Pandemic At School
Week 40
Day 272 – Sunday, December 13, 2020
Today was a lazy day. I planned to sleep until 8am, but Oliver had other plans. I ended up giving up around 7:30.
Yesterday, the hot water in my shower did not feel as hot as normal, and I was concerned about my water heater which is over 20 years old. Today, it seemed back to normal, but I’m still concerned.
I did some more laundry and vacuumed. I wrapped the Christmas presents that I have. Some of Leah’s will arrive later in the week. The cats are very interested in chewing on the boxes.
I wanted a short book to read, so that I can reach my goal of 36 books for the year. I opted for A Christmas Carol which I had never read, but have seen many movie renditions of. I have to say that the George C. Scott version is very close to the book. My Kindle app said it took just over an hour and a half to read…. I started another quick read, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs – Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death. I have a couple of long books (over 1000 pages) that I’m getting ready to read, but I want to wait until I’ve met this year’s goal, lol.
Oklahoma got snow today. Indiana got gray skies…. Wednesday, we have a chance of snow. Elijah has finals, so I’d have to drive him anyway. But I like snow days, and I recently heard that we’d actually get a snow day, and not have to do virtual.
I talked to my mom who spent yesterday putting down new tile in her kitchen. Her new appliances are due to arrive this week. She’s getting a new countertop installed as well. She should have a whole new kitchen when we arrive!
Leah was happy that I made shepherd’s pie for dinner. She likes it even though she doesn’t care for mashed potatoes (weird).
Day 273 - Monday, December 14, 2020
Today is Elijah’s last day in quarantine. Thankfully, he never had any symptoms. Tomorrow, he starts his final exams….
Today was started week two of Grinchmas and the theme was Cindy Lou Who hair. I wore my Christmas tree head band and decided it was good enough. There were several girls who had big, tall Cindy Lou Who hair, and I was impressed.
I received a sweet Christmas gift from a set of siblings today. The funny part was that it was addressed to “Mrs. Brokenrosen”. I think that might sum up 2020 better than anything else.
The school day was uneventful, but Hannah had an eye doctor appointment after school. I came home, threw layered chicken enchiladas in the crock pot, and took Hannah across town to the mall eye doctor. I just realized (after 15 ½ years of living in Evansville) that I could park on the back side of the mall, and there are hardly any cars back there….
Hannah’s eyes had changed a bit more than expected, and the doctor (who appears to be about 20 years old) asked if Hannah had had a growth spurt. I told him that she hadn’t gotten any taller! She got a trial pair of contacts to wear home, and a six-month supply has been ordered.
The electoral college voted today.
In pandemic news, the first vaccines in the US were given today.
Day 274 - Tuesday, December 15, 2020
This morning, I remembered to take Elijah to school. I told him that there was no way I could pick him up at half day all week long, but that I would pay for him to eat lunch wherever he wanted and he could wait at the YMCA for me to pick him up. He decided to ask a friend who lives nearby for a ride home. That was great until I got the text asking what the garage code was. He tried it. His friend tried it. His friend’s dad tried it. The keypad to the garage just wasn’t working. (Leah uses it every day to let herself in…) Elijah didn’t have a key since I am the one who brings him home. They just took him home. I had a 30-minute break, so I picked him up, took him home, tried the keypad (nope, it didn’t work), and went back to work. I unlocked the front door for Leah and sent her a text. When I got home, I reset the keypad which took much longer than it should have because I had to look up how to do it. Elijah now has a house key in his back pack.
I made the cake that was my Mrs. Brokenrosen present, and made tortellini with pesto and leftover meatballs from the freezer.
Leah and I are hoping for a snow day tomorrow.
Day 275 – Wednesday, December 16, 2020
We did NOT get a snow day. At 5am, it was 33 degrees and rainy. The Weather Channel app, said it was snowing…. They were incorrect. The temps stayed above freezing all day, but once again it snowed during the entire school day. Last week, my supervisor told us that the higher ups are planning on giving real, old-fashioned snow days should we ever have a day that actually warrants one. The school board has already approved the petition to the State that would allow us to count the extra minutes of instruction each day toward a make-up day.
To make up for our lack of snow day, the Social Emotional Learning specialists, who have spent altogether too much time in our building lately, brought Donut Bank donuts for the teachers (yum!). Our principal bought Papa John’s pizza for teachers for lunch. EVSC foundation brought us Donut Bank fondant sugar cookies. People are doing an excellent job of fattening us up!
The EVSC high schools have done away with semester finals for this year with the exception of dual credit classes. AP teachers have the option of giving a final if they want to. Poor Hannah, all of her classes will have a final.
Elijah is halfway done with his finals, and he seems to feel pretty good about them so far. It was helpful that he was able to open the garage door when he got home at half-day today.
I saw my middle school students today (last time, three of them were on “remote learning” due to quarantines). One kid was a close contact, one told me “I had COVID!” Thankfully, it was no worse than a cold for them. One of the 6th grade English teachers spotted me and said, “I have something for you!” Her daughter is one of my preschool students, and she’d gotten me a Christmas candle (so sweet!!).
So, it ended up being a pretty good day at school.
Day 276 – Thursday, December 17, 2020
If Santa took a peek at Daniel Wertz Elementary today, there are going to be a lot of kids getting coal in their stockings. Behavior was at an all time low, and one veteran teacher told me, “I despise the week before Christmas break.”
This morning, Elijah squeezed himself into some khaki cargo pants that he wore in 8th grade for his presentation. I made him change into his suit pants. Clearly, I need to go through his clothes and get rid of everything that is too small (which is everything that wasn’t bought in the past 6 months). He has a thicker build than I expected he would. He’s built more like my brother than his dad.
My day was uneventful, but every time I turned around there was a child screaming or having a tantrum.
A local friend, who is a nurse at Deaconess, got her COVID shot yesterday. The Moderna vaccine got the green light from the FDA panel today, so it will likely get final approval in the next few days.
The rest of Leah’s Christmas presents arrived today, so I wrapped them and got them under the tree. Oliver will have a grand old time chewing on the corners of the packages.
Day 277 – Friday, December 18, 2020
School’s out for 2020! It’s Christmas Break!!
Leah’s Nene (Libby’s grandma) met me in the school parking lot at 7:20 to deliver her Christmas gift. We have some amazing friends!!
Classes were doing fun, Christmas-y things, so my day was extra chill. I stopped in one class for a bit while they watched part of The Polar Express, made handprint ornaments for parents, and worked on some Christmas tree math problems.
THEN, I got to judge the 5th grade spelling bee. The contestants are a mix of the better spellers in the class and those willing to be in the competition. There were about 12 students competing. No audience this year which I think the kids actually preferred. Our librarian, Mrs. Sutton was the “Pronouncer” and I was the judge (I got to ring a bell when they got the word wrong). About half of the kids were out by the second round. By the 7th round, we were down to just two girls. They were neck and neck for quite a while.
One of my barely verbal kindergarteners gave me a gift and said, “Merry Christmas!” He melted my heart. I got a text that one of my high school students had brought a present for me, so I headed over to Reitz for a bit.
As usual, I ordered Domino’s pizza for dinner. It was probably the saddest Domino’s experience we’ve ever had. I know they are overworked and underpaid… but we got some sad, barely warm pizzas, a full hour after I ordered them. But when I checked my email, they gave me a free pizza to make up for it.
THEN, I went and did something way out of my comfort zone. I got a tattoo. Back in 1983, when I was 9 years old my dad drew me a pen and ink picture of a bi-plane on a scrap of mat board that was left over after he cut some mats for one of his photographs. I had that plane tattooed on my right forearm and had some of his ashes added to the ink. I absolutely love it. It hurt like hell.
Day 278 – Saturday, December 19, 2020
Today, I did almost nothing. I did laundry and I read. I read all day long while Trent slept in my lap. It was amazing!
It’s been three months since I had the basal cell removed from my left cheek. The scar is still more prominent than I expected, but it is getting better.
Hannah finished up a pen and ink drawing of The Old Post Office in downtown Evansville. It looks amazing!
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