Twenty days of school left; 40 days of confinement in the rear view. It has been one heck of a bizarre ride this year, and from what I’m hearing from school and government officials, there’s no guarantee that it’ll abruptly end once summer is over.

The uncertainty shouldn’t really bother me, as I’m becoming somewhat OK with the almost-constant solitude (well, there’s my precious Remy, and we’ve had some nice conversations). And my sons check on me regularly by phone and the occasional drop-by, while sister Mavis stops in regularly, en route to taking herself and Remy to the dog park (her place of peace and solitude, as she does not live alone), so it’s not like I’m completely cut off, which is super nice.

The absolute worst part is not seeing the Js and A’s. **stake through the heart**

So the world turns and the lesson plans still get written and the housework still (mostly) gets done. I’m one of the extremely fortunate ones, in that my work — and, therefore, my pay — can continue from home. I think about and hurt for those who aren’t as lucky.

There’s a meme floating around social media that says something like, “They started high-stakes testing because they thought teachers didn’t want to work. Now all the testing has been canceled, and teachers are working harder than ever. Seems like it wasn’t the teachers after all.”

Well $weetne$$, $ome of u$ have known that $ince 2012. I find I’m putting in the same 12-14-hour days as I do when I’m teaching all day and rehearsing for a show at night, with the obvious exception being that I’m sitting at this box instead of at a piano. What’s changed significantly? I’ve had to switch out my Bitmoji for one with longer hair. hahaha

Speaking of football: Talk is spreading about having to move high school sports around, and indeed, having to think creatively about how to salvage the remainder of upperclassmen’s (and women’s) athletic careers in preparation for any scholarship hopes. And once again, Ohio is leading the nation in the forward-thinking department. I wonder what this will do to my schedule…

Ah, well. We’ll get some shows in there, regardless. I just wish I knew more during this uncertain time. It’s easy to get discouraged.

One bright spot is that since I can’t have daily rehearsals, I’m able to explore some options that I rarely have time for during the regular choir year, like music history, theory, music as a business, important people, composition, music in film, personal musical journeys and the like. It’s been fun — or as much fun as one can have within the confines of their property lines.

Well hasn’t this just been the rambling treatise this morning? I hope you’re all doing great, fiends. I pine for normalcy, but it’s looking like this is it for a while longer. Let’s all stay the course so we can see our grandchildren again. I need more sleepovers!

Hugs