We’re back to virtual learning again.
School contacted Kirk Tuesday afternoon to let us know that someone in Nolan’s room at school tested positive for Covid-19, and he’s considered to have been in close contact with that individual.
So everyone is back to virtual learning for 2 weeks.
With this happening amid budget season, Kirk had a meeting to work today, so I took today off to cover school. I hadn’t had a chance to do that yet.
It went about as well as I expected. And my expectations were pretty low. It was his first day back to virtual learning, plus Mom was home in the middle of the week… So it was a weird day for him to begin with. And then I had the nerve to expect him to do what his paraprofessional asked of him on the school’s schedule? HA!
Needless to say the school-issued Chromebook got unplugged and wandered with us at several points this morning. I know if it was a Dad School day, that probably would not fly… But since it was a Mom day and we were just trying to get settled in, we just did what we needed to.
So we’ll find our way back into the virtual school routine (or rather Kirk and Nolan will while I’m at work) for at least the rest of this week and all of next. Hopefully at that point, we’ll be able to go back to in-person learning.
In the meantime, we’ve been instructed to take everyone’s temperatures at least twice a day and watch for symptoms to crop up. As long as no one at home is symptomatic, we’ve been told to continue going to work.
And you’d better believe I’m watching us all for symptoms. With Nolan, all we can do is watch for outward signs since he can’t tell us if something hurts or he doesn’t feel well. And I know Kirk is not a fan of doctors, so my guess is that if anything is minor I’ll never hear about it.
With myself, though, I’m being a little bit hypervigilant. Of the three of us, I’m at highest risk of complications from Covid because of existing medical conditions. I know Kirk has asked me no fewer than 9726037 times how I’m feeling just because worrying is what he does best.
But when I run through a mental checklist, it gets a little complicated… Do I have a headache? Yes, but when do I NOT have a headache by mid-afternoon? So that one could be the virus or it could just be a weekday… How about respiratory whatnot? Well, I’m an asthmatic with year-round allergies, so that’s rarely 100% either… Okay, so aches and pain? Did I mention that I have a 14-year-old son who weighs as much as me and tends to get a bit aggressive—especially when he’s out of routine? And, oh that’s right—we’re on day 1 of virtual learning again… Feeling tired or fatigued? Only for the last 15 years or so…
So, is it the ‘Rona, or just a Thursday? Obviously I’m watching closely and will act appropriately if anything changes, but so far the three of us are okay.
But while we wait this out, we’re obviously being extra cautious. Any car rides (Nolan’s favorite thing) have to be short enough to not require a bathroom break (and he never gives me much notice when he needs one). Any groceries are going to have to be delivered or ordered for curbside pickup. And any whatever else we’ll either go without or have to order online.
We haven’t exactly been doing anything risky or spending excess time around people we don’t need to, but we haven’t exactly been locked down either—especially in more recent months.
It feels a lot like we’re going back to the early days of this pandemic in a lot of ways—we’re being more cautious and making sure our contingency plans are in place… And yet it feels like we know more about the virus, sheltering in place and just life during a pandemic in general. So it’s somehow less scary than it was 8 months ago.
At the same time, this is the closest it’s come to our family—Nolan was in close enough proximity to someone with the virus that we were contacted through contact tracing procedures. So it’s definitely feeling like a very real threat.
And yet somehow it feels like just another spot to mark off on our 2020 Bingo card… I haven’t checked off the Murder Hornets yet, but we’ve had plenty of other significant events to mark off.
Maybe I’ve finally reached that point where instead of being sad and worried about what else can go wrong, I’ve just started to accept all that has come to be this year… Instead of “Oh no what now?” I’m just at the point where I’m a little disgruntled and respond instead with, “Really? Then bring it the eff on.”
Or maybe I’ve just come full circle from earlier this year… My brother-in-law asked if anyone could make him a shirt that said, “Sick of Corona? Homebrew.” He’s kind of a beer snob (I mean that in the best possible way) and has done some home brewing, so it was the perfect pun for him. And being the girl who geeks out over crafts that I am, I totally jumped at the chance.
Maybe we’ve finally reached the point where we’re genuinely at risk of being sick from this coronavirus and our best plan is to step back, stay close to home, and just sit back for a while. Granted, when we’re done with our homebrew, we won’t have a lovely adult beverage to show for it, but that doesn’t mean we won’t come out farther ahead than we started.
I mean, a mom can dream, right?
