WOW.
It's a little surreal. While we're homebodies by nature, it's not really the same to be told you can't go somewhere, rather than choosing not to go somewhere. But really, we have all we need to be happy right here, and can order anything we need (mostly....toilet paper has become tough to find, strangely). I only get in the car for grocery runs or food pickup. Nowhere else to go. I've had the same half tank of gas in the car for a month now.
School districts were left to figure out for themselves how to make the rest of the school year work. Loudoun did a week of distance learning to review old material and kind of get their bearings. Then a week of supposed new learning, and then spring break (what?). So the kids had last week off (living the dream). Back to work this week, though I have to think they won't be learning everything they were scheduled to. AP testing for Reed's classes has been shortened and will all be done online. Grades for classes themselves for fourth quarter will be pass/fail. No clue how that changes their GPAs.
Here's what doing school at home looks like for us.
I've been working at home since March 17. I'm very fortunate since I'm very well set up for this, after 8+ years of telework – dedicated work space, two monitors, good chair, standing desk.
AWS started a Gold Team/Blue Team setup where one team works from home while the other goes into the SCIF. So he does a week at home and then a week at the office. When he's home, he's set up in what would be the dining room of our house (but has never been a dining room, as long as we've lived here). Not perfect, but it gets the job done.
All of us are doing pretty well with this, as far as I can tell. For me, I find if I read too much about the actual coronavirus illness itself and how horrid even the "mild" cases can be, I find myself feeling a lot of anxiety. So I am trying to just read enough to be a little bit ready for what we might expect if it hits us, but not too informed. The first few weeks, I really could not motivate myself to do anything once work was done, beyond my usual chores. I read, watched TV, but didn't do anything productive with my Dems work. I'm trying to work my way back into it. I am VERY glad the weather has been decent and we can all get outside and walk. We've all always been walkers (the dog gets a workout) and now there are SO many people out there! It's wild.
The kids seem fine. I've been checking with them to see if they feel any anxiety or worry, and so far they really don't seem to. Hopefully it stays that way, and we all stay well. Reed went for lunch and to play basketball with friends a couple days into things (I think it was way back on March 14), and that's the last he's seen of friends. Amy hasn't seen friends since school stopped. Reed has always been very connected with his pals using Discord to chat while they play video games, so I think his socialization needs are being met that way. Amy just started chatting with her friend Molly over the video game Animal Crossing, so I think that's good for her as well. Neither kid is one who'll text a friend to suggest a bike ride or anything like that, which I guess is fine in this case since then we'd have to worry about them keeping far enough apart, etc.
The kids are NOT too thrilled to have been drafted as our new cleaning crew. We are paying our cleaning service, but asked them to not show up, so they can minimize their own risk. It was way past time for these kids to learn these life skills anyway.
I don't think I've really processed the fact that we're still going to be at home for two more months. Who would have ever thought something like this would happen in America? (Don't worry, I won't get started on the politics of this whole situation.)
The activities I'm missing right now are going to movies and concerts. That's pretty much it. And I'm glad that the last show I went to - in Austin, the Hal Ketchum tribute show – was incredible, because that's going to have to hold me over for quite a very long time, I think.
My hope is that this terrible illness doesn't get any closer to anyone that we care about. Amy's first grade teacher Ms. Rokus died of the virus on March 26, which was the saddest news. She was one of a kind.
For a while more, we'll just be here, cozy at home.
