It is Monday! I am currently on a quest to journal about what life is like during these extraordinary times. As such, I have decided that on Mondays I will post what the numbers are like in Ohio if I can. Here in our county, we have 2 confirmed cases so this map is not truly accurate but is close. Over the weekend, we had another case test positive and that person is currently in the hospital just down the road from us.
Today started out rainy and wet and dreary. Kind of perfect for my mood. Just overall anxious and stressed. I am sure a lot of us are feeling that as well.
This morning I had to run out to the boys' school to pick up their work for this week and turn in their work from last week. (Ben's teacher is doing mostly paper work; Jacob's teacher is trying to transition everything to online.) Then it was home to get started on some work. Or at least figure out what needed to be done and to get started.
When I got home I had a voicemail from the appliance people that the control board they had to order was in and they wanted to set up a time to install in our washer. I called them back and they could come out today to fix it!
Around 11 we walked down to the boys' school to get their "grab-n-go" lunches for today. (Our school district is doing free grab and go lunches and breakfasts for all kids 18 and under.) As we were there, the appliance guy called and said he was 10 minutes out. So we walked quickly back home.
He installed the new part and then had to spend about 20 minutes recalibrating the system as there was still water left in it from Friday and it was messing up the water level sensor. He finally got it fixed and I ran a load of wash and so far so good. Thank goodness!
After he left, I had to do my nephew's blood sugar and give him his insulin. His sugar was low, so had to get him some juice to try to bring it up. Finally was able to get it up into the normal range, gave him his insulin and he was able to eat with his sister and cousins.
After lunch, was more schooling.
Then I took a nap before dinner! Speaking of dinner--dinner tonight was spaghetti which is always a family favorite.
My afternoon was not all rainbows though as Bill had a breakdown. He is so focused on the fact that he is anxious and that he may be laid off that he can't focus on anything else. He only got to work for a couple hours last night. He was being short with the boys and finally just as dinner was ready went upstairs. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was isolating himself as he was being short with the kids and wasn't hungry. I am at my mental limit and can't handle that right now. My focus HAS to be on the kids. I understand that he may be laid off. I understand that it will be hard. But he is acting like he is the only one in this predicament. Well he isn't. My own tutoring business is shut down because I am not considered essential infastructure. It is frustrating but I am trying to focus on the positives. I get to spend more one-on-one time with my own kids. I get to be involved in their schooling. I get to spend more time relaxing. I get to spend more time praying and focusing on what is important instead of going-going-going. Sorry for the vent.
Right now Bill is hiding in the bedroom, Rebecca is taking a bath, Jacob is playing at the kitchen table, and Ben and I are watching "The Wizard of Oz." (Ben has been asking to watch this for past 4 days! LOL) We are really living it up tonight! LOL
How are things in your neck of the woods? Are you in a "Stay-in Place" area? Are you handling the anxiety?
I am sorry things are so rough right now. I can't stop eating. My daughter was suppose to get married in April, she took it better than me. I have a son who gets depression and anxiety like your husband and decided when he got home from work last Wednesday to go live with his girlfriend. I'm about to just stop watching any news and stay off Facebook. I don't know how you manage and with your niece and nephew on top of everything.
ReplyDeleteHow am I surviving? One foot in front of the other and LOTS of caffeine! LOL So sorry about your daughter's wedding and about your son. It is very hard. I am trying to limit the amount that I read or watch in regards to the news.
DeleteI am sorry for what you are going through Rachel.
ReplyDeleteMy son and Dil are both musicians in NYC so no dough from that since all gigs are cancelled. My son is also a bartender so no money there either. But they do have food and they have each other. It is going to be hard for everyone.
That is what I keep reminding Bill. This isn't just hitting him and I; it is affecting MILLIONS of people in our country. We have food and each other. We will be okay.
DeleteIt is too bad about the Bill situation. We are to stay 6 ft from others. I go to store and go with mask, gloves, and a canister of Lysol Wipes. Tommy stays in the car because I think he is careless and will catch covid19. Neither of us go out much. We are of the age to stay in, have diabetes, and other medical issues. But, we went for a drive to get out of the house today. I am so glad your washer is repaired!
ReplyDeleteI am glad it is repaired as well! I am staying home except to take a daily walk with the kids. I will make Bill go to the grocery store as he is already out of the house for work. It is smart for you and Tommy to take those precautions.
DeleteSo sorry. My niece is now unemployed as a result of this--she managed an upscale café in Boston. Her anxiety is now through the roof, even though she knows it's bigger than just herself, and this too shall pass...
ReplyDeleteYou know, why can't *our* schools pass out the school work at the grab and go food stations? The teachers could have made paper packets, and had those rolled out two weeks ago--pick up at the site, drop off a week later at the same site....but NOOOOOOOOO, they have to wait for the Dean of Technology to come up with some scheme...Here's a scheme, fire him, and save us $250,000 which we could use to hire, what....3 more teachers?
Grrrrrrr…….
Our local school district has actually been amazing at getting work out to the kids. They have pickup for the elementary levels on Mondays and it does overlap with the lunch pick up if you want to do both at the same time. I want to keep the kids on a schedule though that is why I went earlier to pick it up so I could get the boys started before lunch. So sorry your school district is having issues. It sounds a lot like my niece and nephews district that is so unorganized and not really sure what they are doing.
DeleteToday was the official roll out, and it is nothing more than uploaded resources to "help keep your skills sharp." It is not mandatory, nor will the work be evaluated. If the school district had left this up to the teachers, I guarantee you my freshman would have been on his third week of remote learning. At this point, I don't even feel compelled to force the issue, disgusted as I am by the whole situation. My son has been reading, he's been building a chicken coop, he's helping around the house--if he wants to take advantage of the opportunities to keep up with his academics, he will, if not, the best lesson learned will be self discipline, or, perhaps, what happens when you don't practice it.
DeleteMy poor college freshman is planning on dropping all his spring classes--the school switched to entirely online to the greatest extent possible. He said he would try them until the last day to drop with a refund, and if it isn't going well, drop them, picking them up when things are back to normal. This kid LOVES college, enjoys lectures, can't get to campus fast enough. (This was NOT the case in high school) but cannot even bear the thought of an online forum. If he were at, say, M.C., I would insist, but he's already a year ahead on his 2 year degree due to dual enrollment in h.s., so I might just have to grit my teeth and bear it. Mental health comes first, doesn't it? This too shall pass!
Hang in there. Your posts are inspiring...makes me long for the younger, simpler years in many ways.
Meg, Thanks so much for your kind words. So sorry your school district doesn't seem to be handling this time well. Ours has definitely made it so it learning. My sister (2nd year graduate student) came home yesterday and is doing all of her classes remotely. My brother (sophomore year at Marietta) has been home 2 weeks and is doing his classes remotely. It is not a good arrangement by it is what it is. I hope things ease up a little for you guys!
DeleteTell your brother to hang in there...and you have a connection now to the LONG BLUE LINE!!!!
Deletexoxo
So sorry yesterday was a tough one. Prayers that today is a better day for you. I've shed a few tears over here myself over nothing in particular. For some reason while I was having at a mini-breaking point, a scene from the show Lost popped into my mind (weird, I know) about Jack (not sure if you've seen the series) giving into his fear for 5 seconds. So I decided I'm going to do that. Whenever I get upset and need to cry, I'm going to let myself give into it completely for 5 seconds and then, go back to coping. It also helps to remember that everyone handles stress differently. Hang in there! And if no one has told you lately, I think you're doing an awesome job with all this!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jean! I really needed to hear that today. I love the idea of giving into the emotions for a few seconds and then moving on.
DeleteI'm sorry for the extra load you are bearing right now. If someone is feeling low, even knowing others are in the same predicament isn't always a help. I worry about my older daughters social isolation, when she already is depressed, but I can only do so much, as can you. At least he was strong enough to recognize he needed to remove himself to not make a bad situation worse with the kids.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to refocus on that he did see he needed to remove himself instead of being upset. It is just frustrating and is just a divide on how we are both handling the stress.
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