Pandemic at School Week 45

Pandemic at School 

 

Week 45

 

Day 306 – Sunday, January 17, 2021

 

I watched the movie News of the World with Tom Hanks.  It was really good, kind of a cross between Dances with Wolves and the remake of True Grit.

 

Elijah was invited to eat hibachi at Ropongi with school friends.  While he was eating, Leah and I shopped at Michael’s, Target, and got Sonic for dinner.

 

I watched Mall Cop with Hannah and Dylan when we got home.  

 

Day 307 – Monday, January 18, 2021

 

I do love a three-day weekend!

 

There was a half inch of snow on the deck this morning…. On a non-school day, so a complete waste.

 

I woke up at the regular time, but stayed in bed for an extra hour.  Trent and Oliver had appointments with the vet across town at 8:30am.  Oliver is super healthy and sassy.  Trent has continued to lose weight and is down to about 5 lbs.  The vet was able to palpate the mass on Trent’s liver (or maybe spleen).  He recommended giving Trent a steroid for a month to see if it shrinks at all.  He said that it might add a month or two to his life.  I’m not sure how Trent is still with us.  He’s been sick since April 2019.

 

At 10am, the roofer came over and looked at the roof where I thought the problem was.  When the second layer of shingles was applied, they didn’t do it right.  So, he’ll come fix that as soon as he can, and that will run me $450.  I asked him how old he thought the top layer of shingles was, and he said they weren’t too old, but he could see several places that were not done right.  So, I will be saving my pennies for a new roof. 

 

Leah’s friends wanted to go to the mall, so I took her for an hour.  I ordered new contact lenses while we were there, so that’s a phone call I don’t have to make.

 

Pete sent money for Moe’s Monday burritos, and we were happy to go eat them.  

 

Tomorrow, we will be back at school, but at least it’s a 4-day week.  I noticed that it was not completely dark at 5:15pm, so we are returning to the land of the living.

 

Day 308 – Tuesday, January 19, 2021

 

All the kids in the younger multi-cat classroom are now in quarantine after one of the paras tested positive over the weekend.

 

After looking at the huge list of health professionals that are allowed to get the COVID vaccine, I decided to schedule an appointment.  I will take my SLP license as verification, but I doubt they will ask for it.  So, if all goes well, Friday evening I will get my first dose.  

 

I made chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn for dinner.

 

Leah wanted help with more earth science, but I just don’t remember much about it.  

 

Day 309 – Wednesday, January 20, 2021

 

Today was Inauguration Day!!  I’ve been looking forward to POTUS #46 for four long years.  I was able to watch the swearing in of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden while I ate lunch.  I especially enjoyed the poet, Amanda Gorman who recited afterward.  She was amazing.

 

When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We've braved the belly of the beast
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we've weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished
We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid
If we’re to live up to our own time
Then victory won’t lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we’ve made
That is the promise to glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare
It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation
Our blunders become their burdens
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children’s birthright
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
we will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it

 

***

I found out today that EVSC has officially declared that Culver is no longer a school but an administration building.  An admin building with at least ten preschool classrooms and an alternative elementary/middle school program with 60 students.  Why is it no longer a school?  They don’t have to report COVID cases at an admin building, and Culver has a lot of cases.  I’m tired of the lies.  I believe our administration has done an excellent job of keeping students as safe as possible while in school, but I’m tired of the lies.

 

Elijah had a Mu Alpha Theta meeting and Leah had WNS, so I threw some pork chops under the broiler for dinner and microwaved broccoli.  It was healthy and tasty.

 

Day 310 - Thursday, January 21, 2021

 

It was kind of a boring day at work since I evaluated three of my students.  That took most of the day, then I had to write the reports.

 

Elijah did not have speech practice after school since there was a meet that he decided not to compete in.

 

I had tortilla soup in the crockpot ready for dinner, so it was a relaxing afternoon.

 

Elijah showed me a crazy “Trump is still president” video, and a friend had sent me a 4chan post about Trump is ShadowPrez now…. It’s so ridiculous what people will believe.

 

Hannah needed to know some of her developmental milestones for her psychology class.  

 

Tomorrow I get my vaccination!

 

Day 311 – Friday, January 22, 2021

 

311 is a good number!  It’s my birthday and it was my dorm room # in college.  

 

It’s Friday!  

 

I finished an evaluation on a student who… sometimes likes to give unusual answers for a reaction.  They did a nice job even though they are in the midst of a major medication change, and they are on the verge of losing it at all times.  So, win!

 

I had an IEP conference that wasn’t.  DCS is the child’s guardian and they were unable to join the WebEx… so, no conference.  It’s a bummer because about 15 people had to be invited.  Not a win.

 

The biggest win is that I got my first dose of the COVID vaccine, Pfizer version.  My appointment was at 6pm, and I got in line at 5:50.  Even though I had registered online and filled out all the paperwork, I was handed paperwork to fill out.  The most stressful part was the person checking the registration to make sure you were eligible.  I saw a woman who was over 65, but not yet 70 get turned away.  I saw a nurse from Kentucky get turned away because she neither works nor lives in Indiana.  Apparently, they are out of vaccine across the river.  After the registration window, I was sent to follow some yellow stickers to the nurses giving the shots.  At that point, there was no one in front of me and I felt like I was walking into a restricted area.  My nurse was super chatty, which perfectly fine with me.  The injection did not sting as much as my flu shot, but my arm is pretty sore a few hours later.  I was done by 6:09, and I was sent to a waiting room to sit for 15 minutes to make sure I didn’t have a massive reaction.  I felt a little detached afterward, but that was likely from the stress of it all.  I signed up for the V-safe government program where they track any side effects that you might have.

 

When I got home, I made Elijah happy by watching the first episode of Breaking Bad with him.  He really likes the show, and I’ve never bothered to watch it.  

 

Indiana's COVID numbers are starting to look better; however, the new UK variant is looming which is more contagious. Hopefully, we can get people vaccinated more quickly... 

 

Day 312 – Saturday, January 23, 2021

 

I decided to take it easy today since I was a little extra tired from the vaccine.  I put off shopping until tomorrow, but I did do laundry.

 

We had a “plantastrophe” when Elijah was making his lunch.  He knocked an aloe plant over and broke the pot it was in and made a huge mess.  I re-potted it with another succulent that was in a large pot, but the aloe was too unwieldy and top heavy so I had to trim it back significantly.  

 

I did drive across town to go Meijer pharmacy (they have the best prices) and then to the Schnuck’s pharmacy.  I bought Grippo’s since I was there.

 

Hannah’s friend Grace is over to study for their physics test, and I made (heated) eggrolls in the air fryer.  They were pretty good.