Day 313: A Thief

 We have a biscuit thief in our house:

Those would be dog treats, but apparently Inks doesn't care as long as it's chicken flavored.

Day 312: Today Is a New Day

 Class last night was terrible. It went sideways. We had to have a class meeting. Blech.

It's hard. Several decades in you hope you will know what you are going to do in any given situation. I don't think you ever hit that point. 

But...this morning I am choosing to focus on the fact that I modelled how to regroup and move on. And today is a new day...

Day 311: This and That

We are all feeling very crafty. Last Friday, I took Issa to Home Depot to pick up her first custom order:

It is a complete paint sample book. I have to admit I tuned out after about five minutes of talking about paint. She is loving her interior design course, and I think she has found her career!

And...our seeds are starting to sprout:

The arugula is the most impressive, but the thyme is close behind. I love when things actually work!

 

Day 310: A New Hobby

Brad and Issa have been looking for a hobby they can do together for a while now. Brad and Evan have the dojo, and Issa wanted something all her own, too. They have tried several things, but I think they finally found it this weekend: thrifting. 

They set off to find some furniture they could fix up, but they ended up finding some great clothing scores. Brad really needed dress shirts:

And they both found jean jackets:

And Issa found a couple of cute tops:

They had a ball, and they are already scouting other thrift shops for their next adventure!
 

Day 308-309: A Night Away

For Valentine's Day this year, Brad gave me a night at the Colonial Inn here in town. The Inn just reopened, but it has been a part of the town since the early 1800s. It is now fully restored and beautiful:

The bones of the hotel remain unchanged, including the tavern area and many of the beams. They have put art from local artists in the rooms, though, which is really cool:

Brad made arrangements so we never had to leave the room! We enjoyed cocktails in our sitting area, and he had dinner delivered from a local restaurant, which the Inn plated for us:

It was too cold to enjoy the patio, but we enjoyed looking at it from the room:

And the cinnamon rolls they make for breakfast are amazing:

It was just one night, but we both agreed it was a much needed escape. I am certain we will be going back!
 

Day 307: A Finished Project

We have been trying to figure out how to have an herb garden for years, and we are finally well on the way! Brad started the project Valentine's Day weekend, and I had some help finishing it this week!

Issa is the best little dramatic reader for all planting directions:

Evan got most of the dirt in the cup:

And the two of them were great help planting 15 jars:

The final product:

Each jar has a wooden wick to transfer the water, so they should stay hydrated:

Our stairwell gets a lot of light, so we have high hopes! Now we wait for the seed to sprout!
 

Day 306: Virtual School for Us and an Open Letter

 Last Friday, the School Board reversed course and decided to start bringing all students back Monday, February 22. We talked with the kids about the reality of the CDC and DHHS guidance that said this was unsafe and the fact that they would only have one or two other students in the classroom with them. Lunch would be outside and fast--no talking. All of the social elements of school are gone, although that is an argument people try to push schools to reopen. Thankfully, both kids immediately decided to stay virtual. They keep their teachers and schedule; they stay safe.

Monday, though, I wrote the following email to the Board and Superintendent. I'm posting it here as an open letter.

A Broken Trust

Good morning,

I am writing this email as a former teacher and administrator and current OCS parent and education professor and researcher. It is through these lenses that I write.

I was working for another school district when we bought our home in Hillsborough. I knew I wanted our children to attend Orange County Schools. I have always considered OCS to be a district focused on innovation, equity, and leadership. I have shared these beliefs with pride as I work in districts across the state and nation, sharing about a small district doing great things. After the events of the last month culminating in the Board meeting Friday night, however, I can no longer share those beliefs unequivocally. Here are my reasons why:

1. Please interrogate the findings of the ABC Collaborative. The district has put tremendous emphasis on their findings--findings that are problematic at best and dangerous at worst. Research, especially education research, is only generalizable to the extent the contexts match. Our context is very different from the studies from which their recommendations are derived. (The superintendent in the Wisconsin study has been very clear about his concerns about the way that study is being used.) Furthermore, they are using the same data to make different recommendations to each district with whom they consult even though those contexts are much more similar. Why?

2. A commonly cited reason to bring students back to in-person learning is the emphasis on "at-risk" students. Setting the problematic nature of that term aside, we are hearing from teachers and families across districts, including OCS, that these students are not opting to return to the classroom--as is their right. For some, they are particularly vulnerable to the economic and medical ramifications of a potential Covid exposure. For others, systems and policies regarding the return to school, especially transportation and screening, make returning challenging or impossible. 

3. While current CDC guidance does suggest bringing elementary students back is possible, it clearly states that middle and high schools in orange and red counties should remain virtual. Furthermore, the same guidelines state that if schools do return to in-person learning, extra-curricular activities, especially indoor sports, must be suspended. OCS is ignoring all of these guidelines.

4. Further guidance from the CDC suggests that all school staff should be vaccinated before reopening buildings. We now have a timeline for those vaccinations--one our original reopening plan would have allowed. When we ignore this guidance, we send a clear message to our most valuable resources--our staff--that they are less important. In districts that are reopening we are seeing waves of early retirements and resignations as teachers make impossible choices. I receive multiple emails daily from principals looking for teachers. I have none. Although our cohorts are larger than they have been in recent history, all of our December grads had jobs before they graduated; many of my May graduates have already been offered and accepted jobs that will begin the day after they finish student teaching. We have to support our current teachers; there are no replacements.

I am keenly aware that most of the recent decisions have been driven by political pressure from Raleigh and the impending bill. However, the increased rapidity and decreased transparency of the decisions raise great concern. I will not speak for others, but I want to unequivocally state that while I have faith in my children's teachers, I no longer have faith or trust in the district leadership.

I would urge you to stop succumbing to political pressure and return to leading.

Respectfully,

Heather A. Bower, MSA, PhD

Day 305: This Sweet Boy

This sweet boy:

 Sunday, it was cold and gross, but we had PORCH pick-up. Brad was still battling his cold (which is now gone), and Issa was exhausted and sore from dance. Evan said he and I could manage. I fully planned to do more parking and hauling, but he knew my ankle was (and is) still not quite right. He refused to let me help. We filled the entire back of the car, and he carried every box, bag, and can. 

In the past few months, he is really growing up and we are seeing more of the man he is becoming, and I couldn't be more proud.

Day 304: First Convention and Competition of the Season!

Last week, Issa was able to attend her first convention and competition of the season! It certainly looked very different, but she was so excited. Saturday, she took four convention classes with professional dancers via Zoom. She said the classes were exactly like regular convention, except she was in the studio instead of a hotel ballroom. They even still had number and wristbands:

I won't lie: I cried when she came home wearing that wristband. It's such a little thing, but it was a lovely taste of what used to be.

Sunday, we went back to the studio for competition:

They performed live for the judges on Zoom, and then they got immediate feedback.

She started with jazz:

Tap was in the middle:

And I didn't get a picture of musical theatre. 

They did well, and she was thrilled to be able to actually perform. 

 

Days 302-303: Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a really busy weekend, so much so I will need to spread our fun out over several posts.

We had a lovely time celebrating Valentine's Day! As a special gift to me, Brad spent most of the weekend working on projects--one planned, one not so much.

Friday night, the light in our living room died. The internal switch blew, and after a good 20 year run we decided it was time to replace it, and Brad even put it on a dimmer for us:

The end result is a marked improvement:

He also hung the boards, rings, and jars (not pictured) for my indoor herb garden:

It will be in the stairwell, and I am so excited! Issa and I hope to plant the seeds tonight!

Evan kept us warm with a toasty fire:

And we all loved our steak dinner last night. Brad really is the king of steak chefs.

We have spent all of February celebrating our little family love, and it was a nice weekend to put a pin in that! Next Friday, Brad and I are celebrating at the Colonial Inn downtown, and I can hardly wait!
 

Day 301: And so it begins...

 Issa's best friend just got her learner's permit. That is all.

Day 300: Big Plans

 I managed to actually drive Issa to and from dance yesterday, and I have big plans to go to the grocery today! My ankle isn't 100%, but it is slowly getting better, and I'm feeling the need to start strengthening it. Fingers crossed!

I laugh at this week's blog--so boring. We are in survival mode. Brad has an ugly cold (just a cold), I have a bad ankle, and we are just trying to keep this train on the rails!

Day 298-299: Still Down

 I'm still limping around. The ankle is markedly better. I can put weight on it, and it's barely swollen. I just have very limited range of motion.

I planned to go to campus today, but decided to stay home. I didn't have any in-person meetings, and going from propped all day to down all day seemed like a bad idea. I'm currently sitting at the table, and we will see how that goes.

This is one of the silver linings of Covid. Any other year, I absolutely would have pushed to be in the office. I wouldn't miss meetings or classes. Since everything is already online, I'm only missing the informal conversations with the few other people in the building. It makes me feel a little less guilty--but I'm still annoyed.

Days 296-297: Thankful for My People

 We had a lovely first two days of the weekend. Brad and I made poutine for date night Friday night, and Issa and I went to mom's Saturday night to rearrange some furniture and watch our first ballet of the year. (We are thrilled the ballet is live-streaming again.)

Yesterday, though, things took a hard turn. I'm mostly fine, but I accidentally got between Inks and Buddy when they were playing, and Buddy hit the back of my knee. The end result is a really sprained left ankle. For a few moments, I literally saw stars and Brad and I were trying to decide if it was broken. I spent the rest of the day in bed with it propped with ice and compression. It hurts--a lot.

Issa spent the entire day with me, keeping me company. I am teaching her to crochet, and she is loving it. Evan was the best little runner, bringing me anything I needed.

Brad was amazing. He has helped me with everything. Yesterday, I couldn't put any weight on it at all, so I needed help with absolutely everything. Today, I can put a little weight on it, so I made it downstairs to the couch with his help. I won't be moving much, and Brad has already offered to bring me lunch and anything else I need. 

I am certain I will be better by tomorrow, but I'm awfully grateful for a family that takes such good care of me.

Day 295: We are Dancing!!!

 We got some pretty big news yesterday: Issa will be dancing in two competitions in February!

We have been so pleased with how careful the studio is being, but Issa finally cracked last weekend. They have worked so hard on their dances, and last weekend should have been a competition. It's hard. It doesn't help that a year ago we were in Virginia competing. We are getting used to these waves of Covid grief, but that doesn't make them easier.

It did make yesterday's news that much sweeter. Next weekend, she will be taking classes and then competing straight from her studio! They will livestream in the teachers and judges, and they will get real-time feedback on their dances. 

At the end of February, our girl is actually performing on a stage! We are going to a competition that will only have one studio in the venue at a time. Each dancer will have their dedicated changing space, and we moms will have assigned viewing space. As soon as we finish our dances, we leave, they sterilize everything, and the next group comes in. It feels incredibly safe, and I'm so glad our girls will have the chance to actually perform on stage.

Day 294: Yep

A colleague gave me this mug for Christmas:

 And that sums up my week...

Day 293: Frosty

We were all a little extra snuggly yesterday. Our heater was on the struggle bus. We realized this weekend we had a trouble, which is why we got the electric fireplace. It wasn't completely not working, but when we got up it was 61. Thankfully, we have a great HVAC guy who came yesterday and cleared an intake valve. Problem solved. We were toasty by mid-afternoon.

Frosty spent the day like this, though:

She just wanted to hold my hand all day, and I didn't mind one bit.
 

Days 291-292: A Whole Lot of Nothing

This weekend we did a whole lot of nothing. It was really cold here, and we added an electric fireplace to the landing, which pretty much guarantees we never want to leave the landing. Even Buddy thinks leaving is ridiculous:

We did have Mom over for dinner Saturday night, and we finished planning her front flower beds, which was fun. Sunday, Issa decorated our kitchen light for Valentine's Day:

And the most ambitious thing I did was do a Valentine's manicure:

 It is so rare that we have a completely open weekend, and it was so nice to just rest and snuggle in. Now it's back to reality...