Read more about the article I haven’t figured out how to approach all of this
COVID19 / My thoughts / Planning / School

I haven’t figured out how to approach all of this

I'm going to be splitting my focus this week between work and getting the kids ready to begin school next week. I have an interview first thing this morning and then a business meeting in the afternoon. After that, I'm working with the boys to help them get organized and prepped for school to begin next Monday. There are a few phone calls I need to make to the school to figure out some of the logistics that I have questions about. I need to look at a new desk for the boys as well. We have one but I'd like for each of the boys to have their own setup. I haven't figured out how to approach all of this just yet. There are a few things that I'll…

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August 11, 2020
Read more about the article Distance learning for the first time is pretty f*cking scary
COVID19 / Distance Learning / My thoughts / Planning / School

Distance learning for the first time is pretty f*cking scary

School is getting closer and closer and I'm getting nervous. We will be distance learning for the first time because there isn't a snowballs chance in hell that I would put my kids in a classroom right now. I know it's the right thing to do but I'm questioning whether I'm the right person for the job. Unfortunately, I'm the only person for the job, so I don't really have a choice. Everyone is stressed out and lockdown is continuing to take its toll. The house setup is not really conducive to distance learning and I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. Using the dining room table is probably the easiest solution but the boys may end up distracting each other if I don't separate them. Ideally, they'd…

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August 5, 2020
Read more about the article We basically have 2 weeks before school begins
COVID19 / Distance Learning / My thoughts / Planning

We basically have 2 weeks before school begins

School supplies have started to arrive for Emmett. Elliott already received a textbook and laptop a few weeks back. Emmett received books, art supplies, a science kit and his laptop. The math workbook is enormous. We have about 2 weeks left before school is supposed to begin and frankly, I'm nervous. Things are already so challenging and that's without having to try and manage distance learning. At this point, I'm not even sure what's going to happen in Ohio. It's not yet been decided as far as I know. I suspect the school year will at the very least, be delayed. We'll have to see what happens and how it impacts us. For right now however, I'm just hoping that I can pull this off. I told Gavin that we…

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August 1, 2020
Read more about the article My current back to school plan is far from perfect but at least it’s safe
COVID19 / My thoughts / Planning / School

My current back to school plan is far from perfect but at least it’s safe

I'm trying to keep things moving forward and I feel like I'm doing a halfway decent job. That's not easy for me to say that either. I tend to focus on my many failings and gloss over my parenting wins. I do feel pretty accomplished to have a basic strategy for the upcoming school year. We haven't left the house in a few days. It's been insanely hot and COVID is worsening in Ohio. There's also a renewal of the general safety concerns where we live. There have been shootings recently and while that's not unheard of its been getting pretty bad. I've mentioned before that gunshots are an almost daily occurance where I live. I don't always know what happened but we hear them all the time. The gunshots…

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July 29, 2020
Read more about the article How I’m continuing therapy during #COVID19 lockdown
COVID19 / Lockdown / My thoughts / Planning

How I’m continuing therapy during #COVID19 lockdown

I have my second online therapy session today. My therapist moved everything online and that's definitely a good idea. Online therapy is a bit weird for me because I prefer being face to face with people when I'm speaking or listening to them but we all have to make adjustments. I thought I would give you a quick look at how I have my online therapy setup. Doing this doesn't have to be super complicated and I don't really do anything special. My phone is mounted on the mic arm I use my podcast and simply I put in a pair of wireless earbuds, currently using the Galaxy Buds + by Samsung, cause they came free with my phone. I just sit at my recording table and have a video…

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March 26, 2020
Read more about the article Keeping my #immunocompromised son safe from #COVID19 isn’t easy
Clozapine / COVID19 / Gavin / Lockdown / My thoughts / Planning

Keeping my #immunocompromised son safe from #COVID19 isn’t easy

We survived the day and I feel pretty good about that. I was able to get the boys school work to and from the school this morning and had my video conference with Gavin's doctor. The morning went off without a hitch. As far as updates are concerned, the only major one is what we decided to do with Gavin's meds. Basically, the conversation with his doctor revolved around how to handle Gavin's Clozapine, while we're on total lockdown, inside the COVID19 pandemic. Clozapine is used to treat Schizophrenia and it works well. It's also among the most tightly controlled medications in the United States, requiring blood work before every refill. The concern is that in order to maintain the medication, I would have to take Gavin to have his…

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March 24, 2020
Read more about the article I’m quickly running out of shits to give
COVID19 / Lockdown / My thoughts / Planning

I’m quickly running out of shits to give

I'm not going to sugar coat this folks. I'm really struggling right now. We've been on lockdown since March 6th, when Elliott got sick and was diagnosed with Influenza B. That just sorta rolled into the COVID19 lockdown and we're only just beginning this journey. The boys are on edge and I'm not sure how to really help them with that, aside from keeping them distracted and that's proving to be a challenge. In front of the kids, I'm a rock, but not so deep down inside, I'm freaking the fuck out. I'm sure that the kids have picked up on that to some extent but I go to exhaustive lengths to hide that from them. It's well, pretty damn exhausting. I'm trying to balance a million different things right…

5 Comments
March 21, 2020