I recently started a new position with my employer. In one of our introductory sessions, I told my classmates that being a stay-at-home mom was my dream job. I’ve been getting lots of practice lately…because these kids hardly have been to school at all this month.
I was caught completely off-guard by today’s school closure. I didn’t even know we were expecting bad weather, but a friend, who happens to be a district employee sent me a text before 5am. About 20 minutes later I received official notice from the district. My husband and I both muttered some cuss words and rolled back over. When the kids started stirring around six, I got up to break the news. The oldest was upset. Apparently she has not been able to attend several of her classes at all this semester due to the closures. The boy did the happiest happy dance I have ever seen him do. School has been a struggle for him (and me!) this year. The baby wasn’t planning on going to school today anyway, because she had a dentist appointment.
I want to give a shout out to her dentist, who sent me a text early this morning, asking to push back her appointment by half an hour due to the icy roads. I highly recommend Honey Bee Pediatric Dentist. The baby and I prayed our way over the highway, and while we saw several cars that had slid into embankments, we made it there and back safely. My kid was extremely loopy after her procedure. I am so glad I could stay home with her. It took us three hours to get her to go back to sleep. She definitely needed her mommy.
Because the kids have been home so much, we’ve gotten to try out a lot of new recipes. We baked cookies from scratch. Last night we dipped bananas in chocolate and then froze them. Last week we attempted a recipe from my son’s Pokemon(R) cookbook. It was a disaster. But we had success with tonight’s dinner from the Dungeon’s and Dragons Miner’s pie. I had never cooked with leeks before, but it turned out well.
Earlier today, I was beating myself up about not being able to do all the things on my to-do list. But now, as I prepare for bed, I am grateful for the things I got done that were not on my to-do list. All that invisible labor all the mommy podcasts talk about are things I often don’t give myself credit for doing. Today I’m proud of myself, even if nobody else is.
As for COVID, it only slightly ruined our lives this week, as I had planned to take my little budding playwright to see a production. I was sad to see that the performances were canceled due to a COVID outbreak. Nobody in our immediate circle has been impacted at the moment. So I’m going to cross my fingers and put my mask back on. Y’all be safe, and pray that these streets don’t freeze over again tonight!
mamarad 