A Day in My “New Normal”

I know that we have all had to adjust, or are still adjusting, to a new normal routine. Most of the world is changing with isolation, quarantines, and distance learning right now and where I live is no exception. While I am not someone who habitually goes out very often, several of my daily habits have changed significantly.

Some people may be asking themselves how much could have really changed in my life if I don’t usually go out and about. Well…I am a teacher. I no longer driver 30 minutes every morning in order to spend my day teaching reading, writing, and music to my tiny, tiny classes in my tiny, rural school. I don’t get to see my babies in person. I don’t get to finish the school year with my 8th graders, who will no longer be in my classes after May. I no longer spend my hour roundtrip listening to audio books with my 7 year old.

I now create videos and forms for my reading and writing kids on an online classroom. I was told that I did not have to create content for music students, just send links to videos. I do, however, have some videos of me reading music based picture books to my littles. We had to cancel our spring concert and we are all sad about it.

Instead of waking up at 6 am and rushing myself and the 7 yr old to get dressed, ready, and on the road, we wake up slowly on our own. I get extra baby snuggles instead of handing the 7 month old to her grandmother for daycare. That makes the classwork very interesting, by the way.

While people are helping their children with distance crisis learning (this is not technically homeschooling) I am creating content for my students…and also helping my 2nd grader do her distance learning…and also taking care of most of the cooking, cleaning, yard work, laundry, cleaning…my father is still mostly unable to do anything for himself and my mother mostly tries to lock herself in her room for alone time whenever possible (helping Dad and her online job takes a lot of time and energy). 3 adults, 2 kids, 4 animals, 5 very different classes to create and teach long distance and trying to watch tv/movies, read, write, or breath on my own. I leave the house about once a week. Most of my adult interaction came from my co-workers/school family so I don’t get ‘in person’ chats much anymore. Thank God for my snapchat, messenger, email buddies!

I miss my students. I miss taking my daughters out to places (we went on a walk last week but between weather and virus, we keep home). I miss being able to send someone else on errands because, right now, I am the only person leaving the house to go shopping or pay bills or any of the other myriad of things that need done.

That is how my days are different. How about you? Have your days changed significantly?