Day 2: Survival

A slow Sunday morning- Cathy made Baked Beans on Toast for breakfast. This is a very British dish from her childhood. I don’t think this is something that Americans do. British Baked beans also tend to be less barbecue flavored and more tomato flavored compared to American Beans.

Around noon I drove to work to prepare three days of sub plans. My district had decided to keep events going throughout the weekend and school open for three more days. This plan would not work for me. My child is immunosuppressed and I need to be extra careful of bringing Covid-19 into my home.

Fortunately, I found three days of sub plans in my desk, ready to copy. These plans were from January when Roland had his biannual visit to St. Louis Children’s Hospital. They would work again now. There were a few other teachers at school. I know that some teachers work weekends even though they don’t get paid for it. It is one of the sad parts of being an Elementary homeroom teacher. You rarely get prep time during the day and end up at school early in the morning, late at night, or on Saturday and Sunday. In many jobs this would not be legal because of overtime hours. Teachers do not get overtime, yet virtually all teachers end up working overtime.

I ate lunch at my desk. It was a little box of Chicken Salad with crackers. This was something Cathy had found at Target for me to keep at school in case I needed a quick bite and it was quite a nice treat. In the end, the sub plans were not needed. Around 6:00 the district notified parents and teachers that school would not run Monday through Wednesday after all. Bars and Restaurants are also starting to close nationwide.

Keeping Roland active is important. As a child with Autism he struggles to keep himself entertained. He does not watch TV. He does not play independently. He is used to teachers and therapists always being there for him. We took him for several walks outside today and I carried him through the snow to his trampoline. He loves the trampoline and was not able to use it during the months and months of winter.

Cathy and I played a board game this evening, one of our favorites. Forbidden Island is a cooperative game where players work together to survive in a desert. There are many ways to lose including dying of thirst, getting buried in sand, or getting lost in the storm. 

This reminded me that smart people all around the world are cooperating right now to attempt to contain this virus. Some of it comes down to having a good plan. Some of it comes down to luck.

Cathy and I did not win the board game.

TV watched today:

Doctor Who Season 4 Episode 8: “Silence in the Library” 
Doctor Who Season 4 Episode 9: “The Forest of the Dead"
The Office Season 8 Episode 3: "Lotto"
The Office Season 8 Episode 4: "Garden Party"

Books read today:
“How Caffeine Created the Modern World” by Michael Pollan

Board Games played today:
Forbidden Island

Baked Beans on Toast

Morning Cuddles

Trampoline