With The Dads Must Be Crazy podcast going on temporary hiatus, we decided to keep a blog of how our days are going under this new, relative isolation from the rest of the world. This will not be posted every day, but often enough that our home-bound stories about parenting in this "new normal." We will probably post it 3 or 4 days a week. Stay tuned for updates on the podcast. In the meantime, you can check out old episodes at https://niagaraswatercooler.podbean.com/
Day 4
Craig: I got the phone call Tuesday that I would not be working until further notice. Wednesday was supposed to be my first day of a normal work week. I probably wouldn’t have made it even if we were working. I was woken up about 3am with a monstrous migraine, which hadn’t gone away by the time I would have gotten up for work. I’ve suffered from migraines since I was in my early teens. Typically, I’d get 3-5 a month, with some worse than others. I’ve seen auras with some of them. This one was a bad one, or maybe it just seemed that way since they suddenly stopped coming (for the most part) back in September. Maybe I just wasn’t used to it anymore.
Anyway, I didn’t get out of bed until lunchtime, and even then I still wasn’t 100%. Thursday morning isn’t much better. Part of it is the weather. Part of it is the stress. Thursday feels more like sinuses that migraine, but it’s still annoying.
The kids were really loud all day Wednesday. Again, that could have just been me with the lingering effects of the headache. The twins actually did all their school work and it took them less time than either Monday or Tuesday. The littlest one finished her work rather quickly. The trouble comes with the middle child (I know with an even number there really isn’t a middle, but she was the middle pregnancy.) She simply does not want to do anything. She’s fighting us every step of the way. Whenever we get on her case about it, she has a fit. And yesterday, I just didn’t want to hear it.
I tried to avoid the news all day, and did okay until the evening. I checked on the world before I went to bed. The news was the same. Doom and gloom. Then I made the mistake of trolling Facebook for awhile. It astounds me that there are so many people who are “fighting” this virus or the restrictions placed upon us through their respective political leanings. Seriously, don’t let your affiliation with one political party or another dictate your health and well being. Frankly, it’s disgusting at how cavalier so many people are about ridiculing other people for having different world views than they do. And no, it’s not you exercising your freedom of speech. It’s just you being an asshole for no good reason. It’s not productive.
Speaking of productive, I had the great idea of taking on a project at the house. Wendy was going to work on her own project. She was moving a new piece of furniture into her sunroom. That required moving a lot of stuff around. Right now, the entire downstairs look like a bull was let loose in a china shop. And I decided it was time to clear out my library so that it could finally be usable. Now that is a huge undertaking.
My library was the first room that we refinished when we moved into the house twenty years ago. Since then, it’s become a catch-all. It is barely passable. Basically, there’s simply a path that goes to the attic door. Not after this project. I will have the room finished, even if I work on it just an hour or two each day. Finally, the room will be organized and the girls will also have a place to keep their instruments (other than stuffed into the corner of the living room.)
The girls are starting to get a little stir crazy. They went for a bike ride in the afternoon. After a couple hours tooling around and playing at the playground, they came home and watched a couple episodes of Boy Meets World. I wish they spent as much time working on school work. Especially Thing #3.
Howie:
In the interest of full disclosure, I’m writing about Thursday on Friday morning. Not that anyone’s keeping track.
So, yesterday got off to a pretty inauspicious start due to some bad news delivered via text. It’s the kind of news you really can’t respond to with anything other than a sympathetic “I’m sorry” and/or an “I’m here.” As time goes by, I’ll write more about this as I can, if I can. For now, I’m good. But I’m only speaking for me. No one else.
Moving along, I’d say that as of “Day 4” my daughters and I have pretty much settled into a bit of a routine of sorts. There is no set scheduled time for them to work on the computer, but I have made sure they put in worthwhile efforts on the work provided by their respective teachers. Both did a good amount, and we also set aside time for reading.
Rayna, my youngest, discovered Project MC Squared on Netflix, and I’m loving that she’s got a show like this to watch instead of one portraying parents as bumbling fools. As I write this, she’s building a pillow-and-blanket fort in our den while watching another episode. Creativity and math equals success, right? Maybe? I don’t know.
We did get out of the house to get the school lunch via one of the designated locations, and once again it’s really a credit to the community schools that they have been able to adapt on the fly to best serve their students. Each and every employee in our local school districts deserves praise for what they’ve done.
Late in the afternoon, after a brief phone call, I decided one trip to the grocery store was in order to get anything that hasn’t already been gotten. I actually ran into my mother-in-law and my son, who has been staying at his grandparents since last Friday. I normally get a little annoyed at how long he stays there, because he lives here. However, given the circumstances, right now his absence from home makes life easier for everyone. Keeping my daughters calm is much easier without him stoking trouble, and him being at his grandparents house allows them the chance to go out at a moment’s notice, if necessary, while keeping someone home to watch their dogs.
During the day, like Craig, I have begun to distance myself from the news. I’ll tune in for the daily briefings, but even those have begun to annoy me. For instance, the NYS governor has been at the forefront of this whole thing, slowly implementing measures for the greater good. It’s the frog in the pot of water set to boil theory here, and given what California imposed before I went to bed Thursday, I imagine New York and the rest of the country can’t be too far behind. I don’t know what that says about us as a nation that we can’t be told to sit on our behinds for a few days without complaining. Then again, the fact that people have been congregating at beaches and bars in other states and willfully ignoring the plight of everyone else tells me that whatever we can say, it’s probably not suitable for publication.
Also, I’ve grown weary of the spread of misinformation on the Internet. Whether it’s Facebook or Twitter, or any other platform, please, I implore you: check your “news” before reposting it. Make sure it’s accurate. Possibly the worst one of the past week was the one that circulated saying that each of us could fight Coronavirus by using a combination of vinegar and saltwater. Seriously? If you believed that, then allow me to offer you stock in my house on Mars, too. The medical professionals would have told us this. Also, there was a story I saw that involved a doctor having to tell patients that no, drinking bleach won’t kill the virus in you. Frankly, if you need to be told not to drink bleach...well, maybe I should stop my sentence right there for fear of saying something I’d absolutely regret.
Finally, I’d like to inject some entertainment in this entry. Late Wednesday night I found a 64-movie bracket made exclusively of Disney movies. Elsewhere, during the week, a sports talk show host I follow on Twitter revealed a 64-movie bracket of his favorite movies, broken down “regionally” by drama, comedy, action, and wild card. And, Thursday morning when my wife went to work, I did a quick channel flip and wound up settling in on the couch to watch the end of Enemy Mine before starting my day. I was wondering if maybe, perhaps, Craig and Bobby and I should create a movie bracket of our own. I think our regions should consist of Sci-Fi, Cult Classics, 80s Action, and Oscar Winners. I’m open to changing that, though. We can even have you, the readers, participate by voting.
That’s all for me for now. Stay safe everyone!
Bobby:
So yesterday was a bit more of the same crap, different toilet. Most everyone was stuck at home. My mother decided to venture out and get some milk and other essentials at the local grocery store. She said it was not that crowded, but the store needed to be stocked. Of course I was worried about her. She is at severe risk for developing a serious illness with COVID-19 because she has COPD.
She was originally debating whether or not to go out at all. She was thinking of going during the hours sat aside for the senior shoppers, but I told her it did not matter. Her risk would be that same. I told her that the store was closed at night for restocking and the work is done on a rotating shift. Someone who is checking out in the evening may be checking out first thing in the morning during senior hours. And that checker may have been exposed during a previous shift. The senior hours are just so the seniors can get their items without being mobbed by the panicers.
I have relied heavily on my knowledge of bio-warfare. I specialized in it during my 20 year Army career. Everything that has been predicted to happen with the public has happened. People are panicking, fighting, and hoarding while others simply could not be bothered to follow the guidance from the CDC and stay home with the exception of acquiring essentials. I have no words for the entitled generation.
There was some good news in the media. There are a few antivirals that are approved for use in the fight of the virus. I have taken Chloroquine while deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. I can say that I did not get Malaria, which was the intended purpose. There is also a study that has come out of France saying that if you combine Chloroquine and Azithromycin, it kills the virus in 3 days for 50% of the patients and 100% of patients in 6 days. The news is very promising. Hold on for a while longer. This too shall pass.
I have encountered some resistance, much like Craig when it comes to homework. My middle child is putting up a fight part of the time. My oldest doesn’t seem to want to put her phone down and do her homework. We are managing though.
Morning workouts are going good. Karate has now gone online and we are thankful for that. Any physical activity is good for the body and mental health. I would encourage everyone to do some physical activity within their limits. There are a number of workouts ranging from free weights to chair workouts. Just google it.
I think the movie bracket sounds fun. Let’s do it. Howie can get us started. Anyway, stay safe guys and gals.