I can't even articulate how disappointed and angry I am in this country for effing up the pandemic again. Delta prevalence exists because eligible people didn't get vaccinated. Plain and simple. A virus mutates when it has able bodies to do so in, and it does, because of so many people who refuse to take advantage of this scientific gift that millions of people in third-world countries would love to have. This is a nation of Red Bull chuggers, Botox injectors, and processed-food eaters. And you tell me you don't want to put a vaccine into your body because of what is in it? PLEASE. I just cannot. I just want to have a normal school year where my biggest concern is staying on top of grading and not if my son is going to get Covid or if my students are worried about coming to school or if we end up shutting down with twenty-seven seconds notice.
I am having to dig realllllll deep right now to push myself to finish summer happily and productively (I go back on Tuesday). A lot of my teacher-friends agree- things feel strange this year. It's not the normal "wah I love summer and don't want to get up early" emotions that we usually feel, but instead this sort of dread and concern. Last year was so unstable and we had to "PIVOT" so many times we were left scrambling and dizzy. And, yes, I know most people don't get a break, but most people aren't required to teach 150ish kids a day with a smile on their faces, either. We can't act apprehensive, wary, or skeptical- the kids need us upbeat, energized, and optimistic about the school year. It's hard to feel that way right now. And no, this is not me saying I want to teach from home, because I do not (simply not true, nor would I want to be called lazy or a bad teacher, right?). I just want stability and safety for me, my family, and my students.
Oh, and I have a feeling that the 5-11 shot won't be out until a bit later than anticipated, because of the FDA's call to add participants. It's good to collect as much data as possible, but I'm going to be sad if this impacts the timeline Pfizer had set out.
I think once August is over things will be easier to wrap my head around.
This concludes the venting portion of today's post... At least, I think it does. No promises.
Happier item: my son can finally swim. He's not going to the Olympics any times soon, but after practicing for nearly every day this summer (there were tears and some very intense moments, let's just say), he can get from point A to point B without touching the bottom. Such a relief and my biggest victory in months.
At what age do parents stop feeling responsible for their child's dental hygiene? I help Sawyer every time he brushes and flosses, so when we go in for his visits I'm the one crossing my fingers that I've done a good enough job to prevent cavities in this other human being. I got my gold stars and all, but when I asked the dentist and hygienist were like, "you have to help him until he moves out." They were kidding, of course, but, still.
My pool vacuum has been reminiscent of a drunk old man lately, constantly knocking into walls and not being able to pick himself up (I say old because in pool vacuum years he is ancient). I sort of waited it out a bit to see if he decided to enter a twelve-step program or something, but he did not, so his replacement is going to be delivered today. I am so excited. About a pool vacuum (and the leaf canister that I also got). I mean, eff the book content, but get excited about the pool equipment updates.
I ordered Sawyer and I these book spine posters from Jane Mount's Ideal Bookshelf site, where you get to draw your books in yourself, and I am going to do a version on my own for my students! They're going to be each doing a spin that represents their favorite book and I'll make a big bulletin board from them. It will be the perfect first-day-of-school activity, since the kids know me already and our schedule is weird that day. I just emailed them all reminding them to start figuring out what they want to draw!
I don't really watch many movies, but I am ALL about House of Gucci. Lady Gaga and Adam Driver are going to be perfect together and I bet the soundtrack will be excellent, I'm sure.
I've been doing more hiking this past week at a trail about ten minutes from my house. It's so nice to have somewhere different to take Ellie, and it tires her out a ton. Of course I start going at the end of the summer! At least it will be an option when I'm on my next break in November (gulp). It gets really crowded on the weekends, even as early as 6, since people want to beat the heat!
I feel like we are at the point in the summer where I'm looking out the window going "is it smoke or clouds?" Our home owner's insurance premiums went up a ton this year, again, because of where we live. It's unfortunate, but I am SO glad we weren't canceled like people in my neighborhood were (we like in suburbia surrounded by dry hills, basically).
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