We are made of magic and resilience.
That’s something I’m going to keep telling myself today.
I’m hoping to find out a long term plan on how to continue to teach my five and six year olds long term. I’m being optimistic but realistic. I live in NY, and our governor said this could last for months. However, we are slated to come back next week. Being a realist with common sense, and having heard Dr Fauci say this wont even hit its peak until May…I know we will be out longer.
I’m being optimistic maybe we can eek out a week or two in June, where we can throw every single concert, school musical, prom, and graduation ceremony. The history books will read. “And the people emerged from their houses and danced, sang, played music, and celebrated life.”
Madison and Morgan know how to use google classroom. It seems to be how all the high schoolers communicate and do work. Quinn was only just introduced to it this year, but he has his sisters to help. Me? I’m lost. I have no clue. The thing with kindergarten is we’ve noticed these children are so communication and verbally deficient, we moved away from devices as much as we can. They’ve been raised on devices with phones in their hands since they can hold a bottle. A keyboard is new, and let me tell you, trying to teach them how to log in when they don’t recognize numbers or letters and don’t have fine motor control to use a mouse is painful. Computer class in October makes every teacher want to cry. Usually it’s right around now we can start to instruct the kids on better keyboard habits.
I called all of my families on Friday. Many of my families don’t have a computer. The only technology they have is the parent’s phone. Some don’t have a printer. Some don’t read English or Spanish, and some have already told me their child is giving them problems doing the work we sent home before we were closed. Some have more than one child and only one computer, and the parent is working from home now and needs the computer during the day to work. We also have children with IEPs, who receive services. How do we teach those children as well?
The ones that worried we the most are the ones who didn’t answer the phone and never called me back. Or the ones who told me they are going to need to start to use the food distribution at school every day.
This is a mess, through no fault of anyone.
It’s easy to armchair quarterback from a glass house stocked with everything you need. The problem is the people in glass houses who throw stones never see the issues of others.
We took yesterday as a family to press pause.
We all sat and rob read from the Bible on his phone and we discussed study notes. The girls talked about latin words they heard, Quinn snuggled with Maddie and she let him since I still can’t, and we prayed for people we knew who needed prayers.

Then we made soups. Hippocrates soup and French onion soup, with enough to drop off some to my mom and dad. We cleaned and listened to music.

Rob made a seventies playlist, and started playing all of these songs that we used to hear while dating. There was a station called LOVE 96.1 with a woman named Delilah, and at night when he would call me, or whenever we drove around in his Jeep, I would make him play the music.
Yesterday he kept playing the songs and I kept crying. The girls were laughing at me, but I told them I always dreamed of getting my happily ever after, and I did with rob.
Now I’m still praying it lasts longer.
The local hospital set up a meal train to receive food and bottled water. Rob called one of his dear friends who owns Digger O’Dells to set up a delivery of food to the hospital. We can all support restaurants and the people working at the hospital at the same time. Perhaps friends can choose a restaurant every week or two and pool whatever money they can together and order. The staff at the hospital need all the support they can get.

Maddie practiced driving, and was upset when her driving test for next week was cancelled yesterday. We also went to the beach and skipped rocks.
It’s hard to not be glued to the tv these days, but I’ve set a limit. Usually we watch the governor, then we watch an hour at night for more updates.
It helps.
This week is going to get harder. The restrictions will become more real and the White House has sent the National Guard to NY to help. Parents, watch your children. Older kids may become depressed having lost many important milestones and social interactions, and younger children may become more defiant. Whatever plans school start rolling out, have patience. No one could have planned for this, especially when every year every class is different. Know that teachers are learning new ways to teach and families will learn new ways to learn. We are all in this together.
The Katrina Kids from New Orleans still became doctors and lawyers and teachers and welders and police officers and truck drivers and business owners. Your kids will be ok as long as they feel safe as loved. And remember…
They are made of magic and resilience.
My friend sharon from college dared me to make a video after she made a dance video. I downloaded tik tok and made one. She did a rap video, and I did an AC/DC one with a black wig…

I made another one yesterday with a Christian singer makes lauren daigle. It’s was Sunday, and a reminder for everyone to look up and remember God is with us is always helpful.

With all the wigs i have, maybe I’ll make more. My friends are worried about me, especially now that all chemo has stopped. Seeing me being “ok” will help them. So I’ll make a fool of myself if it eases their minds. I’m not having a pity party, although God knows I am entitled. Having your eighth line of chemo fail during a worldwide pandemic that is more fatal to you and hearing you wouldn’t get a respirator should you need one, and then stopping all chemo because there’s no guarantee it would continue or even work…
But I am not having a pity party.
They don’t serve champagne at pity parties.
Mindset. We can’t control what’s going on outside, we can can control what’s going on inside.
I’m also down ten pounds. I’m planning to emerge from this cocoon with hair longer than an inch, at a healthy weight and no longer as bloated from steroids, and healed. Thirty pounds to go and one major organ and bones and lymph nodes and breast to clear up.

It could be worse. There could be a atrial disaster. I keep thinking of Miss Beadle from Little House. She taught in one room, with kids of all ages, grew her own food, had to use an outhouse, had only the Bible a a few primer readers, chopped wood for the stove in the classroom, and they all had to walk to school and no computers or phones.

No biggie.
All while navigating a new normal, helping to keep my children balanced through yet another curveball life has thrown at them, learning a new way to teach after 24 years, and quarantined away from the world for my safety.
I can do it.
After all…
I’m made of magic and resilience.
In Jesus’s name, amen.

Xoxo

Keri