I’m sorry to read that things are so rough for you Jenny, and about the extra challenges and frustrations the pandemic is bringing to others too.
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At the moment, we’re keeping on here.? After a lot of chaos and last minute insanity, both Baird and Ezra are physically back at school.? They drove out together (which occasioned a lot of the insanity trying to get in touch with anyone who could grant Baird permission to arrive early to accommodate Ezra’s class schedule) and survived the road trip.? Ezra’s school went from “everyone is welcome back” to freshman, transfer, international students on campus only, all classes virtual for the first module (first half of the semester), with other students able to petition to return.? Ezra felt strongly that he needed to be out of the house, which he was right about, so he asked to return and is now back on campus along with two of his close friends, and the first week of classes seems to have gone well.? About 25% of the student body is at Mac right now and they seem to have good protocols in place.? Carleton seems to have adopted more of a head in the sand approach.? Yes there is testing and mask and distancing requirements, but professors were allowed to opt to make classes in-person only, so although Baird had originally decided to stay home (but return from his leave of absence), he had to go back physically to take a class he needs for his major and his minor.? Carleton is going to have about 75% of the student body on campus, which is only slightly down from the usual 85% in any given term.? And yes, I am worried.? Especially worried about the possibility that the campus will close and I will need to find someplace for Arielle to stay and fly out to drive back with Baird if Macalester doesn’t close and send Ezra home at the same time.
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I can’t remember who mentioned the idea that this pandemic is especially hard (in a different way) on teenagers and college students, but based on my kids, I tend to agree.? Having the 3 of them home for 7 months was really hard on all of us, and I am hoping, for everyone’s sakes, that the boys are able to stay at school.? Arielle goes back and forth with how she’s doing.? She had a group of 3 or 4 girls she was spending time with socially distanced over the summer but a lot of those families chose to take vacations so that’s been nearly nonexistent the last bit.? She starts school with a hybrid approach on Wednesday but we just don’t know how that’s going to work out or for how long.? Extracurricular dance class is currently a go with small sizes, masks, and extra precautions, and I’ve opted to allow that (her father disagrees) because in weighing the risks for our particular family, given that she is also going to school (which was also her choice in the face of her father’s opposition), it seems like the best choice to balance her physical and emotional health.? She hasn’t seen her father since February since Jemma is afraid of everything and even the several ideas I floated about outdoor distanced ways for them to spend some time together didn’t generate any interest on Jemma’s part, so I’ve given up on that.
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We did see my Dad a couple of weeks ago before the boys left and I’m hoping to get back down there some Sunday before it becomes too cold for outdoor visits.? That was really nice and he and his wife seem to be doing well.? Arielle and I have also had a couple of outings with Lise, who Arielle adores, which has been really wonderful too.? My dog training club has reopened with lots of careful measures in place (the average age of teachers and students for everything except the manners classes – and those are still virtual – is probably over 60, and the board and members seem to have a real sense of the importance of what to do so that we can stay open) and being able to go back to class with the dogs is really good for me.?
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My work really hasn’t changed much, so I’ve mostly just added juggling pandemic related things to the mix.? I’m still knitting a ton but not so much spinning or weaving lately, since I turned my ankle and have been babying it quite a bit.? Which did not stop me from agreeing to take Arielle and the younger dogs hiking at the Delaware Water Gap yesterday.? We had a wonderful time, I was glad we didn’t take the oldest dog (she would have been miserable) and I found out that an 18 or 19 inch (at the shoulder) dog can scramble up rocks much more easily than we can, so Arielle is busily picking some other rock scrambling hikes she’d like to do this fall too.?
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I’ve finally been dragged onto Facebook, kicking and screaming, so if anyone wants to find me, I’m Skye Wolf (yup, borrowing a dog’s name for my pseudonym because I don’t feel like being found by a bunch of people I went to high school with).?
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Melisande
