DAY 75

I started watching "The Office" again on Netflix. I am pretty sure I watched every season years ago, but I felt a need for something really funny as an antidote to the very un-funny times we are living in. If you have ever worked in an office this show is even funnier. I have worked in several office situations, and one, in particular, was so much like Dunder Mifflin that I can relate to almost every episode. I will not name the company or my co-workers to protect the innocent. At this particular job, I played the role of Pam, the receptionist. Complete with a game of Freecell in the background on my computer screen at all times. The looks that Michael (the boss) gets from his staff are priceless. When you work in an office for a long time, your coworkers become like your big, dysfunctional family. There is always a Dwight who is over the top ridiculous. And an Angela who is uptight and difficult. I have watched all of the first season and am partway through the second, and I laugh out loud during every single one.

I have also been watching the final season of Madam Secretary. I love this show so much, and I really want Elizabeth McCord for president.

DAY 74

It is the last week of school. Most of what the teacher has assigned is what I would call "busy work". A math game, which she played with a classmate. An end of the year Distance Learning Memories activity. Creating a video to talk about their favorite memories of the year. I am usually relieved at the end of the school year, glad to be done with the routine of packing lunches, homework after school, waiting for the bus in the morning and afternoon. This year is so different because we have not done those things for months already. Now I feel like I usually do about the middle of August, anxious for school to start again.

One of the things that has happened here at our house is a more structured schedule of chores for Miss Nine and College Boy. I have randomly enforced chores for years, Now I put all of their chores on a calendar. I taped one to each of their bedroom doors. I also put one on the refrigerator. One of my goals for the summer is to encourage these two to learn more life skills. I realize how much I have done myself because it is easier than trying to get them to do it properly (according to my standards). I am doing them a disservice by not letting them learn from their mistakes. They both have done their own laundry for a long time. Miss Nine actually likes doing it. College Boy usually waits until he has absolutely nothing to wear before he does his. Now that he is staying in the same pajamas for days in a row he can go quite a while before he feels compelled to start a load. They have been taking turns washing and drying/putting away the dishes. They frequently disagree about how this should be done. Miss Nine pays strict attention to what I am making for dinner on the days that she has to wash. She doesn't like a lot of pots and pans. I often have to remind them to come back and wipe off the counters or empty the sink, but they are doing a fine job overall.

I remember hearing once that if your children are not ready to leave home by the time they are eighteen, you haven't done your job. So start those kindergarteners doing their own laundry. You will be glad you did.

DAY 73

Miss Nine and I took a walk to the courthouse after breakfast. On the way we talked about what Memorial Day is about, and how sad it is that we can't have our normal ceremonies to honor our fallen soldiers. At the courthouse, we looked at all of the names and talked about the different wars. Then we sat on a bench and discussed all of the ways that our summer is going to be different this year. She has become a little more accepting of the situation over the last couple of weeks. 

My husband and I went to the cemetery to clean up my family plot. There are seven of us buried there, with room for several more. It has always been a tradition in my family to take good care of the graves of those who have gone before us. On my dad's side, we have a family cemetery out in the country, on land that has been in my family since the early 1800s. Lakeview Cemetery in town is where my mom's side of the family are buried. My maternal grandparents, my mom, her brother, my brother, one sister, and my daughter are all interred there. Today we cleaned up my mom's side. I will do our family cemetery later in the week.

 

DAY 72

Staying home has become the new normal. Every day is pretty much a repeat of the day before. On days like today when Miss Nine is with her dad or my husband for long stretches of time, I can enjoy the peace and quiet of being home. The demands of other people can be exhausting, so time alone is more precious now than ever before. Often I go to my office at our business after the store is closed. I can focus and get so much more done when there are no distractions.

I have given up wanting many things because it is too painful or disappointing to want something that you just can't have. I can't hold my new baby granddaughter. I can't get a haircut. I can't hug my friends. It is so much easier to let go of the wanting and slip into acceptance. Life is becoming more a matter of what is absolutely necessary, a letting go of all of the things that we fill our days with. Things that we do to avoid our inner selves. I am choosing to embrace the basics, the deep lessons, the small joys of every day. I have spent over half of my life trying to practice the principle of living one day at a time. It has taken this devastating virus to ground me solidly in that way of being.

DAY 71

Memorial Day Weekend. What the heck are we going to do to honor the fallen soldiers? Our small town always has a parade that begins at our library, continues down to the courthouse where the war memorial stands, then on to the cemetery. Members of the military speak about the sacrifice that was made by those who fought and died, and by their families. The high school band plays patriotic music. Boy scouts row out into the lake and place a wreath in the water. There is a twenty-one gun salute. We pause at all of our family graves and pay tribute to those who have gone before us.

My father was a member of the US Air Force, working as a mechanic on fighter planes. When he left the service he went to work for United Airlines. After he retired he became involved in the American Legion. When he was in his late 70's and early 80's he drove other old vets to doctor appointments. He mailed out membership renewal paperwork. He sold poppies to raise money for his very small Legion post in Linden, Michigan. He participated in the Linden Memorial Day ceremonies until after he had a stroke at age 81. He cried at every cemetery ceremony. He was my hero.

There will be no parade, no band playing the Star-Spangled Banner, no twenty-one gun salute. So, how will we spend this time of reflection?  I will take Miss Nine for a walk to the courthouse and sit near the war memorial. I will tell her what Memorial Day is all about. I will talk to her about her grandfather and uncles who served, and about our friend's son who died in Afghanistan. We will cry for them all.

DAY 70

Another week of school finished. One more to go. The last day of school was scheduled for June 4th, B.C. (Before Covid). Apparently we will be done on May 29, A.C.(After Covid). I have mixed feelings about it. I am really ready to be done, but then we will have several hours a week to fill with something other than schoolwork. As any good homeschool mom knows, though, the world is your classroom and learning never ends.

I am thinking about what kinds of things we can do over the summer to stay engaged in the learning process. Of course there are always games to play and reading to be done, but the opportunities for education were endless in the B.C. era. Even though the governor is easing up on the restrictions, we will continue to avoid crowds and public gatherings. So many things that would usually be on our calendar, like vacation bible school, activities at the library, and play dates with friends are not going to be available. We set up our pool in the driveway like we always do. I have a feeling that it is going to get a lot more use this summer than it has in the past.

In early August Miss Nine would normally be going to Camp Kesem for a week. We do have a camping trip scheduled for July, and I am considering doing some camping in the Manistee National Forest, where you can rustic camp and avoid crowds of people. It is close to Lake Michigan and I think that we could spend some time there in August exploring nature.

I guess this will be the summer that we really do just relax with no over-scheduling of our time. We will lay on the deck and read. We will do summer crafts. We will daydream. We will be human beings, not human doings.

DAY 69

We had a full day here at Camp Covid-19. We started off with a book report on If The Fire Comes by Tracy Daley. It is a historical fiction story that takes place during the Great Depression, about a young black boy in California. The class has been reading it for the last couple of weeks, with several activities tied to it. Miss Nine was not all that interested in the story but she did a fine job on the book report.

A friend of mine came over and we went for a walk, ending up at our neighborhood park. The play structure is now open, with a sign advising that you should use the equipment at your own risk. Miss Nine played (at her own risk) and then she liberally applied hand sanitizer. My friend and I walked the path around the park while Miss Nine played. According to my friends Fit Bit I am pretty sure we walked about 300 miles. Or 2, I am not sure which.

After dinner three of our neighbors came over to sit on my deck and have a chat and a beverage. It was a beautiful evening. We discussed world affairs, gardening, and how much we hated taking communal showers in junior high school gym class. Except for making sure that we sat far enough apart, it almost felt like a normal early summer evening.