{SQT} In Like a Lion, And Not Going Out of My Mind

1.Welcome to April 3rd, the 3,402,239 day of Lent 2020. Only 235,249 more days to go until Easter. Spring is finally here. To celebrate we’re getting lots of rain…among other things.

2.We got word that our town has it’s first confirmed cases of COVID-19. The mayor, police chief, and school district are posting regular updates on Facebook, as are the downtown civic/business associations. I feel very “in the loop”, but not in a terrified or stressed out way, but a “we’ll come through this together” type way. I do think many local people were not following orders to stay home and social distance, so I’ll be curious to see how many cases we ultimately get, and if the news that the virus has actually arrived will finally encourage people to stay home.

3.Last Friday I woke up to the news that all MDA camps were cancelled for 2020. NO MDA CAMPS. Of course I was upset for Fulton and Teddy, but I must admit to being more selfishly concerned with the loss of what Tony and I fondly call “Mama and Papa Week”. Last year, Fulton needed to come home early due to a stomach bug (which ultimately landed him in the hospital). Ever since then, I’ve been looking forward to MDA camp 2020. But after wallowing in self-pity for an hour or so, I started scanning for other camps for disabled kids and found one in north Jersey that doesn’t take place until August. The deadline for applications was March 31, so I spent all day Friday filling out camp forms online for both boys. There’s no guarantee they’ll get spots, or that the camp won’t ultimately be cancelled, but at least I felt like I did something. And the coolest thing? Despite not being a Catholic camp, it’s called Camp Fatima. So, if you could send a prayer to Our Lady of Fatima for this little intention I’d appreciate it.

4.The MDA cancellation came on the heels of Teddy’s wheelchair dying. The repair tech had JUST been out a couple weeks prior to address the batteries and I mentioned some other concerns, but he said they were probably related to dirt stuck under the chair. Surprise- it wasn’t dirt. So now I’m pushing Teddy around in a medical stroller (since both old power chairs have dead batteries) which isn’t really that fun for any of us. The only upside is less mud from the yard is getting dragged inside the house. But miracle of miracles- his batteries have already come in! And the cost of the motors will be covered!! He might have a working chair by Easter, or within the month of April! -which is pretty crazy.

5.We finally got all the beds assembled in the girls’ new bedroom. Neither Tony or I is super keen on furniture assembly so we split the job over several days. I sort of hoped that once the beds were assembled, Addie and Edie would immediately become neat and tidy and their room would remain in its new pristine condition. However, their laundry situation remains a bit…out of control shall we say? But my goal is to do a really good, deep, spring cleaning for Easter this year. Hopefully that will take care of any lingering chores and tasks. Since church needs to be at home, we’re going to get the house up to better standards.We’re probably not going to do half the creative things I’ve seen listed online, but we’ll take a few days off and hopefully be able to prayerfully enter into Holy Week and celebrate Easter with a feeling of joy and not deprivation.

6.School is going well. Addie and Byron’s professor’s seemed to have figured out how to move their classes online (although it was a challenge for some of the art projects), things are business as usual for Edie, and Fulton and Teddy are moving through their school assignments. I get lots of calls, emails, and texts from teachers, case workers, therapists, and other representatives wondering how we’re doing. We’re doing fine, and I always wonder if that’s what they’re expecting to hear from me or if they don’t believe me. I mean, I have some annoyances, but most parents (and teachers) do right now. It’s not like we’re bored out of our minds, or driving each other crazy, or I’m completely overwhelmed and panic stricken. Despite sometimes complaining too loudly about a particular worksheet or assignment, we’re having many more happy moments than frustrating ones. (I mean, I think so? I hope Fulton and Teddy would say the same thing.) Knowing my luck, they won’t remember any of the things we learned, but they will remember when Mama screamed at Fulton’s iPad for 20 minutes and they’ll remember my choice words regarding Teddy’s Common Core math worksheets. (No you don’t need to draw a stupid table! Just do the multiplication fact if you know it! I don’t now what kind of table you’d even need to draw! Adults don’t draw tables- we just multiply! Just skip writing the explanation essay! AAAAAAA!”)

7.Other fun family activities include starting a large Harry Potter puzzle (so many dark pieces that all look the same!) and building a large cardboard marble run. Somehow Tony stumbled across videos of marble races and now he and the kids are building this long cardboard racetrack. We were just starting to get into the XFL and Tony was looking forward to baseball season when everything shut down. Racing marbles seems to be the only sport we can all safely watch anymore. Watch here if you’re curious.

How is quarantine treating you? Write it all down then link it up below. Be sure to include a link back to this post so your readers can find the rest of the Quick Takes. I look forward to reading your posts!