What a weird time we’re in right now. It’s strange to drive around and it’s practically a ghost town. I hope everyone is safe and getting through the shit show out there. I know some people have been impacted greatly, and it’s a very scary time.
As a family, we’re blessed to be young and healthy (besides my healing shingles and pink eye – but you win some you lose some). I know some people have additional anxiety right now especially with auto-immune disorders, and it’s very scary. In that sense, we’re very lucky that the biggest struggle we’re having right now is the change in routine for the kids. I’m sure a lot of people are struggling with the same thing. Most everyone, if not everyone, is affected in some way by the closures and restrictions.
Schools are closed, daycares are closed, and Penny’s beloved “swimming” and “circus school” are closed. It’s been…interesting.
Rory is more of an extrovert and seems to be struggling with not being around a lot of people. Like, I don’t know how much he actually socializes in daycare, but he’s definitely missing being with a lot of people. Or maybe just being out of the house. He really is struggling with being at home most of the day. We’ve been taking him for countless drives (thankful for low gas prices right now) and we have plans to try and dig the swingset in the backyard out from the mounds of snow back there. I’m hoping the sun lately will take care of some of it. He’s a hard dude to take for a walk because he only has one route he will walk and that’s directly to the snowed-in playground down the street. That’s not a battle I’m willing to fight right now.
In relation to Social Distancing, Penny is living her best life. That girl could spend her whole life in the house with no company. And for the most part, that’s exactly what she’s doing – she spends most of her days in our room, only coming down for snacks and maybe a TV show here and there.
We discovered last summer when I had the brilliant idea to let the kids have most of the summer “off” from therapy and appointments that they do not do well without structure. Shocker, I know. I blame my mom guilt for me not thinking of such a thing sooner. As a result, Penny’s sleep habits went off the rails. So, for fear of that happening again, we’ve decided to keep a loose schedule going. There’s a lot of information going around about homeschooling, and while we’re not doing that as such, we do have a space set up right now to do some parent-implemented ABA Therapy. I have a few colouring sheets for Rory and some math work for Penny too.
Penny did ABA Therapy for 2 years, and Rory did it for just over a year, so they are well versed in sitting down to do some work/play based therapy. We used to have Home Therapists hired for them, but now we do Parent-Implemented (which means they have less programs and Shamus and I are supposed to teach them). They don’t always do this with me and Shamus because 1. We don’t have a lot of time and 2. At the end of the day, we all just want to chill. This forced time together has actually given us an opportunity to work on things in a partially structured environment again which is nice.
Did I need to make signs that said their names and grades? No. Did I though? Hell yeah. It’s on cupcake paper! I also taped a Bubble Guppies table cloth on Rory’s old ABA Therapy table. #killingit.
I wrote “work sheets” on the Penny’s daily schedule (which she has every day anyways) and she was happy to sit with me for a few minutes and do some work and play some simple games. Rory actually doesn’t have a whole lot to do, but I didn’t want to leave him out so he has colouring sheets and Shamus read to him (he won’t let me read to him for some reason). They lasted with us for about 10 minutes this morning – for perspective, Penny used to do 30 hours a week of therapy at one point, and I think Rory was up to 20-25 hours a week?
One of the biggest things for Penny this winter has been her swimming lessons being cancelled. First it was Snowmageddon, then mechanical issues at the pool, and now a freaking pandemic that closed all of the pools. She can’t understand what’s happening and still asks for swimming constantly. I am happy to report (and have reported this multiple times over my own social media) that Penny accepted “swimming in the bathtub” as an option last night. She previously was very upset every time I suggested she wear her bathing suit in the bath. Fingers crossed that remains a solution.
We’re all adapting to this weird, temporary normal. It’s definitely not perfect. Times are still scary and everything is up in the air, but I’m trying not to let my anxiety get the best of me.
Both Shamus and I still have to work out of the home – him early morning shifts, and me every few days for the time being, so I actually think that is helping us a bit more. We don’t have to work from home (given that it’s taken me 3 days to write this blog, I think I’d be fucked if I did) and it gives us some semblance of routine.
I’ve also had the epiphany that most things I stress about daily are temporary and easily rescheduled. Funny how a global pandemic really makes you appreciate your every day life.
Sending love out to everyone, especially if you’re struggling. I hope everyone stays well. I’d love to hear what ideas people are using to keep themselves sane. Our basic plan is light scheduling, a lot of drives, keeping our sense of humour, adjusting our plan daily…and probably a bit too much screen time.
A Manageable Amount of Chaos 
And after we’re out of quarantine, they can come to St Shotts for a few days.
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