We missed:
- Kathryn's last year for the school Jog-a-thon (highlight of the year for many of us)
- Easter Concert
- Spring Volleyball Season
- Spring Golf Season
- Celebrating the retirement of Kathryn's teacher after 32 years of teaching.
- Celebrating Kathryn's completion of Elementary School ---> Middle School
- Sleep. Lots and lots of lost sleep (for me) during the adjustment at work and home
- Spring break - planned trip to Bend, Oregon
- Per Kathryn: she didn't know that her last recess was going to be her last recess ever 😢
We gained:
- Zoom
- MUCH lower cost of gas for the car 🚗
- Frustration & achievements adjusting to remote learning
- Not sobbing (just me) as we said good-bye to Elementary School forever
- Learning to FaceTime with the entire family to celebrate Mother's Day
- Stimulus check - helps with tuition next year.
- Slower pace to life
- Appreciation for family and health 💗
- We (mostly me) felt like this:
- We walked. A lot. Thank goodness it was Spring time. 🌞 On a warm spring night, Kathryn and Mira camped out for the night.
- We baked. A lot.
- We read books. We did puzzles. We spent quality time with Demeter (who just turned 18!)
- We (well Kathryn) dyed hair with Crayola Markers. Bought new light switch plates and brightened them up (also all Kathryn)
- Took a class picture via Zoom
- We adjusted as I wrestled with the rapid fire changes with my job. Decreased hours at work due to lower census & the kids at home. But worked harder than I ever have; and still felt like it wasn't enough or at a level of management that was needed for my nursing staff. Instead of rising up to tackling changes, I shut down. Had an overwhelming fear I was going to give a wrong answer to the hundreds of questions and someone would get hurt. It was noticed that I shut down and backed away. Staff weren't happy. I had to adjust. Had to figure out a balance between home and work. It will forever change they way nurses do their jobs. Grieving over what we knew as normal. Celebrating we only had 2 known COVID cases in our office and both children are doing well. Celebrating no staff got sick. Bracing ourselves for fall/flu/back to school (if it happens?) season.
- We learned to appreciate moments like these.... 💝....when we traveled to my parents home for the first time in 6 months. Both kids were giddy to go somewhere different.
Where's Ryan?
- Good question. I don't have many pictures of him. He would do school work in his room. Attempt participation in the Zoom classes. Using the word attempt, because time management and remembering to sign in was not his strong suit. He struggled a lot more than Kathryn with remote learning. First year in middle school with 7 classes to juggle, suddenly on his own, was tough. He did the best he could. However, one day I did catch him watching The Office on Netflix during a Zoom class. Busted. When he wasn't "in" school he was next door with his friend Cooper. They played A LOT of Fortnite. I mean A LOT. I'm not a fan, but had to let some of the usual rules slide. He'd come home to see what I was fixing for dinner. Compare it to what the neighbors were fixing and choose the location based on what sounded good. 🤣
What's next?
- Just learned today that our 4th annual camping trip to Jim Creek is a go. ⛺ This is very exciting and it will be so good to socialize outside our usual ring of people. We leave next Friday.
- Seaside in July. So far, it's still on...... crossing fingers it stays that way.
- Birthday's 🎂 Soon to be 11 yr & 13 yr old kids!! Our usual summer activities like parades and Blue Angels are cancelled, but it's ok. We will adjust.
