The girls were supposed to have a little more than two weeks off school for spring break. When they went back, Ryan was going to start 3-day-a-week preschool. And then, as he likes to say, “Whomp whomp…coronavirus.”
Thursday I was at a friend’s house for bunco. Friday Mila and Margot got haircuts. By Friday afternoon I’d decided to cancel our planned Pi(e) Day party. Saturday we received word that church meetings were suspended indefinitely.
It happened so fast.
I mean, we knew it was coming. David and I had been keeping an eye on pandemic developments and fully expected Arizona to follow the example of other states and go into some form of lock down. Still. It was bizarre to go from regular everyday life to suddenly being isolated at home and not knowing what would come next.
And every day there was something new. Messages from dance and piano and karate teachers, canceling for the week but unsure what the next week would look like. Texts from friends about not being able to find toilet paper or eggs at the grocery store. Incessant emails from the school district, the principal, the teachers, with scarcely a final word on what the plan was. Always it was, “We’ll keep you updated as we figure this out.” Nobody knew what was next.
We went from thinking school would start back up at the end of April to finding out the rest of the school year would be completed from home. (At least our kids had some closure, wrapping up third quarter and saying good bye to everyone at the beginning of spring break. So many friends went from regular school days to being home without any warning.)
The not knowing was exhausting. The new information every day–sometimes every few hours–was overwhelming. I was nine months pregnant and already waiting impatiently for a baby. Adding all the “wait and see” from every other side…well. March was a very long month.
On the plus side, I had already simplified our lives in a lot of ways to prepare for having a newborn. The kids weren’t participating in very many extracurriculars. We hadn’t made any travel plans for spring break or summer. So, unlike a lot of families, we didn’t have to cancel much.
By the time school was supposed to have started again after the break, David’s mom had set up “Grandma B School” with the girls and one of their cousins. Instead of walking to school every morning, they talked with Grandma online via Zoom to get their assignments for the day.
The following week we started getting assignments from their actual teachers. Not for grades or even to turn in, but to keep them current in their studies and keep them busy until May, when they expected to return.
But of course that didn’t happen. When they go back, they’ll be starting second and fourth grade. If they get to go back.
Because we still don’t know what’s next. Despite a lot of restrictions being lifted, I’m skeptical things will return to “normal” any time soon. School will be modified somehow. David will likely continue working from home at least some of the time. If we have another outbreak and have to go back to extreme social distancing this fall, I won’t be at all surprised.
I guess I’ll keep you updated as we figure it out.
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