I have not been onto my blog for a VERY long time. My kids are now older, the world has changed a bit and we are a very busy family. Usually we are never home, running between hockey arenas and dance studios. My eldest is now 14, middle 11 and my son 9. Life is very different. Professionally I am still in my Kindergarten class but I have done a lot of PD and my outlook on early education has continued to evolve.
And then everything started to change ….
Back in January my girls and I went to see ‘Come from Away’ in Toronto. It is an amazing musical but the conversations we started to have have become some much more relevant in the last 3 days. The song ‘I Am Here’ touched me more than any other in the entire musical. Throughout history big events happen that are so relevant that everyone remembers where they were when it happened. I remember being at our local arena with my Dad, listening the the radio, when the first Iraq War started. I remember sitting in history class learning of the fall of the Berlin wall. And I knew exactly what my answer was when my girls asked, “Where were you on September 11th?” (For anyone interested, I had been married exactly 1 month, living in a condo in Mississauga, and I watched the events unfold on TV until I had to drive and pick up my husband from the subway station after his building was evacuated.)
The new question – where were you when the realization of COVID-19 hit. We knew something was happening but had not really grasped how significant until …
March 13th – During the day I received an email saying our dance studio was having and emergency parent meeting at 7:00 that evening. After I dropped the girls off just before 4:00 at the studio I headed home to do a quick workout and on the way heard that schools would be closed for the 2 weeks after March Break. Short to day I didn’t get my workout in (first day in 73 days I missed). I watched the news until I had to go to the meeting at 7:00. We are a competitive dance team and had a meeting about how competitions would be affected. In the days since then we have heard about travel advisories, social distancing, and toilet paper shortages. There has since been balance in our house as we have heeded all the warnings but then the last family member who was still holding out (my husband) finally acknowledged something when he suggested we cancel brunch this morning. We were planning on supporting a small local restaurant for brunch but the last warning that everyone returning from travel quarantine themselves was the thing that hit home for him (2 other partners at his firm were just returning from vacation). There are things about this outbreak I will remember but March 13th will definitely be one of them.
So … I thought I would use this opportunity to start up my blog. I have lots of plans for these 3 weeks (or however long we are off). I will share what my children are doing, professional reading and learning, and possibly other things that come along.
Mommy's Lessons 