Instead, I’m more likely to enjoy an iced, flavored concoction as a treat and a tiny pick-me-up in the afternoon. And even then, I’ll typically sip on a single cup over a span of days.
All that said...more than one day this past week, I’ve found myself brewing a strong cup in the early morning hours to give me that very-much needed boost, ha. And considering I haven’t done that in months (or years, really), I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that we’ve officially settled into our in-person school routine, complete with heinous early wake-ups, and my body is feeling the lag, ha.
But it has to be said that—sleep deprivation aside—I’m still in awe of how well my kiddos have handled the transition back to in-person learning. How steady we’ve been able to keep moods and emotions within our household. And how calm I’ve been able to stay amidst rising infections rates everywhere.
We’re marking the milestone of four weeks, today, and I maintain that it was the right decision for our family—for the time being, at least (can I get an oye).
And now, so I don’t have to worry about the alert notification we just received about a positive case at Little Man’s preschool that might shut down the classrooms all of next week, or about the infection rate district-wide for the girlies’ school (they publish the stats weekly) that continues to trend upward, or about all of our extended family in Oklahoma that have received notice their districts are returning to 100% virtual ...I’m going to take a moment to talk about all the things I love and appreciate about our school transition, so far.
Because if there’s one thing I’ve done in abundance this year, it’s take the time to appreciate the positives and the blessings and the moments of good. Because there are a lot o’ bumps in the road, and this pandemic situation is certainly a marathon, not a sprint. And we never know when things will change again, and kiddos might return back home, amiright??
First: the amazing group of educators tasked with such a complicated school year. I love how hard they are working to keep my babies safe when they’re away from me, and I try to tell my kiddos’ teachers and administrative staff frequently how grateful I am for their efforts.
I mean, just look at the adorable posters Chica brought home from school a couple of days ago. It was just a keep-them-busy-when-they’ve-completed-other-work task, but it definitely speaks to how strongly personal safety and hygiene procedures are being reinforced.
And please note—because it’s very important, to me, at least—the positivity sprinkled in. These are still kids, after all, and school can still be a happy environment, despite the germs. :)
On that note—the second thing I’m grateful for is the resilience of children.
I mean, I am the absolute first to admit that I thought it would be a nightmare when my kiddos went back to in-person learning after eight months at home in their cocoon.
I expected a hot mess express.
But what I got was a complete shock of an easy transition, and babies that were—dare I say?—rejuvenated—to be back in a “normal” school environment. Even with all of the necessary limitations involved.
In this regard, I totally underestimated my beloved kiddos.
And the best part is that I know they were happy at home during quarantine. And I know they’re happy now at school. Which just equates to happy children who can bloom where they’re planted (pardon the cliche analogy, but it’s pretty darn accurate!).
My next point of gratitude falls within the resilience bucket, as well, but it’s practically worth a whole post in-and-of-itself:
I’m grateful for face masks and the fact that my kiddos really aren’t fazed by wearing them!
Again, I’ll be the first to admit that I was concerned about little ones keeping a mask on for that many hours of the day without feeling claustrophobic, oppressed, frustrated, closed off, or any number of annoyances. But the simple truth is that my babies really could care less.
I mean, most of the time, when they climb in the car at pickup and start jabbering away about the happenings of their day, they don’t even remember they can finally remove their masks. It’s just a non-issue for them at this point. In fact, I’m usually the one to point out they are still wearing them and can finally be “free,” ha.
While we’re on the mask front, I just have to take a moment to marvel at what I’ll call the Evolution Of The Face Mask, ha.
If I had more time or the inclination, I could probably pull together a funny little post about all the masks we’ve tried, all the ways designs have morphed since the Spring, all the money we’ve spent on them—half of it wasted—all the time spent washing them, all the hassle-but-now-routine of hauling them around.
But life is busy. And apparently, I don’t have the inclination. ;)
So for now, I’ll just say that nothing could be a greater sign of the times and of the self-expression we can harness out of this pandemic necessity than talking about face masks.
But at the end of the day, I’m grateful for the masks—and for the fact that they’re now readily available everywhere.
A quick look back at our own household face masks evolution in three main buckets...
First: The Homemade Mask
Man, did I feel resourceful busting out my sewing machine and cute, fun fabric to keep my family safe when we were in the early days and nobody could find elastic—let alone masks of any kind that could be bought in a store.
Sewing this first phase of masks—along with a pretty terrible-but well-intentioned-with-the-supplies-available bunch for first responders is one of the memories I know will stick with me from the early pandemic days.
But it quickly began clear that face mask styles were evolving and stores began to stock a few that felt so revolutionary and exciting, and we quickly entered our second mask phase—thanks to Tarjay.
The Sreamlined Jersey Mask:
Honestly, if I’d had the foresight at the time (alas, I was about a week too late), I would have purchased oodles more of these because they aren’t readily available anymore. But these are THE masks that got mi familia through the greatest chunk of Spring and Summer, and my neurotic tendencies really loved that we all had the same masks, in different colors. The kiddos were Catboy, Owlette and Gecko colors (naturally), and the ‘rents had grey/yellow.
I got hilariously enraged when the hubby lost his on a golf outing about a month ago—both because I couldn’t replace it and because it was like the end of an era, ha.
Alas...with the onset of in-person school and the requirement that the kiddos wear them all day, plus the loss of one of our beloved, simple jersey ones, we embarked upon Phase 3. Which is kind of all over the map, ha.
The Adjustable Ear/Nose-Pinch Mask:
For the kiddos school needs, I was thrilled to find these that had the softest jersey cotton, a nose wire to help it stay in place—and adjustable ear loops, so the kiddos can all share these and size them accordingly based on the lens that are washed and ready and coordinating with their outfits, hehe.
My only complaint: they don’t make them in adult sizes, argh.
Currently, I’m rocking a mix of my last remaining simple jersey mask, plus an adjustable ear-with-nose-clip one that I found at CVS. But I’m always on the lookout for new styles and fabric options these days, so who knows what I’ll find next. It seems that for every one I try that works, I fail with two or three that don’t. Boooo.
Anywho...back to the school gratitude.
I suppose the easiest way to wrap up this post is by saying I’m THANKFUL for each day my kiddos have been able to attend school. And I’m THANKFUL for all the educators out there. I’m THANKFUL for my babies’ resilience, and I’m THANKFUL for their general obliviousness to safety measures that might seem like a burden to an adult.
And most of all, I’m GRATEFUL to know that if my babies end up back home, we’ll weather it just as we did all those months in Spring, Summer and early Fall.
One day at a time, peeps.
One day at a time.
Until then...happy freaking weekend!
Our crew has not a single thing planned and I couldn’t be happier about it. :)
Over and out.
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