This is what’s on my heart this week so this is the post y’all get. I feel like we are currently living in a novel or in a bad SciFi movie. I awake every morning waiting for the current crisis report. I will admit I am totally sucked into the constant updates. It is just unfathomable what has become of our world in such a short time. So many heart-wrenching stories on top of many stories of people being kind. I believe kindness along with common sense, social distancing, and good hygiene can ensure better results all the way around.
It is nearly impossible to not feel a sense of anxiety and fear with everything that we have been reading and seeing on TV. I have a large network of friends all over the world, not just in here in the USA, and from what I am gathering it is unimaginable across our globe. Stories I’ve been hearing and reading are so frightening. I really do believe this is just the beginning for our society. Will our economy ever be able to bounce back? I pray it does. If you have checked your 401K account recently I am sure you have been anxious as well. I’m trying hard to keep my mental health in check.
Then there is the concern over groceries. If you have been to a market recently you understand this all too well. There are many empty shelves throughout the stores. The last time I went there were no potatoes (fresh or instant), no eggs, no soup except for split pea, scarce milk, bottles of water was few and far in-between, and certainly no toilet paper in sight. A lot of stores across our nation have limited the store hours and have started designating specific times for the elderly to go get their needed items without as much fear. I have also learned today of several markets across the nation not allowing you to bring your own bags into the store at this point due to contamination concerns.
It feels like life is getting cancelled before our very eyes. I’m sure I’ll miss a lot in this list but below is just a few of the items that I can think of which have affected my family/community personally.
- Cancelling of State Basketball tournaments for our town after they had already started. Both our girls and boys had won the first bracket. It is heartbreaking for all these kids not knowing that it was going to be there last games played. In my heart the Garden Plain Owls are the 2a Kansas State champions. 🦉🏆🏀
- Now cancelled for the school year.
Suspending of High School spring sports until further notice…I have a softball player who is a Junior and she is feeling bummed. I am too as softball season is my favorite season of the year. - My mom’s nursing home is on lock down and I miss her face.
- Moving all classes to online for my oldest daughter who is in her second year at The University of Kansas.
- Sign-ups for our 6 year olds T-ball season up in the air.
- The movie theater that my high schooler works at has closed.
- The April ACT has been postponed to June or July.
- Junior in HS’s college visits and scholars days are being cancelled.
- Just announced all Kansas schools closing for the remainder of 2019/2020 school year. It’s official, I will be a kindergarten teacher for the remainder of the school year. I am no Mrs. Pauly so this is slightly traumatizing.
The above list doesn’t even include all the closures and hours changed to businesses. The whole world feels like it has flipped upside down with no end in sight. These poor kids and teachers.
| Times | Mon. | Tues. | Wed. | Thur. | Fri. |
| 7:00-8:00 am | Get up, dressed, breakfast, teeth brushed, & make bed | Get up, dressed, breakfast, teeth brushed, & make bed | Get up, dressed, breakfast, teeth brushed, & make bed | Get up, dressed, breakfast, teeth brushed, & make bed | Get up, dressed, breakfast, teeth brushed, & make bed |
| 8:00-8:30 am | Pledge, Prayer, Day, Month, & Weather | Pledge, Prayer, Day, Month, & Weather | Pledge, Prayer, Day, Month, & Weather | Pledge, Prayer, Day, Month, & Weather | Pledge, Prayer, Day, Month, & Weather |
| 8:30-noon | Math, Writing, games, centers, & time to play + *special activity | Sight words, Writing, games, centers, & time to play + *special activity | Math, Writing, games, centers, & time to play + *special activity | Sight words, Writing, games, centers, & time to play + *special activity | Math, Writing, games, centers, & time to play + *special activity |
| 12-1 pm | Lunch while listening to tunes. Helping prep lunch and clean up. Recess | Lunch while listening to tunes. Helping prep lunch and clean up. Recess. | Lunch while listening to tunes. Helping prep lunch and clean up. Recess. | Lunch while listening to tunes. Helping prep lunch and clean up. Recess. | Lunch while listening to tunes. Helping prep lunch and clean up. Recess. |
| 1-2:30 pm | Read aloud, Science, History, Literature | Read aloud, Science, History, Literature | Read aloud, Science, History, Literature | Read aloud, Science, History, Literature | Read aloud, Science, History, Literature |
| 2:30-3:00 | Snack and story time | Snack and story time | Snack and story time | Snack and story time | Snack and story time |
| 3-whenever | P.E. (T-⚾, 🏀, ⚽,🥏, Simon Says, Tag, and exercise | P.E. (T-⚾, 🏀, ⚽,🥏, Simon Says, Tag, and exercise | P.E. (T-⚾, 🏀, ⚽,🥏, Simon Says, Tag, and exercise | P.E. (T-⚾, 🏀, ⚽,🥏, Simon Says, Tag, and exercise | P.E. (T-⚾, 🏀, ⚽,🥏, Simon Says, Tag, and exercise |
| Special activities may include: gardening, computer time, special videos, nature walks, art projects for loved ones, show and tell, & field trips (when allowed again) |
But now back to the fact that I have to develop a structured school day at home for Parker. The poor little guy hasn’t even begun to understand what is happening. Above is what I drew up tonight. Thinking it looks pretty good. I’ll probably have to tweak it once we get more direction from the school, but until then this is what we are starting to implement at our house on Monday once we finish Spring Break.
More of my worries that I am trying not to have…. There is the situation of my oldest daughter who’s spring break was before all of the craziness. With her roommates in tow they all headed to the sunny state of Florida to spend a few days on spring break. She unfortunately started not feeling well on her first day as they’re staying at the Airbnb. The next morning she wakes up feeling like death. So my kid decided instead of inconveniencing any of her roommates and waking them up she calls an Uber and gets a ride to the CVS clinic. After feeling like she might die while almost waiting 2 hours she ends up with the diagnosis of Influenza A. She said when the lady checked her temperature it was just shy of one hundred and three and that she was shook. Mom wanted to hop into her car and make the 20-hour drive to go pick up her first born baby and take care of her and bring her home. Her being Miss Independent certainly wasn’t having it and told me to keep my butt at home. That was hard on this momma. She is currently on her own self-quarantined w/ the roomies after receiving notification from KU that if they had been to any states on a list (which included Florida) that they needed to self quarantine for 14 days. And now they’ve switched all classes to online for the rest of the semester. She is also feeling horrible about missing her internship at the magazine up in Kansas City as she has quarantined herself per recommendations. She lives off campus with the girls in an apartment so she’s really just going to stay there. I think… Ugh!!? Me being overprotective I would love nothing more than her to come home. It’s so hard to let my little birdie fly sometimes because my instincts are telling me to swoop in and bring her ass home. Are the rumors about a nation wide quarantine really true? If they are I need her home.
I am sorry this is just a rambling post but that is where my mind is. I feel we need more kindness, prayers, and concern for our neighbors, first responders, medical professionals, truck drivers, Government leaders, and anyone else on the front lines of this pandemic. What are your current concerns? What are you doing to prepare your kids for in home school? Do you feel you are prepared to self-contain at your home? Are you an extrovert dying to be set free? Try to reach out to your elderly neighbors and make sure they have what they need. Please stay home if you can and don’t make unnecessary trips out.
✌️♥️🙏
Christina & Nick
