Day 141~ Break Glass Emergency Moment That Will be Forgotten in a Few Days

Break the "Save our Democracy" Glass!  This is an emergency. 

Yes, this was probably to distract from the horrible GDP report that was released yesterday but there was more to this.  The thing is, he knows he can't delay the election but he can plant all these seeds.  He can contest the election results.  He's doing this on purpose. 

The day didn't get better.  Massachusetts' numbers are going up and that's not great.  Our transmission rate is at 1.12, which is the 11th highest in the country.  Indoor dining, gyms, movie theaters, etc. should not be open.  Full stop!

And then there are this seed thing.  I mean, who had invasive species seeds being mailed to people on their 2020 Bingo Card.

Day 140~ Much Needed Motivation

I woke up to some much needed motivation to tackle Wednesday.  I was sleepy, stressed, and not feeling it.  That's when I saw that Andrea Rogers, the creator of XTend Barre had commented back to me on one of her posts!

Later in the day we had a state wide teacher's union meeting.  I'm thankful that I have a strong union fighting for a safe work environment.

Wednesday night there was a school committee meeting in my district to decide which plan we would move forward with.  I encourage anyone who wants to know why school reopening is such a complex issue, to watch/listen to their local school committee debate what to do.  These elected officials now have to sift through medical studies, educational studies, teacher comments, and parent comments to figure out what is the best thing to do.  They are being asked to make life and death decisions and I don't think that's an entirely fair burden for them to have.  I found the discussions to be robust and to consider lots of different views and issues.  The meeting lasted for close to five hours and it was mentally exhausting to listen to.  In the end, the plan that has been decided is to have grades 2-12 be remote for the first two months of school and prioritize the return of pk-1 and a few other high needs populations.  I was talking with a friend today and in the end there is no good solution to the problem at hand.  I'm just thankful to have a real sense of what next year will look like and to know that my exposure will be very limited.  I feel for my colleagues and friends who can't say the same thing.

After such an emotionally draining few hours I decided to end the night with a glass of bubbles and binging some more of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, which a friend had recommended.  This is such a fun, quirky show and totally took the edge off.

And then this made me laugh out loud!

Day 139~ I'm Sorry You're a Teacher Right Now

I had to go to a doctor's appointment yesterday (side note- I arrived super early because it only took me 32 minutes to get from my place to Norwell at 9:15am in the morning, pandemic traffic is a glorious thing) and he was asking me about what I did for a living.  When I told him I was a teacher he said he was sorry about that.  He was so sympathetic to what is going on right now and it really made me feel good. 

I mean, if Major League Baseball can't hold it together, how will we?

And I don't think any of us teachers were expecting Dave Grohl to be one of our biggest supporters.

Day 138- It's so Hot!

Nali is all of us right now!  It's so hot and I'm so sick of it.

Since it was so hot we decided to watch one of the movies from my "List of Shame," movies that I should have seen that I haven't seen. 

It helped take my mind off the increase in cases Massachusetts is currently experiencing.  Our RT number is going up rapidly as well.  JO and I have decided to scale back our already limited city time.  I feel like Massachusetts is letting its guard down.  I mean, check out this stupid party boat from the Seaport on Saturday.  This is exactly why we can't have nice things.  When public health policy is driven by the economy and leaves room for people to make stupid decisions, it's not a good sign.

Day 137~ Watch Me Work

Don't watch me work.  I'm not really working.  Every single drawer, cabinet, and closet in my apartment is organized.  Nothing needs cleaning.  I've put my school work on pause because I don't even know how to begin to process what September will look like.

Instead, watch the women of the WNBA do their thing!  The basketball was awesome this weekend and I loved watching the Lynx game.  Crystal Dangerfield, who is a recent UConn grad, had an amazing first game in her professional debut.  It was so fun to watch her play with another UConn Forever Husky, Queen Phee!

I have no idea what is going on with Bill Laimbeer's hair, but it is a serious problem!

Day 136~ Super Lazy Saturday

Have I mentioned how much I hate heat waves and humidity.  I lose any sense of motivation and kind of go into shut down mode. 

Luckily for me, yesterday was the start of the "new" WNBA season and it was fun to get to watch some of my favorite Forever Huskies play! 

As a women's sports fan, I was super proud for how the women organized this season around social justice.  The season is dedicated to Breonna Taylor.  Each player has Breonna's name on her jersey and when the players were interviewed before, during, and after the game they each made sure to reframe the conversation to bring attention to Black Lives Matter and the murder of Breonna. 

Day 135~ Fun Friday

The weather was just perfect on Friday, high 70s and no humidity.  It made for a perfect night for patio fun.

We started the night off at Colette in Porter Square.  This is probably the most beautiful restaurant in the city.  They've had a patio, but we almost always would sit inside when we visited because the decor and atmosphere is just delightful.  Obviously indoor dining isn't going to happen now so we opted for seats on their new back patio.  (The front patio looks a bit crowded but the back patio is a socially distanced paradise.)  

The back patio is beautifully set up.  The tables, which are marble topped, are well spaced and many of them have super cute umbrellas.  There is some shad from a large tree and lots of plants and greenery.  They've added Edison bulbs (always a favorite of mine) for even more character.  The patio is adjacent to a side street so it's very quiet.  It made for a perfect spot to enjoy some delicious drinks and food.

After dinner we headed over to Union Square to keep the evening going.  We were lucky to get the last table for two at Brass Union.  Our table was in their "lower patio" which consists of just one table and is perfect for social distancing!  I finally got to try their frosee, an adult version of a slushie, and JO tried their spicy mezcal drink. 

For a few hours it was like the old days.  My city heart needed it!

Day 134~ Felt Like a Big Day

Day 134 felt like a big day. 

We finally were able to get a Gracie's Fluff cone!  Oh, how I've missed this!

And we followed that up with margarita's at Ole!  Yesterday was the first day they had their new patio open.  It was so nice to see our usual waitress.  She was so happy to see us and we were so happy to have this piece of normalcy.  

Because nothing is really normal but it's nice to escape reality for a little bit!

Day 133~ Take Two Proseccos and some Caramels and Try Again Tomorrow

This is where I'm at right now!

To say my head is spinning is an understatement.  The man who told us the cure to the virus was to take a Tide Pod and sit in a tanning bed now says "a lot of people are saying they don't transmit."  Who are those people?????  What well respected, trusted scientists are saying this?  It's so dangerous when he just says this crap.  People out there believe him.

Take a look at this picture for a minute.  Read the caption carefully.

There are so many things wrong with this but lets focus on just a few of them:

*Teachers shouldn't be installing any safety measures.  States are putting out guidelines and I'm pretty sure "shower curtains" aren't cutting it.  No teacher should be doing anything that the district has not vetted and mandated.  That's a risk no one should be taking!
*Basically it costs $100 to do her room- I will gladly spend $100 on classroom supplies that make learning better for my students but I am not going to spend my own money to retrofit my classroom for a pandemic!!!!!!!!!
*How are kids going to feel when they go back in a classroom that looks like this?  (Remember when I sat in that table that was enclosed by shower curtains.  It didn't feel right and it wasn't enjoyable.)

If I'm going to be putting myself in danger the state and my district are going to need to step up to the plate to ensure proper safety measures are in place.

From what I'm hearing, I may be eating lunch outside and having my prep outside.  I'm considering options for turning my car into a dining room/ work station and will probably start looking into getting a hot spot for my phone so that I can work on the computer in my car. (This is a something I will gladly do if it helps keep me, my coworkers, and students safer.) I won't know until many weeks from now if that will be necessary, but if I wait to order stuff it will probably be back ordered because I can't be the only teacher anticipating this.

And finally, here are some thoughts I had in response to a friend saying we should start the year virtually.

One of the things that worries most about going back to school is that nothing about that experience will be normal. I feel like kids are going to have this false hope and then the reality is it will be unbelievably weird. Kids sitting in rows, not getting out of your seat, rigid schedules, etc. Then imagine you are in a class and god forbid someone in the room tests positive. The fear of that is going to be intense. And the disruptions in learning. If someone in my class tests positive everyone in class has to get tested and/or stay out for 10 days. Supposedly I can flip a switch and start teaching remotely immediately, while waiting for test results, and stressing about whether I am going to get sick and worry about my kids getting sick. Then we get back in class and it could all get disrupted again if another student/teacher tests positive. And then there's this, for the first time in my teaching career I can't just put my kids before me. That's a really strange emotion for a teacher to have and I wonder how it will impact my teaching in the classroom.

Day 132~ Who Knows

I'm living in limbo, in terms of work, and I'm trying to find the humor in it all.  Fully back in school?  Remote teaching? Hybrid teaching?

In all seriousness though, I do need to get started on classroom setup prep.  I need room decor, supplies, etc.  I need to think of a way to organize a classroom that may or may not have furniture other than desks.  I have to think about a way to manage student supplies so that they don't need to leave their seats.  I need to order some stuff for my classroom and I can't wait much longer to do so.  I could end up with a couple hundred dollars worth of stuff I can't use this year or stuff I do need this year.  It's mind boggling. I'm trying to remind myself that everyone else is in the same boat as me. 

We went out for dinner at Moona last night.  It was nice to enjoy the nice evening weather.  We're pretty much their best customers at this point. 

We've been using all of free time to make our way through some series.  Our newest show is The Office.  I'm still not a believer in this show, but I'm sticking with it since there's not much else to do!

And of course, the kittens have been upping their cuteness game which always makes me smile.

Day 131- Motivational Monday

I've set a goal to take another 50 classes before September and I'm sticking to it. 

Monday was so hot, so it was another day of indoor living.  I've realized that I don't really walk much anymore.  My longest walk is when I go from the living room to the bedroom.  (I should probably starting doing laps or something because this can't be healthy.) 

Since we can't go on vacation, I decided to go on a "virtual" vacation to Iceland last night.  We watched 75 Days in Iceland and all I can say is, I can't wait to be able to travel to Iceland someday.

And in today's episode of "The Republicans Said the Quiet Part Out Loud Again"

Day 130~ No One Wants Us

Our country has so badly messed up it's response to Covid-19 that our passports are basically useless at this point.  Add one more country to the list of countries, that rightfully, do not want us to visit.

But sure, it's time to send teachers and kids back to school!

Day 129~ Hair Salon Saturday

Saturday was Hair Salon Saturday!  The results were a bit mixed (JO may have gone a little too short with his new style but boy hair grows fast so he should be fine in a week) and I don't have grays anymore but dying your hair at home is really messy!

Despite the hot weather, our neighborhood was "safely" full of people enjoying the Inman Patios.

And the view from the Snack Shack (thank goodness for the Snack Shack) was just lovely!

Day 128~ Friday Night Fun

Friday was another day spent in the living room!  I'm sure you are shocked!

After dinner, the weather was surprisingly nice.  (It was supposed to be cloudy and rainy and it ended up being sunny and lovely.) Since the next few days were forecasted to be in the high 90s we decided to be spontaneous and look for a spot to have some post dinner drinks. 

Being spontaneous during this mess is pretty difficult.  Most places are open for reduced hours, with reduced seating, and almost all require reservations.  Our plan was to walk past the Inman Patios to see if we could find anything.  Happily, for our neighborhood restaurants, there wasn't a seat available anywhere.  Feeling dejected, we decided to try Union Square.  We were really lucky to find a spot at Casa B.

Casa B is a great tapas bar featuring a bit of a Cuban flair.  The interior of the restaurant is funky and eclectic.  They have tried to bring some of that outside to their new parking lot patio.  They even brought some of the interior furniture outside which gives the space a lot of personality.  The tables are well spaced out and they use a red/green card system so that the waitstaff only approach your table when needed. 

We enjoyed some lovely drinks and it almost felt like a normal summer night. 

On our walk home, we saw this heart lit up on a large building in Boston.  (Some day I'll get back to Boston.)

Day 127~ Patio Night

With an impending heat wave, JO and I decided to take advantage of the cooler weather yesterday to enjoy the patio at Moona.  I've come to realize that getting dressed up is something I really enjoy.  Don't get me wrong, I have loved not getting dressed up and not worrying about my appearance over the last 127 days, but it does feel good to get dressed up from time to time.

I have to say, the patio at Moona is seriously amazing.  I definitely feel very safe when I'm there.  Plus, the food is better than anything I could possibly cook at home.  I had to snap a picture of the gorgeous pinkish purple vegetable on this dish.

And now, for another edition of "Is this real life?"