Week 9 Social Distancing

Social Distancing week 9 was an eventful one: Mother's Day, the return to school and Maeve's Birthday.

Jude asked me how many hours they had been home from school so we did the calculation together: 1,512. When Mother's Day rolled around, I asked for what any mother who has spent 1,512 consecutive hours with their children would ask for, time away from said children. I got my wish and thank goodness because the kids were the most difficult they have been this entire time. Thank you, Pete, for bearing the brunt of that!

After breakfast in bed, we wrangled the kids and made it to Amstel Park. A friend had posted pictures of the rhodendrons in full bloom and I wanted to see it for myself. I didn't even realize there was an entire corner of the park called "Rhododendron Valley." It was stunning! The kids were not interested in the flowers, so I enjoyed it solo. After the park, I got my Mother's Day gift, which was a virtual ceramics workshop. My friend, Bobbie had also signed up and invited me to work in her garden with her. Such a gift to spend the afternoon with a girlfriend! A few other friends were signed up for the zoom class as well. We received a slab of clay, templates, tools and links to youtube videos to watch in advance. The pieces were picked up and will be delivered after firing in about a month. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

I could only get one of my kids to pose with me

They were bribed with popsicles and this is the best we got 

With Elena, Jacque and Sonja 

My finished pieces. Off to the kiln they go! They'll come back in blue and white and be mounted to a board for me to frame. 

I didn't have time to finish my 5th canal house, which would be made into an ornament, but Bobbie generously offered to make it for me. Now I'll always have a memory of her on our Christmas tree! 

And she made us a Mother's Day cake and sent me home with half ;) Delish! 

The first half of the week was a blur, just counting down the hours until school opened on Wednesday for Jude (Thursday for Maeve). A final sweet moment of these two buds on their last day home together. 

Starting on Maeve's Pinata

Exercise classes can resume outside now so I got to return to kettle ball class. I couldn't move for 2 days after! 

Jude was really excited to bike to and from school on his first day, but it was raining off and on so Pete drove him in. The logistics that went into restarting school were extremely complex. The students (nursery through 5th grade) have staggered drop off times and places, with cars entering and exiting in different locations. Each of the kids classes are down to 10 students due to students who moved away or decided not to return (or to return in a few weeks). Our kids each have their assistant teachers with them now, but their main teachers did not return (it was optional) so they have other staff filling in (Jude's pre-school assistant teacher is filling in for Maeve's class and an EAL teacher for Jude's class). We wish they could have finished the year with their teachers, but there is only a month left and the kids seem to have adjusted fine. The kids stay in their class bubble, no interacting with other classes and only interacting with the 2 adults in their classrooms. They don't go to the art room, library or music room- instead those classes are live streamed into their class. They go out to recess (and gym) with the other classes, but have designated areas to play. They eat lunch in their classrooms and wash their hands a lot. Masks are not worn by students or teachers. I am bracing myself that this might be the norm also in the Fall.

Jude missed Wednesday's excitement, which was the removal of all of the trees and shrubbery from our neighbor's gardens. The house was sold recently and the new owner razed the overgrowth or what we referred to as "the secret garden." We feel rather exposed now, but do appreciate the extra light. We are awaiting the gut renovation project to begin, great time to be stuck at home...

Before

We successfully biked in on Maeve's first day back. It is 2.5 miles away and we made it in about 25 minutes (accounting for one wipe out when Jude took his hand off his bike to scratch an itch). All of us parents were grinning from ear to ear, happy to see one another and so relieved to see our kids back in school. It was a real high. Maeve went running to her teacher at drop off. Her last day as a 3 year old, one I will never forget!