Afternoon cup of coffee?
Don’t mind if I do.
Might not be able to sleep later.
I’ll take the risk.
And . . . I just dumped half of it down my sweater . . . go me.
This week has been what I would definitely call a “twilight zone” kind of week. Don’t ask me what day or month it is. I’ll have to check some form of calendar because I’ve only left the house twice, very briefly, in the past week.
My youngest ended up at home and quarantined . . . is anyone else over all of this quarantining mess? I am. I. Am. Over. It. And just in case . . . that question is rhetorical . . . no need to tell me your feelings on my feelings.
The weather wasn’t great for most of the week. It started with rain (which was needed and welcome) early this week and transitioned to rain and cold and eventually some ice just in time for quarantine to end, and all school and extracurriculars to be cancelled for Thursday and Friday.
When we realized Anna would be home for the majority of the week the school sent me an email stating that she should join the remote teacher (who we do not know from Adam) for virtual learning every morning from 9:30-11:45. My daughter does not do well with devices. She’s not a great . . . okay, she’s not even a good . . . virtual learner. She needs me sitting, literally, on top of her to keep her on task which wasn’t possible. So after stressing and worrying and trying to figure out how I was going swing this, I told her classroom teacher I wasn’t doing it. I wrestled with that decision because I don’t like to upset anyone, but I ended up, politely but firmly, saying “no” to virtual learning in all its glory. I didn’t, however, say “no” to all school. Don’t y’all worry. I was a classroom teacher for 10 years. I believe in school. I told her teacher to let me know the skills for the week, send along any work they wanted via email, and I’d fill in the rest with my homeschool curriculums. I have a penchant for buying homeschool materials even though I don’t actually homeschool . . . don’t ask. While I know that “no” probably didn’t meet with resounding approval, it was absolutely the right choice for us because she did a stellar job with the work this week. I mean she rocked it way beyond anything I expected.
Despite all the crazy . . . schedule interruptions and having to rework plans for the week . . . it actually ended up being a really good week. Anna and I needed the time together after a few rough days last week. And having three days with just her and me was an unexpected blessing. Then yesterday, it was miserably cold and damp, we had freezing rain for a large part of the day, and we were all home with nowhere to go and nothing to do for the first time in a longtime. It was once again a forced slowdown that we didn’t know we needed.
This week was both chaotic and peaceful. Having my schedule thrown off always throws me because I am not a “roll with the punches” kind of girl. I’m a planner that plans my planning. But sometimes flexibility is where it’s at. Well, that and being willing to say “no”. So, here’s to our schedules being unexpectedly interrupted and unplanned days off and sometimes saying “no”. . . but also here’s to normalcy and schedules and going to school . . . school is a very good thing.
Courtney's Contemplations . . . 