Pandemic Summer
Week 15
Day 98 - Sunday, June 21, 2020
Another week of Pandemic Summer has begun.
Elijah started his online Driver’s Education class on Monday. You have to be 15 to sign up, so I signed up on his birthday, last Sunday. It is 30 hours of required course work, and the state mandates that you can only do 3 hours per day. Elijah is super motivated to get it done in the minimum of 10 days. I won’t let him take his written test to get his learner’s permit until he’s done even though he’s allowed to take it as soon as we received proof of enrollment in the mail. I believe he will be finished by Friday, so the plan is to take it then. We had discussed that before he was able to do any practice driving, he should ride with me, PAY ATTENTION, and discuss some of the things he’s learned from the course. We did that for the first time yesterday. I drove downtown to show him where he would need to park for school (The Civic Center parking lot) when the time comes. He was surprised that he did actually know the way to his school, he asked lots of good questions about road signs, turn lanes, and who is allowed to do what.
I did not mow the lawn last night. It just didn’t seem all that tall, and it was still really hot. I should have mowed since it’s raining today and is supposed to continue for the next few days. I’m excited that clover is taking over my front yard as it doesn’t get very tall, and maybe I can get away with mowing less. There is one spot of real grass that someone planted after a tree was removed. I’ve been considering spraying that part with weed killer so the clover can take over, lol. Another benefit of not mowing yesterday was to let all those clover flowers seed more clover. Now I need it to take over the backyard too!
I grilled porkchops and corn on the cob last night. It was fantastic, but the corn was on the small (sad) side. There was none to be found for a week and a half, so I’m wondering what’s going on with the local sweet corn harvest? We can’t be low on sweet corn!!
I have 3 or 4 things scheduled for this week with a couple of more things planned. That’s downright busy for us! Monday I’m taking my car in for an oil change and new brakes, plus I need to do grocery shopping, and we are going to try to fit in a thrift store trip in the afternoon. Tuesday, I go pick up Elijah’s yearbook. Wednesday, Leah has her hour-long orthodontist appointment where they take new x-rays and photos and we talk about cost and payment. Friday, Elijah is planning on taking his written test for his learner’s permit.
There was a Trump rally in Tulsa, OK last night. His first rally since Pandemic started. It was held indoors at BOK center that has the ability to hold 19,000 people. He had people sign waivers saying that if they contracted COVID19, they wouldn’t sue him. He proclaimed that over a million people had requested tickets. What he didn’t know what that most of those
tickets were requested by people all over the country who had no intention of showing up. Teens and young adults were all over TikTok planning this, asking their followers to request hundreds of tickets apiece. My 4thgrade teacher, who now lives in Washington state, requested tickets and posted on Facebook that we should do the same. I had no idea it would actually work. I think it’s hilarious.
Day 99 – Monday, June 22, 2020
Yesterday was rainy in the morning, and sunny and humid in the afternoon. If it doesn’t rain, I may mow that lawn tonight. We’ll see.
I made crockpot chicken enchiladas and they were a hit with everyone but Leah, which is fairly typical. She’s happy with pork, any kind, hamburgers, chicken nuggets, and grilled cheese sandwiches, lol. I don’t try to please her palate more than a couple of times a week.
I called my dad for Father’s Day, but he doesn’t care to talk on the phone for long. We’ll be visiting in a little over a week anyhow. I plan on grilling dinner for my parents for a joint Mother’s Day/ Father’s Day present.
This morning, I got up early and did Sh’bam before grocery shopping at Walmart. I got disinfecting wipes! I don’t always go down that aisle, but I haven’t seen wipes since February. The shelves surrounding the Walmart brand wipes were bare…
I took my car in for an oil change and new brakes, and Hannah picked me up so I didn’t have to wait. When I left home, there were three Vectren trucks right outside and a big, green, metal something was being replace on the corner, two houses down. Somehow, we kept power during that. Seems unlikely, but true. The time estimate for my car is two hours. When they call, Hannah will drop me off to pick it up. Having a second driver sure is nice.
Elijah likes to do his Driver’s Ed class late at night, but last night he fell asleep instead so missed his 3 hours for yesterday. That will set him back a day, so he may not get to take his test of Friday. He could still take it Saturday or Tuesday before we leave….
The girls and I are planning a thrift store trip to Mother Teresa’s today. My friend told me that they are open MWF 10-4, masks are mandatory. So, we are going to give it a go!
We have some cardinals right outside the front door, and the cats are sitting in front of the storm door watching them and chattering up a storm! Fun times with cats!!
While visiting my parents’ house, I’ve decided to treat it like a beach vacation, of sorts, and spend as much time lounging in and around the pool as possible. It’s all we’ve got this summer!
Day 100 – Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Well, we’ve made it to ONE HUNDRED DAYS OF PANDEMIC, by my count anyway. Leah says it was two days ago, but I didn’t count the first weekend because it was our last hurrah.
Yesterday, I spent all day waiting for my car to get fixed. I’m not sure why the website estimated 120 minutes when I chose my appointment time. I got my call with the estimate after two hours…. I called at 3:00 and got the “it will be ready in 15 minutes”. So, we did not get to go to the thrift store that closed at 4pm and is a 30-minute drive away. We’ll try tomorrow when it opens again.
This morning, I took Elijah to pick up his yearbook. He was very impressed with the quality and content.
Last night, I decided to look up the big headlines from January 2020, and yeah, I’d forgotten about all of that.
No other plans for today, but if I’m smart, I’ll consider mowing before it rains again.
In other news, Oliver figured out how to open the door on my sewing table where I keep all of my sewing supplies. The magnetic catch sometimes releases too easily and pops open. Now, Ollie has made it his mission to pop it open whenever possible. This morning, I outsmarted him by rubber banding the two knobs together. Yes, I had to outsmart a CAT.
Day 101 – Wednesday, June 24, 2020
I started the day in the wee hours of the morning with a cat who didn’t want me to sleep any longer. He ended up in the laundry room. When it was actually time to get up, I had a stomachache, so I opted not to do Sh’bam (that and I did mow the lawn last night). I will do Sh’bam tomorrow and Saturday morning before getting back on a MWF schedule (which will be messed up by our trip to OKC anyway…)
I got Leah up at 7:30, so we could leave for the orthodontist at 8:00. The orthodontist is 5 minutes from our old house which means that now it’s a 25-minute drive. Leah had to go in without me to get photos and x-rays taken. About 15 minutes later, they let me come in so the orthodontist could go over it all with me, and the finance lady could talk $$. Leah didn’t want them put on until after her birthday, so she could enjoy her day to the fullest. So, she’s scheduled to get them put on July 20th. On the way home (since we were in the area), I stopped at Chick-Fil-A and got Leah some Chicken Littles and a frosted lemonade for her troubles. I think she got a bargain!
After lunch the girls and I headed to Newburgh to go to the thrift store (finally). I wasn’t sure of all the restrictions and was actually a little surprised. Children aren’t allowed, only one person per family, a total of 15 customers, and masks required (I knew about the masks!). I ended up just sending Hannah in to find herself some shorts. Leah and I went back to the car. We waited in line to get in for 20 minutes, it took Hannah 3 minutes to find some shorts and 20 minutes to stand in line to pay. The good news is she got 3 pairs of shorts for $6. Leah really wanted to go to Michael’s so we browsed there for a bit, but didn’t end up buying anything. Leah didn’t care for being around “so many people”, but I didn’t think it was too bad.
Today is Trent’s 10th birthday, but he’s not doing well at all. He spends 99% of his time sleeping on a towel next to his water dish.
Day 102 – Thursday, June 25, 2020
Nothing is planned for today. I got up early and did Sh’bam. Oliver got up earlier and was attempting to get me up by opening the sewing table doors….
Last night, Leah went to a church Wednesday night activity with her BFF. She is sad that next Wednesday, we will be traveling, and she’ll miss going. The Wednesday after that we will be driving back, but she might still be able to go since we will likely be back in town by the time it starts.
Earlier in the week, our school superintendent announced that we will go back to school, August 5th, as planned, in person, every day, all day. When I told Leah, she immediately started complaining… the same kid who was SO READY to go back to school when we had virtual learning. We have received zero specifics about school, just that it WILL BE. Every building in our district has a unique layout and people to space ratio, so every building is going to have to figure out what is possible. This is why I never want to be in charge. We still have SO MANY questions about busses (there aren’t enough to allow for any distancing, not even one kid per seat on most busses), lunch & recess (the high school cafeteria already has 3 jam packed lunch periods), maximum number of students per classroom (there aren’t extra teachers just hanging around, some schools have extra classrooms, many don’t), handwashing vs academics (how much time will be devoted to handwashing, and where will they wash them), water coolers to replace water fountains (we’ve done this during boil orders, and it’s a complete $!*%show). The irony is that for the past two years, we have had a HEAVY focus on using Kagan structures in the classroom to increase social skills and teamwork. Lots of focus on sitting in and working in groups, discussing with “face partner” and “shoulder partner”, moving from group to group to share ideas. I guess Kagan has to go on the back burner for a bit. Then there is the speech and language therapy for me. How do I schedule 80+ students at three schools while remaining social distance in my tiny office? How will there be time to clean everything between each session? Will I be allowed to wear a clear face shield instead of a mask? How do I keep social distance with a child with a history of eloping (running away)? So many questions….
Day 103 – Friday, June 26, 2020
When school is in session, every month or so we have a nurse visit to do wellness checks. They used to do a cholesterol test once a year, but they stopped a year or so ago. One of the nurses told me that, I could just schedule an appointment at the EVSC clinic, and have it done for free. Since I will have my annual checkup with my family doctor in about a month, I thought now would be a good time to get that done. So, I had an 8am appointment this morning. When I got there, I was informed that I needed a doctor’s order. The clinic can write their own order, but I’d have to re-schedule for an appointment that wasn’t lab-only. So much for trying to be pro-active.
Elijah is supposed to finish his online driver’s ed course today. Last night, he informed me that he didn’t have to finish it in order to take the written test for his permit. I let him know that I was aware of that, but I wasn’t taking him until he was done. You have to use motivating factors as they present themselves. If he gets up this morning and finishes, we can go this afternoon. If he doesn’t get it done until afternoon, he’ll have to wait until tomorrow.
Nothing else on the agenda for the next few days. I would like a little more teacher-oriented information for starting school. I feel like our superintendent gives up one piece of important news every few days.
Day 104 – Saturday, June 27, 2020
Yesterday, I woke Elijah up at 1pm. He went to finish his driver’s ed course, and he only had a quiz left to take. After he showered, we went to the BMV, but the line wrapped around the building and it was 90 degrees outside. We went home.
This morning, we left the house at 8am (BMV opens at 8:30 on Saturdays), got there at 8:15. The line wrapped around the building, but the weather was cool and breezy (also full of Saharan dust, but wasn’t bad with a mask on). We set foot inside the building around 8:50, but still had to wait another 5-10 minutes before our number (#19) was called. We got Elijah set up to take his test. He passed! More paperwork, etc. By the time we got home it was 10am. So, it was a 2-hour adventure. He wants me to take him driving today. We will start in a parking lot!
The 4 weeks surrounding Leah’s birth, I had a nasty respiratory infection. My lungs have never been the same. The first several years I could tell you when we had high levels of particulate matter in the air. Today, the dust particles are noticeable to me. The sky is cloudy and gray, but that’s pretty normal. Elijah and I wore masks the entire time we were waiting at the BMV both outside and inside, and I guess that was enough to filter out some dust. On the drive home, I started to feel it in my lungs. Yuck!
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