New Routines

I am procrastinating right now. I have housework that I should be doing, but I find myself sitting down and writing in this space instead. The housework will get done - it has to - now that public and home school has begun in this house there is no longer the time to get the deep cleaning done during the week. Saturdays are now the designated days when bathrooms are to be deep cleaned and furniture is to be polished. 

Indiana has opted to allow each school district determine if it is going to welcome students back into its buildings or begin the school year online. Sarah's school district, like most others, have chosen to bring its students back onto its campuses. Fortunately, along with the decision to open its doors, parents were given the option of whether or not to send their kiddos back. We had made the decision as a family not to send Sarah back right now, but received further confirmation our decision to do so was the right one by her neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic who determined that until COVID cases went down she would not be safe to attend school in person. It's not so much her disease that is the problem as it is the treatment she receives to combat her disease. She currently receives an off label chemotherapy treatment twice a year which essentially wipes out both the bad blood cells, but also the good ones too. Sarah is receiving her schooling as a homebound student. This means that all of her assignments are given to her at the beginning of the week and she works through them and then turns them in at the end of the week. Once we deem it safe for her to return to school, she will pick up like a 'regular' student and head back to the high school campus. 

I am both loving having her home and also anxious for her to go back. Sarah is on an honors track which means honors and AP classes are regular parts of her course load.  Because she requires so much assistance from me, it means I am also taking honors and AP classes.(No, I am not doing the work for her. I just need to make sure that I know what I am talking about so that when she has questions I know how to best answer them.) Thankfully, her teachers are wonderful (with the exception of one) and are very helpful to not only Sarah, but to me as well. I am also anxious for Sarah to go back to school because it is the only normal activity she has in her life. She loves going to school and being there. She is a super smart kiddo who thrives being around other mature kiddos who she can interact with and who challenge her. 

On the other hand, it is nice having her home with me. I love having my kids with me. Getting to have her home has been a special treat for me. And although the break I get to focus solely on Elizabeth while Sarah is at school is important, I find that I miss Sarah when she is away all day. I just really enjoy being with my kids and spending time with them. I will hog up all of the opportunities I can to do so until they move out, and even then I will still try to be with them as much as possible. They are my favorite people to be with. They are such amazingly cool people to be around. 

Elizabeth started working on her 8th grade year several weeks ago and will  follow Sarah's school schedule while Sarah is home. I am hoping to incorporate more field trips this year into our normal schooling routine especially since this might be our last year schooling at home, but I need the risk of one of us bringing COVID home to decrease first. (It is undetermined if Elizabeth will go to public school for high school or be home schooled for the duration of her academic years.) 

The start of the new school year for both girls has necessitated the start of our school year routine which includes bedtimes and specific wake up times. I typically begin my day around 7 am and get ready for our day. The girls wake up at 9 am. We do schooling from 9:30 - 12:30 followed by an hour lunch break from 12:30 - 1:30 pm. School work commences at 1:30 and we work until it is completed or 3:30 pm - which ever comes first. We have some down time and then begin dinner prep at 5 pm. We eat at 6 pm and then have free time. (We usually take a walk together or go to a part to kick a soccer ball around.) At 8:30, we begin getting ready for the next day; Teeth are brushed, faces washed (or showers are had), followed by me reading aloud our current book selection. We then listen to an audiobook we have selected together to listen to. The girls have a little bit of down time with lights out at 10:30.  If Andy is off from work we usually play three rounds of Rummy. Josh used to play, but is usually in bed now that he has to get up for work at 3:30 am. (He began a job loading UPS trucks about 6 weeks ago. He works Tuesday - Saturday from about 4:30 - 9 am.) 

I am thankful for the new routine. This year has been so wonky. At least now there is some semblance of normalcy even though it isn't the old normal way of doing things. I am learning to become okay with this even though it has been really, really challenging at times. I know everyone is in the same boat and this gives me some comfort. 

Well, I suppose I have procrastinated enough. Those bathrooms are not going to get cleaned on their own nor are those nightstands and tables going to be polished by themselves...It is time I get my chores done. 

July's Reading List

It felt good to dedicate more of my time reading this month.  Reading is one of my absolute favorite things to do and I was happy to get back to doing more of what I enjoy. 

Here are the books I read in July:

I loved this book. It wasn't until after I read it that I saw that it sparked controversy because it was written by a white author to a (primarily) white audience. Despite the issues over who should have written this book and to what kind of audience, I loved it because it shows why people feel compelled to leave their homes to seek out a safer life in America. I am pretty passionate about immigration. I believe that it is an issue of compassion for people who live in circumstances that I will never have face as an American. This book reinforced by beliefs about why people leave their homes in the first place. I would definitely read this book again. 

I am on a Middle Eastern kick right now, and have been for the last few months. I am particularly interested in the plight of women living in the Middle East. This book was one that I would probably read again and most likely purchase. Middle Eastern women amaze me because of their strength and resiliency despite living in some of the most oppressive circumstances imaginable. 

I love reading books about history. I think of all of the topics to read about history is my favorite. That being said, I think that this was a little bit too far back for my interests. This book takes place in the 12th and 13th centuries. I love reading about the 1700's+. Those centuries fascinate me. And maybe I would enjoy learning about history before that time period, but if this book was any indication of what reading about that time period would be like, I think I will pass. It was informative, but the narrative just didn't really strike me as all too interesting. 

I was surprised I picked up this book. I saw that a public figure I occasionally check up on had read it and was trying to implement some of its practices in her own marriage. It is a book on Christianity which I did not think I would like especially given my current feelings on God, etc...I actually enjoyed this book. I don't know that I would read it again, but I am glad that I read it once. It made me think about some things and I enjoy when a book does that. 

I was really looking forward to reading this book. I enjoyed Glennon Doyle's first books so much that no only did I purchase them, but I have read them multiple times. I did not feel this way at all about this book. I will most likely not read it again and I will not buy it. 

There were definitely some gems in this book, don't get me wrong, but I felt like too much of this book was recycled stuff - stuff I had either read before in previous books, or stuff that was shared on the author's Instagram (both life experiences and snippets of this book). I also felt like the book was choppy and there was no real story line. 

I know that this book is beloved by so many. I see the reviews and I see its ranking on the New York Times bestseller list, but it just wasn't for me. 

Books Read:

January  - 7

February - 8
March  - 7
April - 2

May/June  - 5

July - 5

2020 total - 34