Quarantine, Day 41

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

4 thoughts on “Quarantine, Day 41

  1. Diane Anderson

    On it is so hard not to have a routine. Not seeing the grandkids is the worst part. They are adapting but hard on them too. No routine, no school, no friends and no sports. We will all get through it. Hugs to you my friend.

    Reply
  2. Lynn Hudson

    I’ve been able to continue teaching over Skype and FaceTime, and so far, so good. It’s not as good as the real thing, and I’m learning new ‘tricks’ every day. Still looking forward to when I can see my students face to face in the studio. One down side is that I’m learning that, with few exceptions, all my piano students’ pianos are in dire need of tuning/repair. *sigh*. Hugs to you, my fiend. <3

    Reply
    1. Rat Fink Post author

      Glad you’re still getting to see and hear the kids, Lynn. You’re a great teacher! Counting the months till this is over…

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.