Mar 27, 20203 min read

Coronavirus Update - Day 13 and Counting

Updated: Mar 31, 2020

Composing this, 12 hours late, so this is from yesterday. I was so tired last night I couldn’t think of a single sentence to write. Yesterday, started with a windfall, in the form of two extra laptops provided to us by LVUSD, our school district. For a mom who barely lets her kids have any screen time, my joy over this acquisition, is defitely a testament to these crazy times we are living in. With 5 laptops, we are now cooking with gas! With no more homework packets coming home, or so it seems, we have gone completely virtual, so without enough computers, we are crippled. This was a huge lift to my spirts and stress level. I made the mistake of trying to get a few things done at my own desk (such as paying bills and other “essential” tasks), which proved to be a huge mistake. Of course teachers can’t pay bills in the middle of the school day. What was I thinking? I think the knitting (and composing this email) is as far as I can push my delinquency. When I came back from my desk, the classroom was in mayhem. Everyone was on their devices doing stuff they were not supposed to be doing, Catherine had missed her virtual arts class and the classroom looked like a hurricane had blown through it (and my desk in is only one room away with a an open door between the two rooms). So now I have learned that unless I have duties in the cafeteria, such as lunch prep, or I desperately need to use the bathroom, I cannot vacate the classroom during school hours. Garin was in a mood yesterday, as he often is these. He is not a good candidate for distance learning, to say the least. By 3, he was laying on the couch, crying and carrying on about how he has not learned a single thing since these shelter-in-place orders have started. Garin’s need for intellectual/academic stimulation has always been beyond my pay grade. However now, with 3 other kids at home combined with my sub-par teaching skills (that is really being more generous than I deserve), he is suffering. The wonderful observation I have made about him is how he comes to life and is filled with joy when he spends time teaching Miles. It is incredible to watch! I wish he could quit being the student and become Miles’ full-time teacher. They both relish in their time together, which has been a big surprise to me, given Garin’s misfortune to have inherited my huge deficit in the patience department. We both have the patience of a flea and fuses that are so short, they basically don’t exist. Catherine seems to need a fair amount of attention and assistance, but I don’t mind. She seems to really relish in having me teach her (I can’t fathom why, for the life of me), so that’s nice for her. Graham is a like self-driving car. He gets all is work done, he never has a question or need and he never complains. He practiced his songs, first for me during the day and then with Catherine at dinner for all of us. This is for an upcoming musical show at school (which sadly, may never take place). He has the voice of an angel. He is so talented at singing and yet I rarely get to hear him. It was such a joy to listen to him practice his songs, along with the accompanying music online posted by his music teacher at school. I better sign off, or my classroom is going to go to hell in a hand basket again, if I shirk my duties any longer. And besides, I have to put my apron on soon and start my cafeteria duties for lunch.