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Day 73: The Zen of Mess

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With the kids back home, it was back to something more resembling the normal march of quarantine monotony on Wednesday. We did the whole morning breakfast routine, arbitrated all the arguments over which cartoon to watch (primarily an ongoing debate between Clifford and The New Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle ), fielded various requests for tablets, snacks, etc. And being Wednesday, it was also...cleaning day! Always a fun day in the Schneider Haus. The kids were actually a little more upbeat about it than they usually were, so I guess the getaway was very good for them as well. After a little early morning shower cleaning, I was off to the office to start tackling some projects that had suddenly picked up steam. Most notably, I had plucking away at creating a presentation that I thought I wouldn’t need to give until late this summer. But that timeline got pushed up when I got a request from the local American Institute of Architects for a presentation on that very topic at the...
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Day 72: Pick Up Day

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It was back to work on Tuesday morning, and while we were certainly missing the kids at this point, it was nice to have a few hours of peace to focus on things. Of course, much of the day was taken up with a conference call and a webinar I needed to deliver, but it was still reasonably productive day. We planned to head over at dinnertime to Grandma and Pop Pop's house for a belated Memorial Day cookout. The kids were excited, and there was definitely some conflicted feelings in the pair. Amelia was bummed that the sleepover was coming to an end, and Henry, while he obviously had a great time, also missed us and missed home a little. He was super cuddly with both of us, which was admittedly pretty great. It was an absolutely beautiful afternoon, and we sat out on their back porch, hanging out watching the sun set and having dinner. Amelia and Henry played in the backyard, and even she commented on the view a few times. Apparently during their visit, the kids had gone out f...
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Day 71: Sofa, So Good

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Monday morning arrived and the house was still in an eerie state of peace. The kids were at their grandparents' house for another day, and Erin, Asta and I had our run of the place. We were able to watch actual movies that were filmed with the intention of appealing to grown ups. We were able to watch those on our television sets, and without constant screams for attention or snacks filling the background. Erin was able to get some reading done. I was able to get some writing done. And I was able to have some very rare and valuable couch time. Aaaaaaah... I remember looking outside and admiring what a beautiful day it was, thinking to myself that I should probably take a walk or in some way take advantage of that. Instead... ...I put on TRON and took a nap. I barely moved from the sofa all afternoon. I nodded in and out of consciousness while the movie was on, and then Disney+ just started playing TRON Legacy afterward. If you haven't seen TRON L...
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Day 70: Sleepover!

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Sunday was a very exciting day for the kids. After we’d made initial contact with Grandma and Pop Pop a little over a week ago, discussions began about the possibility of a sleepover. Like many people out there, Erin and I have been struggling with how to handle quarantine. It was in some ways easier at the beginning when the lines were stark and the idea was just to stay home and keep away from everyone. That was also at a time when there was sort of a nebulous, undiscussed idea that somehow this whole thing would blow over in a few weeks. Then maybe a few months. Now, the reality is setting in that we are going to be living with COVID for some time. I think we’re all trying to figure out what that means. Of course we hear plenty of loud noise from those on the polar ends of the spectrum, as is usually the case. Most of us fall more into a fuzzy middle ground. I personally am at a point on the scale where I think we absolutely cannot just go back to the way things were, nor do...
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Day 69: Fish and Dips

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Another week has gone by, and it was once again time for the Saturday supply run. This week I had a few more stops than usual, since we needed some odds and ends from Target, I managed to drop my phone while running an needed a new screen protector, and we have a dog that really likes to eat and would likely not be happy to discover we had run out of her food. This all followed a week that just seemed jam packed every minute of every day. I woke up a little slow and groggy, and took a particularly uninspired “run” before going to the store. I have to put the word “run” in quotations because any simple fact check of whatever it was I did outside on Saturday morning wouldn’t really line up with any conventional definition of that word. That whole rambling run-on sentence is basically just my convoluted, self deprecating way of saying, “I felt pretty tired.” But I managed to shove on through the whole shopping, unloading, disinfecting process. I am developing a robotic-like effici...
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Day 68: Rock N’ Roll!

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With school now out for the year, it’s official summertime for the kids. Early Friday morning, we heard a racket upstairs and quickly realized that our kids were jumping in on a longtime American summer tradition: forming a rock band. That gathered their instruments from the play room and spent the better part of the morning jamming. Here is the world premier video from Amelia and Henry: “Rock N’ Roll. I think they’ve got something there. Amelia has the driving punk rock Ramones-esque stance down, and Henry is definitely at home pounding the drums. He has a kind of elastic, post-bop Elvin Jones rhythm going on. After their morning session, the two went on doing their usual thing for the day, playing around the house, eating and running around. Erin and I had packed days of work and other odds and ends that kept us occupied. Nothing blogworthy, per se, but man it was another hectic day in a hectic week. This was one of those weeks that had so much in it, on both the work...
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Day 67: School's Out For Summer

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Thursday was Amelia's last day of school. She had been excited for this day, and we tried to make it as special as we could for her. We let her do class in her pajamas, which I figure is great preparation for going to college someday. Her homework all done, all that was left was to log on to the final class and say her goodbyes. It has obviously been a strange last few months, and I know it's been super hard on teachers and students as well as on we parents. But the school was great and Amelia's teacher did a great job making that last day fun and exciting for them. There was music, singalongs, and heartfelt goodbyes. Lots of smiles and waves and wishes of "have a great summer!" We of course hope that the fall brings something of normalcy back for the kids the community. It's hard to imagine any scenario where everything goes back to being as it was, but we are at least hopeful that there will be some kind of spaced or staggered return to ...
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