A quick glance at my IG may (or may not) lead a person to believe that we are somehow living our best life and *gasp* maybe even thriving. It's the highlight reel. Don't be fooled.
And now for the rest of the story ... This is what is really happening. I initially had high hopes for all the knitting, reading, baking, cooking, jigsaw puzzling that I was going to have time to do with no soccer, swim, or other kid activities. It has quickly devolved into Tiger King, Australian licorice (PSA soooo good!), and what delicious food or beverage can I consume to assuage the anxiety.
I mean, I definitely think we are living the best life we can under the circumstances, but trust me the struggle bus stops right outside our house and I can't always figure out how to get off. I'm over here with four or less lash extensions left on each eye, hella grey roots coming through, and let's not even bother to talk about the forehead wrinkles and my less than groomed nether regions. Trying to do all the work, at least a little of the teaching, and trying to remember who is on what Zoom at what time. I feel you friends. All of you. Trust me.
Distance Learning
I went on strike after about week 2. Gus, bless him, took over. At one point, I got demoted from third grade teacher to kindergarten teacher. The fact that coloring hats for the Cat in the Hat was about all I had the bandwidth for could have had something to do with the volume of wine consumed. Since going on strike, I have crossed the picket line a couple times mostly because I feel guilty for not pulling my weight. But I don't home school my kids for a reason.
We have put tremendous pressure on J1 during this time. #momguilt We mostly made her responsible for her own work, which hasn't been all bad ... except for the Spanish. How is my brilliant child failing Spanish, when it is only a participation grade? Because she hasn't been logging on to Rosetta Stone and I haven't bothered to check to see if she was doing it. #momfail
J1 is also responsible for helping J2 with his work. Unless of course, J2 gets frustrated, hits J1 and then J1 refuses to help J2. I mean I don't blame her. And when J2 tells you that he's finished his homework, you can almost guarantee that he's only done an 1/8th of it, at best. So evenings, after logging off from work, are often devoted to finishing schoolwork. Mostly it's Gus because well, I went on strike (see above).
Working
I have commandeered J1's room. I don't have a green screen. My computer doesn't support the Zoom backgrounds without a green screen, and therefore every single video conference people can see me in my 9-year old glory, pink walls, lofted bed, unicorn twinkle lights, Hello Kitty (because Asian!), etc. I have to pick up her room each morning because I cannot even think in a messy room.
Everyday I need something new. First it was a monitor. Then another monitor. Then a real keyboard, a desk chair, and most recently a laser printer. Oh, and my kids each got new laptops. We are staying home and doing our best to stimulate the economy. LOL. When I'm logged on remotely, I can type a complete sentence, check IG, and then what I typed might finally appear on the screen. The efficiency is definitely lower, which means for longer hours. Sigh.
Healthy Living
This is hard. While Fleet Feet reminds me daily that running is not canceled, eating my feelings has taken a starring role. I mean people are worried about toilet paper and I panic bought cheese and wine. Gouda, havarti, feta, cotija, manchego, cheddar, two kinds of vegan cheese.
Gus, of course, had the common sense to buy the paper products, so we're still doing OK on that front.
Yet, even after running nearly 450 miles to date this year, I'm pretty sure the box of crackers I consume every other day and the regular at-home happy hours (because WTF else am I supposed to do?) have contributed to me gaining the COVID-19. At first, I gave myself the grace to eat the cheese and the carbs and drink the prosecco, but it's a slippery slope and if we have to keep this up much longer, I'm gonna weigh a quaran-ton.
So this week, I decided I work do two a day workouts because again, what else is there? Monday through Friday of this week I worked out twice, culminating with a 20 minute dance cardio workout with my boy, Cody Rigsby.
Again, this is unlikely to be sustainable, and probably the result of some weird emotional shit I need to work through ... but it got me through the week feeling like I accomplished something. Probs gonna pour myself a glass of prosecco now.
And now you know ... the rest of the story. It might not be pretty, but it's ours.
