Tales from the Pandemic 11

Distance learning for the kids has had a very rocky start.  It took 4 weeks from when school was first closed to start distance learning.  To be fair, we did have 19 snow days built in the calendar and there was 1 week of spring break.  April 14th was the big day!  However, things didn't go as smoothly as everyone wanted.   Kids from other schools were crashing the virtual classroom and saying vulgar things or giving themselves profane names as their ID. Additionally, students were having a hard time logging on.  It was a mess!   Quickly the announcement was made distance learning will take the rest of the week off.  FCPS would use this time to improve the security of the system and logging on issues.  A fresh start would be begin again the following Monday.   Fast forward to Monday, and new issues abound.  The system could not handle all the traffic.  There are 189,000 students in this county.  Teachers themselves couldn't log on.  Oh my!  Again, another announcement is made that distance learning would not be able to continue.  Teachers will keep posting assignments on blackboard or google or thru email for the students to complete.

At this point any kind of patience and understanding has been tested to its limits.  Teachers are doing their absolute best to adapt to all the new directions on how to instruct and communicate with their classes. Numerous emails from FCPS keep getting sent and completely overwhelm us with information and how distance learning is going to work. 

Even with distance learning working the way it should, Samantha has 1 hour, 4 days a week.  Ian has 5 hours on Tuesdays, 4 hours on Thursdays and a full hour for lunch in that time span. And Ian is in high school!  While I understand why it has evolved to this, it is crazy to think these students are going to be ready to go for their next grade in the Fall.  There is no way any real kind of learning is taking place.  Maybe at best, reviews of the concepts learned is the most we can hope for.  I feel for the families who don't have the resources we have; who don't have internet, or enough computers/tablets for each child in the same family to be on at the same time,  or parents that need to work and can not afford to help their child; or those families who don't speak English as a first language and can't keep up with all the changes. 

It was discovered that part of the issues the system had was not doing 7 different computer updates over the last 20 months to the technology FCPS was using.  Wow, that's pretty bad.  And that is the moment when I no longer had patience for the higher ups to get it figured out.  They had plenty of time -- 6 weeks at this point -- to get their ducks in a row and make the system work.  FCPS let everyone down.

We've eventually settled on a way that distance learning can work.  Teachers now use Blackboard Collaborate as the way to connect.  But to get to this point, much time was lost and the number of emails sent to parents was so overwhelming. 

I am not sure where we go from here.  I heard a rumor that during snowmaggedon (in 2009), FCPS said it would work on making distance learning a possibility so that students didn't have to miss school. It's been 11 years and yet here we are, still trying to make distance learning work.

Lately, there has been chatter on what will happen come Fall 2020.  Will school be back in session or will distance learning have to continue?  Time will tell on if we can resume our normal lives.  All of this is unprecedented.   Being part of a global pandemic is a history making.  Right now, it feels like there is no end in sight.  Patience and understanding is key to surviving. 

Tales from the Pandemic 10

Introducing Alexis Leah Wronsky! 

Born on Thursday, April 16, 2020   
7lbs, 10oz  and 20 inches long

What a little love bug!   It is so crazy to think that for the first few months Alexis won't have any visitors or anyone to hold her other than Lori, Ben, the girls or me (the few days I was there after her birth).  What an  unusual time to have a baby.  I feel so fortunate that I got to be here for her birth and spend the first few days getting to be around her.  She is so delicious!

Tales from the Pandemic 9

It's now been a complete week of being at Lori's house.  She had the baby on Thursday, April 16th and I was here to save the day!  :)  It was just me and the two girls for 3 1/2 days and 3 nights.   We did it!  The girls were so well behaved and we even had a little of fun. There was one situation that will forever be known as "The Applesauce Incident".  Oy!  Applesauce everywhere!  Note to self:  Playing tag with Rachel while Sarah is holding one of her Go-Go Applesauces does not end well.

It's been many years since I had little ones to take care of around the clock. And true to myself, I blocked out all the hard and challenging stuff of Ian and Samantha's toddler years.  The girls and I got into a good groove and somehow time moved at a good pace.  We started each day with a 3.5 mile walk around the lake.  Well, let me correct that statement a bit; I walked and they rolled in a double stroller.  Now that's a workout pushing a double stroller with a 6 year old and 2 year old.  We did sidewalk chalk, games of Chutes & Ladder, Candyland, drew lots of pictures, made a fort, and took out the magnatiles.

Here's a funny story from our Thursday together:

Sarah and Rachel love to FaceTime every single one of their contacts in Rachel's iPad, to the point of being a bit annoying.  Can you imagine my dad getting FaceTimed multiples times a day and then the girls have nothing to say when he answers?  They sort of just stare at each other.   Anyway, they love to call random numbers that may mean something to Lori, but the girls don't know who they are getting.  Yesterday afternoon, Sarah hits dial on this one unknown number.  It turns out its really good friends of the family and I do know the mom, Elana.  Elana was really excited to see the girls and had wanted to know what the situation was with Lori.   We had just found out the baby was born, what her name was and pics we could share with Elana.   While all this is going on, the girls and I decide to make a "Welcome baby Alexis" sign for when they come home on Saturday.  I am at the table helping Rachel (age 6) with the sign and I've now inherited this FaceTiming iPadto chat with Elana (because both girls quickly abandoned it when the person answers -- they more than anything just want to dial random people -- ugh!!).  I look down for 10 seconds at the most, and the next thing I know, Sarah (age 2) has gotten out all the paints (the kind with the little tubs all stuck in a row) and is now painting the table we are sitting at.  Lori's kitchen table!  OMG!!  I quickly jump into the action, get her a piece of paper to paint on and put a paper towel down and start cleaning up the paint -- all the while still talking to Elana.  I turn my back for 10 seconds to throw away the paper towels I was using and somehow, Sarah managed to get water  -- from where?  I have no idea -- she woud've had to walk past me to get to the sink -- and is now making her art finger paint  (these aren't finger paints!!!) with the water.  I take another look at Sarah and she has just taken her hand and wiped it down the front of her white shirt to get the extra paint off her hand.

I'd love to say this took up at least an hour of the day, but sadly no. The whole thing was 5 minutes tops.

But wait there's more!

The next morning:

Sarah woke up at 4:30am.  I changed her diaper (it was really full!!) and told her to go back to sleep.  I had to show her how dark it was outside the window for her to believe me that she should go back to sleep.  It worked!!  She woke up for the day at 6:00am.  Hey, I'll take what I can get.

Rachel woke up a 6:10am.  She comes downstairs and I said, "How come you are not dressed?"  She said I am so tired.  I told her to go back to sleep, It's still very early.

Sarah, meanwhile, is asking for Rachel's iPad - which is not where it should be!  This can only mean that Rachel took it in the middle of the night and brought it back to her room.  Yes!  That's exactly what happened.

At 7:04am, we are locked and loaded for a walk around the lake.  3.5 miles for a change of scenery is definitely needed.

It's a good thing I love these girls like they are my own.  :)  Oh and I never went back to sleep, so I've been up since 4:30am.  Fun!

The icing on the cake comes when Lori tells that she is going to be staying for another night.  They will now not come home until Sunday.

I have countless stories of my time at Lori and Ben's house.  An extra pair of hands (maybe even 2 extra sets of hands) is needed like we need air to breathe.   With everyone awake, a three ring circus is less chaotic.  There is a lot going on!!! 

On top of it all, Ben is interviewing for a job and on Tuesday needed a quiet house for him to take a timed test.  And on Wednesday, needed a quiet house to do an interview virtually.   On Tuesday, Lori and I packed up the 3 girls and hit the road.  Only, we can't even go somewhere and get out.  We do a drive-thru of Jeremiah's for Water Ice, get gas at Costco and then park near the lake to wait out the rest of the time.  It's a pretty intense time with trying to get a DVD to play, looking for the wireless headphones, and Sarah thinking its fun and funny to try to hit Alexis.  I move Sarah's monster car seat to the back row (seriously, this thing was easily 50lbs!) and get her away from Alexis.  This whole scene is trying the patience of Lori and the absurdity of it all is enough to make us laugh.  We get to do it all over again the next day.  Oy!

The next day when we had to leave the house, I am very happy to say that all of our lessons learned on Tuesday worked out on Wednesday.  We were rockstars!  All was harmonious in the car.  Yippee!

I feel for Ben and Lori.  They really do need more help.  And right now, that help is not possible.  Social distancing is having everyone keep to themselves and not It's amazing how it all feels like so much to handle when school has been closed for the remainder of the year and no one can leave the house.  It's 24/7, 7 days a week.  There is no break.  And these girls all need help; Rachel needs help with her online schooling - which starts at 8:00am and runs through the day; Sarah needs a set of eyes on her at all times and has endless amounts of energy and is prone to destruction; and Alexis needs all the help that a newborn requires.  During any other time, the older 2 girls would be out of the house each weekday and there would be time for Lori to have to heal from the C-section, get time to bond with the baby and be able to relax.  But you throw in experiencing a pandemic and this just never ends.  It's quite insane when you think about it.

The day before Lori gives birth!

Created a fort and the girls loved it!

One of our many walks around the lake.

How cute is Sarah!?!?!?

 

Getting smoothies from Planet Smoothie.  Yum!

Tales from the Pandemic 8

Pregnancy and a Pandemic really don't mix well together.  I had no plans to be traveling to Orlando, especially during two of the most critical weeks for staying at home, but when family needs you, you show up.

During any other time, Lori would have plenty of help when it was time for her to deliver her 3rd girl.  Mom & Jim or Dad & Rita would be available to watch Rachel and Sarah when Lori went into the hospital for the planned c-section.  Plus, Lori would have visitors at the hospital and friends who could stop by when they returned home. Unfortunately the world turned upside down and none of this was possible.  With both sets of parents high risk for contracting this virus, being around Rachel and Sarah was not advisable.  Lori's options for someone to watch her girls was practically non-existent.  She asked if I would come down and I said yes.  How could I not go?  

Flying to Orlando during a worldwide pandemic is one of the most surreal experiences I've ever had.  The airport was empty.  There was no one at the counter.  I went through security and there was not another soul in sight. The whole scene felt like something from a sci-fi movie.  I think there were maybe 4 or 5 other people on my flight.  

I had on my N95 mask, gloves, disinfectant wipes, and a big thing of purell.  I was so well protected, I am sure others looked at me and ran in the other direction thinking I was sick with Caronavirus.  As soon as I got to Lori's house, I took a shower and washed my clothes.  I took as many precautions as I possibly could. 

I'm going to be honest, I was very freaked out about going. My main concern was that I would infect Lori's family or come back and infect mine.  It's been reported that you can be carrying the virus and not have any symptoms.  And this virus is so contagious that it moves from person to person ridiculously fast.   Lori is not worried in the least about me being around them.  I'm like, if this doesn't go well, I'm not only taking down your family, but also newborn!  This will be interesting and hopefully a good story to tell the baby when she gets older.  :)

Going to FL will either be the worst decision I've ever made or will be my best.  I'll know 2 weeks from the 21st.

Suited up and ready to go!

DCA:  Empty!

No one at Security!

Empty terminal!

Almost completely empty plane!

MCO! No one here!  

Tales from the Pandemic 7

Pictures tell the story of how we've been spending our time at home.

Virtual happy hour with friends

Ian put on his suit to present his trip.

 Having the kids design a trip with a budget of $5,000.

                                                              Sam has us going to San Diego for Meghan's wedding.
                                                       She picked a dog friendly AirBnB so that Lucy could come.

                                                  Ian has us going on a cruise with family during Thanksgiving 2021.

Walk with friends; trying to keep a social distance among us. 

Paint by numbers!

Lots of cuddling with Lucy

Many hours spent in the hammock. 
The weather for our first 6 weeks has mostly been gorgeous.

Jeff makes sushi!

Burkeopoly!

Teaching Sam how to make her own grilled cheese sandwich. 
She also can now make pizza bagels.

One of our families biggest accomplishments; finishing this 2,000 piece puzzles.
There were so many pieces!!  It took us an embarrassingly long amount of time.
We were so excited when we finished.

Tales from the Pandemic 6: Week 5

We are now in our 5th week of being at home.  The governor has ordered stay at home orders until June 10th.  However, we don't know if this is the absolute end date.  There is so much uncertainty.  The not knowing is what is the hardest.  As Jeff has accurately observed about me over the last 18 years we've known each other, is that I am at my best and happiest when making plans.  It can be for anything - a trip, an event, whatever that is different from my day to day. I love having something to look forward to.  I was doing ok up until the announcement that Broadway would remain closed until June 9th.  Deep down, I knew the possibility of the two shows I had tickets for (April 26th for Plaza Suite and May 24th for Jagged Little Pill) had the odds stacked against it happening, but until the official cancellation was announced, there was always a small glimmer of hope.  The day before I posted the below message on Facebook, the announcement I was dreading was made.  And this is when it all started getting to me. 

These shows getting cancelled is so trivial compared to what so many are going thru. People are getting sick, loved ones are dying, many are losing their jobs, and so many won't have money to pay their bills, put food on the table, or make rent. All things considered, Jeff, the kids and I are doing ok.   I need to get over my disappointment and be grateful. So grateful for all that we have, including our health and not worrying about having enough money to live.

Robyn Mazer Toppall

April 9 at 10:05 AM · 

The idea for this post started off very differently from the way it is ending.

ORIGINAL: I’ve gone thru a lot of moods in the last 25 days. This past week I was angry, so very angry that I walked thru Safeway and hated seeing all of us wearing masks and that our world has come to this. Yesterday, I was very disappointed that my two upcoming trips to NY to see Broadway shows I was so excited about had officially been cancelled when the closure is now thru June 7th. And I have previously mourned all the school plays, Bas Mitzvahs, 6th grade promotion events and many more that will not go on as planned.

I realized this morning when walking Lucy, that it is a gorgeous day and I need to be happy that I have the opportunity to take her for 5 mile walks every morning (since March 13th!). We have our health and so many others are fighting for their lives or have lost the fight.

NOW: at the 3 mile mark, I come across a line of cars, bumper to bumper, making their way to the Salvation Army trucks for food distribution. The line is .75 mile long and also snakes around their parking lot in a big circle. At the snap of a finger, i become sad and scared for all of us.
I hate this stupid Coivd-19 and wish none of us ever heard about it. Trying very hard to find reasons to be grateful when the effects of all of this will be so devastating to so many in my community and all the others in our world.

Tales from the Pandemic 5

It's now been 24 days since our life has drastically changed and we've been at home pretty much around the clock.  The kids and I have gotten into a routine.  I've been waking up around 7:00am and start my day with a 5 mile walk with Lucy.  Lately, Ian has been joining me on these walks and its quite nice.  When I get back home, I shower and get dressed.  Make something for breakfast and have one or two things I want to take care of at the house.  Before I know it, it is 4:30pm and I start on dinner.  I am amazed actually how fast the time is going.  My days are all the same and it is the wildest feeling to wake up and not have any clue what day of the week it is.  I am not kidding when I say, I wake up and as I am lying in bed, I take a few moments to figure out which day of the week it is.  When you don't have to be dressed and out of the house by a certain time or anytime!, it plays on you mentally and all the days meld into each other. 

I have this magnetic whiteboard on our refrigerator and each evening, I put all the zoom calls scheduled for the next day.  On any given day, we have 4 to 6 zoom calls for everything from Samantha's reading tutor to Ian's dance classes.  Even on the weekends, our days are filled with zoom calls.  Each day is basically the same.  Wash, rinse, repeat.   If I don't list all these out on a daily basis, I know we will miss logging in on one.  

Ian is the most productive of all of us.  He seems to be busy from the moment he wakes up to the time he goes to bed. He is enjoying getting 12 hours of sleep each night. He has been able to take a class online that is needed for graduation and got it out of the way.  This was a huge win when FCPS announced they were going to push up the start date for all those kids who wanted to take it over the summer and have all this time on their hands now to do it.  

Sam has periods of going stir crazy and will start whining, like nails on a chalkboard.  Ugh.  Jeff and I realized she was in a very bad routine of waking up around 11:45am/12:00pmish, staying in her pajamas all day, and not eating anything for a long time after waking.  Of course this would make anyone grumpy and not so fun to be around.  It took us 3 weeks before we realized, no more.  Now Samantha gets up by 9:30am, even if we have to wake her up, which most mornings we do.  And she needs to be dressed and her teeth brushed before coming downstairs.  Before any electronics or tv, Sam has to do either something academic, creative, organizing or cleaning.   So far, so good and it has helped her mood improved, even getting dressed each day makes a world of difference. 

Jeff has been working from home and has set himself up at our dinning room table each week day.  While it would be better if Jeff had a separate office in our house (with walls!  With a door!), it is not possible and the kids and I are doing our best to give him space. 

Lucy is living her best life and has made out the best of all of us.  Besides the 5 mile daily walks, she likes to lounge on the back deck for a good portion of the day. She'll adjust her spot between wanting sun and/ or wanting shade. We don't let her have access to the backyard when we are not home, so that is definitely not a problem now and she can be out there for hours and hours on end.

The kids bedtimes have all but disappeared.  We are definitely more relaxed and have very little structure, other than when a zoom call is scheduled.  It amazes me how easy it was to get to this point and adjust to our new normal.