Wrapping Up April

As the last of the April showers fall, I sit here reflecting on why I keep writing sixty-one days in.

First I’ll confess that on three separate occasions I either did not write, or neglected to post, which is why I have two entries for April 22nd, 26th and 28th. But I am committed to 100 days, like some of our more stalwart students. I just want to know what it feels like. Beyond that, I don’t know yet.

I think it will be interesting to look back on these several months of quarantine years hence. I’m still hopeful that it will remain a unique time in our history rather than a frequent or ongoing occurrence. But that remains to be seen. For now I will just keep writing, and bid this cool, rainy April farewell. I enjoyed the extra-long bloom time of my tulips, azaleas, and lilacs. Thanks for that. I also appreciate the lush green grass, even if it means weekly mowing.

Now I look ahead to May, when tomatoes begin taking root and showing promise. Vegetable gardens will soon be fully planted, and the steady sun will begin to bake away Covid-19, allowing us all a some cautious freedom. Or so we hope.

The Hardest Goodbyes

Brian's cousin had to make the hardest of pet-person decisions yesterday. She said goodbye to her sweet, affectionate cat boy, Mogget. As I chatted with her the day prior and then again yesterday afternoon, after that last trip to the vet, memories of my final days with Waldo came flooding back to me. I was so fortunate to be able to have a mobile veterinarian - my friend from college, no less - come to our home so I could say goodbye here. That happened in April of 2009.

There is no escape from grief when you are under quarantine. There are no funerals, either. No gatherings to share stories, to laugh or cry, to hug. How are folks who've lost family members and close friends coping with these limitations? When will all of the memorials be allowed to take place? Will they ever take place? Or will folks just do their own small tributes and then move on?

Aunt Mary remains in the rehab center, not getting worse, but not making noticeable strides to get better either. My cousins find it excruciating to not be there with her, even though they have been receiving regular communication from the doctor (whose own 90 year old mother is experiencing similar symptoms) along with assurances of compassionate care from the nurses and CNAs. These could well be Aunt Mary's final days. We just don't know yet. But I remember how long it took Mom to fight through sepsis a couple of Augusts and Septembers ago. They have the same tough fiber, these two. So I am hopeful that Aunt Mary will pull through this.

Meanwhile, the sun is now shining for the first time in a week, and I must head outside to clean the lower gutters and mow the neighbor’s yard. 

Brave New World

Now that we are all old pros at MS Teams meetings, and a weekly schedule of CLTs has been in place for almost a month, we are gradually adding Office Hours to the mix. By the end of this week each of us will have logged an hour on the Canvas Conference feature, mostly in two 30 minute segments. This is all new technology to most of us.

On MS Teams we've learned to mute the audio to improve the overall quality of the feed, and also how to mute the video when we don't want to be seen. Some folks have installed backgrounds of their choice; others have chosen a permanent profile picture. On Canvas Conference we are learning how to make the students visible to one another, and not just to the teacher.

Some folks are using Seesaw, others Flip Grid. Still others have learned how to insert video of themselves directing students through directions on their Canvas page. One teacher continues to post videos about how to use captions in You Tube. These are all amazing strides that folks are making in the name of asynchronous teaching and learning.

If anyone had asked us two months ago about any of this, we might have responded with a blank stare or shrugged shoulders. So I just want to take a moment, here, to think about what has been achieved in so little time. And to breathe. Because life and learning is changing too quickly right now, and sometimes we just need to take a few deep breaths to catch up with ourselves.

An Abundance of Caution

Yesterday afternoon I ventured into Costco for the first time in at least a month. All I needed was a dozen bags of the Whitney Farms organic soil, and fortunately I found them not more than 20 steps into the building. A dozen bags on my cart later, and only 60 steps across the first aisle, a Costco employee directed me to the checkout station at the far left. In less than 20 minutes I was in and out with what I needed, loaded and gone. Beauty!

Two employees were stationed outside the main entrance, disinfecting cart handles. The membership card checker and greeter was inside a plexiglass booth, as was the parking ticket validator. All of the checkout clerks were behind tall panels of plexiglass that ran the entire length of the checkout station. The whole process was safe and seamless. I was impressed with the transformation.

So I wonder...

... now that plexiglass is in place everywhere, will there be a rush to un-install it when our society reopens for business? Will it be viewed as unfriendly and impersonal? Or can we just leave it in place, offering the most vulnerable among us increased safety in a future when they finally dare to leave home once again?

... can we take some of what we've learned about safe social distancing and personal hygiene with us into the coming year, until we're safely through the second wave that is predicted for Fall? This is what I would like to see, not just for outward safety, but to save our sensory systems from the jolt that awaits us if we suddenly throw caution to the wind.

... what will our new normal look like, long term?

Pitching In Together

This morning we are cleaning the house. We've settled into a good routine. Molly and I team up for the bathrooms: I do the fixtures; she does the floors. Brian tackles the kitchen, because really it's his domain now. Then Molly vacuums the entire house. I honestly get off easy, but then again... I recently gave the entire basement a once-over, and I do all the outdoor upkeep.

Since Will has ongoing laundry and garbage duty, we let him slide on cleaning chores. I'm tempted to say who trusts a 14 year old boy to clean their house when he's doing well to take showers, brush teeth, wear his retainer, and use deodorant. But honestly, he's doing alright with all of that, considering that it really is so easy to forget without our regular routines gone. However there was a time not so very long ago when he avoided showers like... well, the pandemic.

This strange period of our lives has shown me that the four of us work well together as a team. Admittedly, there is very little stress in our daily lives, besides the obvious. But we pretty much divide and conquer where the household is concerned. I remember being so concerned that hiring regular housecleaners five years ago would leave my children irreparably spoiled and unable to fend for themselves, but that has not proven to be the case. They have stepped up to the plate time and time again, since quarantine began, and even beforehand as they've gradually matured.

I feel lucky every day to be quarantined with teenagers rather than toddlers, in a house that needs to be cleaned, by people willing to pitch in.

New Favorite Gift

Ever since Grandma Kathie sent Molly a micro greens growing kit for Christmas, I have been giving the same kits to other folks in my life.

I remember begin intrigued by Ms. Gavin's micro greens set-up in the Library during the Winter of 2019, shortly before her retirement. Our set-up is a different one, without a grow light, and with only one rectangular growing tray. It comes with three seed quilts which we grow one at a time. The entire cycle is about ten days, and the harvested greens last in the fridge on a moist paper towel for easily two weeks.

I recently ordered additional seed quilts for our kit. Apart from the Super Salad Mix and the Spicy Daikon Radish, which we've already enjoyed, I chose from this list:

Hearty Broccoli
Refreshing Cabbage
Energizing Kale
Zesty Mix
Sweet Wheatgrass
Earthy Clover
Fragrant Fenugeek
Hot Wasabi Mustard

The greens are a tasty addition to bagels and lox, omelets or scrambled eggs in street tortillas, sandwiches and soups.

I am becoming the Johnny Appleseed of micro greens kits!

Nature Knocking At My Door

In the past several days we’ve enjoyed watching the wildlife in our back yard. Two days ago, before the rain arrived, two squirrels raced and chased each other up the tree, down the tree, along the fence, around the bush, and across the lawn, then back again, as through completing a timed obstacle course. Meanwhile two bunnies dashed out of their way, then sat very still, dashed out of their way, sat very still. Finally the cautious bunnies tired of the ridiculous squirrels and made a run for the river rock drainage bed that doubles as an escape route to our neighbor’s yard.

Birds are back. The robins came first. Then the cardinals and blue jays. Finally the finches, who don’t usually show up (or get noticed) until a thistle sock lures them closer. I’ve also seen one greedy old crow surveying the situation from our willow oak. Fortunately he continued on his way, as I’m not fan of scavenger crows. Truth be told, the blue jays are scavengers, too. But who can resist their colorful, stately presence? Not I. 

My neighbor across the street has raccoons that recently tore up her glider cushions. We haven’t noticed them over here since we started using bungees to make our garbage bin inaccessible. I truly love those masked marauders. I find them fascinating to watch, when I get the chance, because of their dexterous hands. Foxes are prevalent, but not usually noticeable, with the exception of a week ago tonight. (See Midnight Mystery.) There have also been one or two coyote sightings in the neighborhood, down towards Doctor’s Run Park, and occasionally deer. But that’s it as far as big game go. No black bears, no bobcats, no mountain lions.

The world is quieter now. The pace of life, slower. We are home with open windows all around and a schedule that allows us to go outside on a whim. These are the perks, or potential pitfalls, of working from home. Time and opportunity to marvel at nature and its inhabitants is our daily reward.