find it had been delivered (thumbs up)!  After school was out we packed up the camper and headed up north to see family.  Cousins had crazy good fun and it felt good to be OUT and 'off the ranch'.  And yes, the cake in the photo says "Happy Everything" - we were celebrating graduation, birthdays, anniversaries, summer, and actually finally being able to get together after a long lockdown! 

The graduate and the everything cake

July - so many fireworks and festivals had been canceled (thumbs down) but the big racetrack by us hosted the largest fireworks show in the state - someone said all the nearby counties pooled their money to make it the best (BIG THUMBS UP)!  It was the longest show I've seen - except maybe the Disney one - but seriously, my kids were thrilled to stay up (I've not really allowed much of that) and by the end of it they were yawning...then it was back up north for more family time!  We went tubing, relaxed and ate well.  We extended this trip too...Back when we were first married, Dave took me to the Lake of the Clouds.  He raved all about it and hyped it up a lot!!  We got there and it was so foggy, you could barely see your hand.  Well - twenty plus years later we all got up there on a gorgeous day to see the spectacular view!  

So pretty!

Next we dipped our toes in the almost-always-freezing Lake Superior to find that it was luke warm!!!  If we had allotted more time, I would have gone swimming in it.  Me.  The always cold person would have gone swimming in Lake Superior.  Seriously.   It was warm!!  

From one great lake to the next, we came home and swam in our lake w/friends who were camping in our yard.  Again, had lots of fun and ate well!  Then, the last 2 days of July were...unexpected...

We headed west to be w/family, tugging the boat behind us.  (Cue ominous music...)

Before.....

The ol' boat was all prepped and ready for some Mississippi River exploring with family.  Had a great first day out...

We were eating breakfast the next morning when a marina employee called to say the boat had sunk.  ???  (record scratch noise!)  ALL the thumbs in the world were down for that one!!  No evidence as to why.  A crane on a barge was hired to get it up from the bottom.  Engine not salvageable but otherwise appearing in perfect condition.  I was like, "2020 strikes again!"  

....After...or should it say during?

Ah well, I love telling stories so it makes for a good story right?  Ok maybe not good, but interesting, intriguing and unique.  We spent the rest of the days w/family playing minute to win it games and eating food.  Also a theme of the summer.  My weight loss from the beginning of the year has been found!  I'm back in my Polish pear shape!  

August - I had the crazy idea to put all 3 boys in one room*, which meant measuring, moving furniture, adding a rod for hanging clothes above dressers on one wall, and that led to us wanting to get new carpet in the room we had just emptied.  That led to us thinking about the crummy carpet in the hall.  And down the stairs.  So why not replace it all?  A project we hadn't thought of doing yet, but it seemed logical at the time!  We also cheered at a Milkmen baseball game, camped some more, kayaked on the Crystal River and ate ice cream.  Get ready to be move jealous - we celebrated Eastgus!  (Easter in August, for those that don't follow my linguistic gymnastics.)  I made that word up but it's 2020 - lots of things are made up!  I think of it sort of like Christmas in July.  Maybe it's a new holiday we should add to our calendar?  The kids wouldn't complain about eating fancy brunch, dying eggs and singing Up From the Grave on any given Sunday, so why not?  We also added a few cloth face coverings to our collection since the plan was to go back to school, in person, 5 days a week, wearing a mask or 2 each day.  Family and friends made some for us, I found some on etsy, a lady in a nearby burg (aka a sewing wizard who works on the largest flag in the world nearby) sells masks from her porch stand, some local girls were making them and donating the money to the Children's Hospital...and so on.  We now have a varied collection.  The goal was that each person would take 2 every day - so they could switch to a clean dry one at lunch.  I have no idea if that's recommended practices, I just thought it would be good to have a fresh one half way through the day.  It seems like a lot of masks, but then when they are all 'dirty', it seems like a lot to wash!  (Side note - anyone else feel a weird connection to their grandma or ancestor/family member who used to wash nylons in the tub every night, hanging them to dry while she slept?  I stand there washing, rinsing and hanging and I feel like a classy 40s housewife or maybe like a pioneer woman who only has 2 decent frocks.  It's a strange sensation.  Please say yes you have those feelings too - I know I'm an odd duck in many ways, but surely you thought of that too?!  I digress...)

Overall, the summer was pretty normal.  Not long enough, yet full of good food and family.  We didn't tackle any new house projects, really, aside from the carpet.  We didn't go on any large, epic vacations.  I think we were sort of mentally exhausted from they way the school year ended.  But as I do every change of season, I have started mentally making a list for fall.  There is no doubt in my mind that the rest of this year will contain a few more bumps and let downs, but my mind keeps churning out ways to take those lemons and make something - anything! - out of them!  

Stopping to see the sunflower fields...not my fault if it was next to a creamery that sold ice cream...

*Crazy ideas are usually byproducts of my restless, anxiety filled nights.  This is no exception.  For the record, the room the boys are in is the exact same size as the 'master' in this house.  Right now the empty room is the music room.  I love hearing Moses create music in there!!  He has the loop station, keyboard, drums, and mic set up.  But...there is also room for 2 more beds in there.  I'm just saying.  And much like 22 years ago, Dave is listening.  So...yeah.  We'll see where this goes.  Maybe I'm trying to push back on 2020 and write our own chapter of crazy!

Just hit preview on this post and realized I did not follow the Do-Read-Learn-Be template I wanted to keep for the year of 2020.  Let's count this whole post as the Do portion, shall we?  I'm not gonna like, I didn't do much reading, but I am matriculating my way through Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria.  As for learning, again, not much.  Um...I learned about how to pull a boat up from the bottom of a marina?  Go ahead and laugh, I did!  I learned that I miss my family.  I learned that so many people are resilient and 'tough cookies', but that even still, checking on them is important.  Over the summer months, I focused on accepting and processing.  I tried to take it one day at a time (so hard for me!!) and not get worked up about what was coming (the uncertainty of school starting).  I'm not good at that but it's a practice I tried to cultivate over the summer.  I think it turned out okay, because here we are - ready for fall!