Every once in a while the terrain flattens out for just a bit, and I get a moment to catch my breath and enjoy the view. Today that view is a disasterously messy kitchen (Wylie and I made a quadruple batch of banana chocolate chip muffins). Over in the family room my little guy is dancing away in front of the TV to the tune of "Just Dance." He seems happy and I think I have time to clean up our mess, so this afternoon seems doable. I even briefly exercised and showered this morning, after all three girls went to school. Ramona usually doesn't go to school in-person on Fridays but Monday was a holiday so today was kind of a make-up day for her attendance group. Most remote learning Fridays have been almost unbearable for both me and Ramona because of the 6th grade workload, general cabin fever, and relentless anxiety. Today is a welcome relief from that.
This week had some challenges. Paula caught a little cold from her Valentine festivities at school, and symptoms started popping up on Saturday. There was no school Monday, and I kept her home Tuesday and Wednesday because students have to be symptom-free for 48 hours before returning to school. This is for any ailment, regardless of fever, which she never had. I understand the need for caution during a pandemic, but it is exhausting to constantly feel alarmed about every sniffle and cough I hear out of my child. Paula shared her cold with Wylie, so he missed a bit of preschool.
Mika had a crisis over which Colorado historical figure to research for her wax museum project. (She was deeply offended that her first choice, Owl Woman, does not have enough of her personal accomplishments documented. She pointed out that she only seems to be famous because both her father and husband were prominent men.) After throwing several objects around the house to display her frustration, she finally calmed down and committed to research Polly Pry, a nineteenth century reporter that Mrs. Drage recommended for her. I had already spent some time looking for Owl Woman resources she could use, but switched to requesting books about the reporter, and was able to pick up one volume from the library.
Ramona had a huge work load on her two remote days this week, and she struggles to focus during the day so all of this results in some late nights. Last night I was up with her past 11pm working on math, and we didn't even finish everything. I didn't make it to bed until 12:30.
But today. Today I caught a break. And it's time to clean the kitchen.
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