Social Distancing As A Family – Day 9

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Today’s Social Distancing As a Family is brought to you by our amazing teachers

Since our unique home Sunday church service, the days have strung together. We have tried to establish some sort of schedule so we don’t all turn into complete sloths. It turns out that Harry loves a schedule and checking things off a list. He has been keeping the rest of us on track while Addison and I would be happy to hide in our rooms. Harry however, is in desperate need of social interaction. I can tell in he way he aggressively cuddles when we watch a movie and how he suggests a new game to play each night after dinner.

This week I set up a little mail box on our Little Free Library so that he and his playmate next door can leave letters for each other. They have written each other about 5 times a day since Sunday evening. They have also taken to talking to each other on the cell phone while they play Mario Kart on the Switch. My neighbor and I have suggested that perhaps we need to reinstall our land lines so that they don’t monopolize our cell phones.

Today has been full of ups and downs. We started the day off by waiving to all of the teacher’s from Harry’s school as they drove by in  a teacher caravan. About 20 to 30 cars drove around the neighborhoods to honk and wave to their students from a safe distance. They wanted their kiddos to know that they have not been forgotten, that the teachers miss them and that life isn’t the same without the daily routine of a normal school day.

Later in the day the state school board of education voted to extend online learning through the end of the spring semester. We don’t know exactly what that will look like since it is unprecedented for every school district in the state to switch to “distance learning” with only a week lead time to prepare. At this point in time I’m okay with having the boys home for the next 9 weeks while they finish school from the computer. It’s not ideal, but it is the best decision to keep every one safe. But the most bitter pill to swallow is knowing that Harry won’t be face to face with his fourth grade teacher again this academic year. We really loved his teacher and feel cheated that Harry won’t get to complete that relationship. We’re just beginning to mourn the loss of not being in the classroom with his classmates. He won’t have another daily assembly with 500 other kids and start the day off with music, accouterments, and acknowledgements.

Addison holds his cards pretty close to the chest so we don’t know how he feels about the arrangement yet. Although he seems like a homebody, I’m sure he will miss interacting with his friends at school everyday. I remember being more comfortable and outgoing around my friends than my family at this age and I’m sure he is the same way. I can sense it in the way he interacts with us and vs. the way he talks to his friends. It’s natural to distance yourself from your family at this age so I’m a little worried and curious to how this will affect him. Thankfully, he is just a freshman so he has the rest of high school ahead of him to have a “normal” high school experience. My heart goes out to all the seniors across the country that have had a monumental year slammed shut. I can only hope that this experience will make them stronger and more determined to make the world better than the mess we have created.

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