Read more about the article Day 2 of Distance Learning Has Been A Nightmare
COVID19 / Distance Learning / My thoughts / Planning / School

Day 2 of Distance Learning Has Been A Nightmare

We just finished up the 2nd day of distance learning and it's been a disaster. The school appears to be over capacity and struggling to meet the demand. Yesterday was full of connectivity issues and today has been the same. We are getting messages that too many kids are trying to log in to the same live lesson and therefore Emmett was unable to gain access. Elliott tried to do his live session but the audio went out and the video kept freezing. I totally get that things happen and that they may be able to get these issues fixed. I get that. My concern is that autistic kids tend to generalize and their very first experiences with distance learning have been negative and frustrating. I'll be honest and say…

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August 18, 2020
Read more about the article This school year has me nervous
COVID19 / Distance Learning / My thoughts / Planning / School

This school year has me nervous

The new school year starts tomorrow morning and we're as ready as we're going to be. We spent the day working around the house. I sat down with each of the boys an went through school stuff. I tried my best to mentally prepare everyone for what feels like a monumental undertaking. Elliott and Emmett's schedules are going to be a little different because Elliott is taking more classes. I don't foresee that being a huge problem though. I understand distance learning will be challenging. The first couple of days will be spent going through the motions and getting accustomed to their new schedule. For the most part, the boys can create their own schedules. There are some live classes that are required but the rest of the time is…

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August 17, 2020
Read more about the article Balancing work and kids and school and COVID19
My thoughts

Balancing work and kids and school and COVID19

I'm spending way too much time on the phone today trying to manage several problems at the same time and it's just a lot bit overwhelming. While I'm on what feels like a perpetual hold, waiting for a representative to answer, I'm working on tomorrow's podcast release. The kids are really demanding my attention today and there's simply not enough of me to go around. I feel incredibly flustered right now because I can't seem to accomplish anything today. Trying to find a balance between work and kids is so difficult right now. I imagine it's only going to get more difficult as school re-enters our life. I can't record anything until my replacement Rodecaster Pro arrives today. It's being replaced under warranty and I'm sorta dead in the water…

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August 13, 2020
Read more about the article What do I mean when I say we’re on lockdown?
My thoughts

What do I mean when I say we’re on lockdown?

I wanted to clarify something. When I say that we're on lockdown, I'm referring to the fact that 99.95% of the time we're at home. We have zero contact with other people. The boys have seen their mom twice because everyone needs to quarantine for 14 days prior to the kids going over. It's not as easy for them to do that. We connect with my parents through Facebook portal and the kids love it. They've stopped by and we've visited from good distance away but that's pretty rare because my neighborhood is pretty active and no one is following the mask mandate. I don't want my parents taking any chances either. That said, I do try to get the kids out into the woods a few times a week…

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August 12, 2020
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 My little victory over #depression and a gentle reminder to all of you
Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

My little victory over #depression and a gentle reminder to all of you

First of all, I really appreciate all the love and support. We're all in this together and I sometimes forget that. Thank you for the many reminders. ☺ I wanted to share a bit more about something I alluded to in the previous post (see here). Yesterday, Elliott did his daily can we go walking Dad. I wish I could take them whenever they wanted me to but the truth is, I honestly don't feel it's always safe. There are also times when I simply lack the motivation and energy. That's usually due complications related to my ongoing war with depression. Without fail, Elliott asked me to take them all to Quail Hollow, a park within driving distance from our house. It's one of our favorite places to visit during…

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August 9, 2020
Read more about the article I’m losing interest in all the things I once enjoyed
Confessions / Depression Management / My thoughts

I’m losing interest in all the things I once enjoyed

It's been a pretty rough couple of days. Scratch that. It's been a pretty rough year. I'm feeling a great deal of pressure right now and it doesn't look to be getting better, anytime soon. I'm fact, it's likely to only get worse. School is getting closer and closer and I'm getting more and more nervous about this whole distance learning thing. I don't really worry so much about the kids because I believe they can totally handle this. I'm nervous that I won't be able to handle this. I've been working a lot the last few days but unfortunately, it's not translating into much financially, at the moment. That fact alone has me unable to sleep at night. I know that literally millions and millions of people are dealing…

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August 9, 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