The Pandemic - In General
I love this picture. Mostly, because Troy Barnes is one of my favorite TV characters.
2020 has been wierd. I haven't even really wanted to blog about it. I have thought about it as much as I care to. But, I know that when enough time has passed I won't feel so fatigued whenever I hear words like "quarantine" or "mask" or "COVID". When the boys are older, we may even have a good laugh about our time home together. So for posterity, I think that it is important that I suck it up and least try to blog about what I can sitting here in July remembering what took place.
It all started on March 13, 2020. It was a Friday and we had several meetings scheduled at Juvenile Court. We an Attorney Work Group Meeting, a meeting with our elected officials and a meeting with our county and state judges. The day kept getting stranger and stranger as I learned that we were going to be limiting access to the Courts for almost three weeks. We are the courts - that is unheard of. We scrambled from one meeting to next to let staff know what to expect and then we made a quick plan for the upcoming week.
When I got home things got even weirder. The boys were slated to go on Spring Break the following week. Their teachers sent everything home with them in their backpacks just in case they weren't able to return to school - they weren't.
The following week Judge, Alan and I ate breakfast at an empty IHOP (before the restaurants were all closed down). We then made our way into the office to come up with a plan to keep things moving as best we could within the perimeters handed down by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
My work schedule was pretty limited. I worked partial days on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Some of my hearings were in person, but most them were via Zoom. Most times I would sit in the Courtroom and conduct the Zoom hearing, but sometimes I would conduct the hearing from my home office.
This was my very first time to use Zoom. The Burtons were in their van, the Claytons were in their car, the Sahs were at home, and we were hauled up on our bed. I was encouraged. While not the ideal situation, I felt that this could work.
The next thing that we did was dig out the old iPads. Both Finn and Sam would be participating in distance learning through DA on their iPads. Will quickly usurped that technology.
It turned out be alright though because it gave Will something to do while we watched church from home. Something that we are still doing in July.
So this was our first Sunday School Class via Zoom. If you look in the lower right hand corner you will see that Baron Lowe has a virtual background of Michael and CJ. Baron really got a kick out of playing around with the virtual backgrounds.
I also participated in a Zoom study on the book of Jude with Elena, Anna and Elizabeth. I will say that Zoom is great for midweek bible study.
We were home a lot, so we had lots of snuggle time.
Finn and Sam regularly had Zoom meetings with their entire elementary school. They enjoyed these meetings. They also met as a big group each morning at 10:30 for chapel. During these meetings they would pray, sing, read and go over their Bible verse.
In addition to their required school work: math, reading, English - they were also given special projects to complete in PE, science, art, etc. Above we have Sam doing the crab walk challenge for PE.
This is Sam having completed the scavenger hunt.
This is a picture of Finn finding worms for observation. At about 7:30 a.m. on a Friday as I am standing in the kitchen cleaning up after breakfast, I see Finn walking toward by bedroom carrying this blue shovel full of dirt into my bedroom. He then proceeds to sit a paper plate on my white bedspread. Curious as to his intentions, I follow all the while calmly saying, "FINN! WHAT IN TARNATION DO INTEND TO DO WITH THAT SHOVEL OF DIRT ON MY WHITE BEDSPREAD?" He explains that he is going to dump the dirt out to search for worms so that he can complete his science project. I have to actively remind myself that Finn is my eldest child and NOT my three (3) old. If I've said one, I've said a thousand times. I have failed as a parent. I gently took him by the shoulders and directed him to the sink in the laundry room.
We were also able to complete a few projects around the house. Michael pressure washed the side of the house. This of course meant a trip to Lowes. So what does everyone do during a pandemic - go to Lowes. The place was packed.
I pressure washed the back patio. Gross.
As for distance learning, it was very challenging. DA did a great job and I think the boys got as a good an education as they could considering the circumstances. But, with that said, I was thrilled when Summer break started. Finn and Sam had very different styles. Each morning their teachers would put assignments on an app called SeeSaw. Finn would get up at the crack of dawn and start working on his assignments without being asked. This meant that he would be finished by about 11:00. Sam, on the other hand would only begin his work after being remind at least three (3) times by either myself or Michael and only after someone lords over him and refocuses him every four (4) minutes. It. was. brutal.
Sam and I began our school day each morning at 8:00 a.m. Sam's school room was my bed. I made sure my room was clean, tidy and that my bed was perfectly made. No distractions. Sam and I would then sit on top with a lap pad, his iPad and all of his books. I opened the windows for optimal lighting and then we would hunker down for the rest of the day. It literally took Sam from 8:00 a.m. until around 2:30 to complete all of his school for the day. 2nd Grade is no joke at DA. (We did get a break at 10:30 for chapel).
While there were moments that I wanted to tear my hair out and scream at the top of my lungs, I am really thankful for all the time I was able to spend one-on-one with Sam. I was able to remain calm and he and I were able to have a great many special moments together. He would often thank me and hug me for helping him and with his work.
Even though most of it was Math and reading, we were able to do a few really special projects. One day Sam and I were able to make a movie trailer for the book "Tornado" that he had been reading with his class. We spend the whole afternoon working on that trailer. He did a great job! These pictures are a few "stills" from the trailer.
At the end of the year, their Principal asked them to draw thank you pictures for their teachers. Finn loved his 4th grade teachers. Each Friday night his 4th grade class had a Zoom hangout where they played games, acted silly, wore costumes and generally just enjoyed each other's company. During their last meeting of the year, Finn just cried his little eyes out. I felt so sorry for him.
This pandemic also marked the release of "Tiger King" on Netflix. This is me wearing a Carol Baskin hairdo.
We also did silly challenges with our friends. This is one of my fails.
We were very fortunate that the boys were able to continue to take piano via Zoom.
I think the thing that am I most thankful about the whole season was the pace. We were all home together for almost three months. While I did go into work a few days a week, we mostly stayed home as a family. The boys weren't being toted here, there, and everywhere. Life was slow - and I loved it.
These are a few pictures that the boys took when they were their own movie trailer for the "Two Toots." Goof balls. They did a great job!
We were actually also able to hangout with our best friends. Because we couldn't go anywhere, nobody had any plans. What used to take an act of Congress (finding one weekend where we could all be together) became pretty easy. This was one our poker nights at the Claytons.
This was our second poker night at the Claytons. Early on in the process were had the Sahs over for WrestleMania. We grilled out, Jody and I took a walk, the boys played in the creek, then we ate homemade ice-cream and watched wrestling. It was so nice.
This was our "90's" party.
So, while I definitely have "pandemic fatigue" from all the fighting and politics that permeate this season, I am thankful for the blessings that I have received as a result. I know there will be times when I will long to go back to these days when life was quite, when the boys were home playing in the yard on a Tuesday morning, when town empty and when our very busy life was simple. I look forward to reminiscing someday.
I started with one of my favorite memes and I'll end with one of my favorite memes. I love this!
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