So I Took My Camera to Georgia

I spent the week in Georgia, sequestered in Lauren's backyard with my grandson and my camera. It was good to see them. Thanksgiving was a long time ago when measured in time away from Austin (his parents too). Taylor's leave was revoked due to the spread of this virus so Austin lost his Baby Shark party and we are unsure when they will be able to come home again. I am glad I took the trip.

Before I get hate mail about travel, we were far more removed from the world in that fenced-in yard than we would be at home, running familiar errands. We paid at the pump for gas and packed food.  And when we got home, Kroger Clicklist provided groceries for the next couple of weeks. In all this mess, Kroger Clicklist is the MVP.

This coming week we were also supposed to celebrate Erin and Greg but Erin has been exposed to covid19 so not only are her original plans for a margarita with friends canceled but so are her breakfast for dinner plans with us. It appears we are dropping gifts and food at her door and talking with her via video chat. Happy 25th?

In looking for the silver lining, I have books I have wanted to read stacked on my bedside table and a Spring cleaning list ready to tackle. There is now time to write and no excuse to not make the phone calls I have intended to make for weeks. I have lofty goals of exercising daily and trying a new recipe every week. In a nutshell, my planner looks very different in the coming weeks than it has for the last year. The changes would be good if I weren't so worried about some of my small friends from school. The world as a whole fails to understand how much more teachers provide than just test scores. Some of our kiddos need love and nourishment more than reading and writing lessons.

Even though Kate was on spring break this last week, her teachers emailed encouraging words and offered to be there virtually for students who were feeling isolated or needed support. It's refreshing to see how much they care. And Ty's teacher reached out to me this week. I suspect she noted he wasn't online and needed to make sure we were working through his home packet. We were but I found we were able to achieve this week's goals without use of screen-time. He simply doesn't need to be in front of a computer all day as a ten year old. I'm hoping the e-learning we are required to work through in April affords us some flexibility in that area too. But having that brief communication was refreshing. I know how much I already miss my work kids. It's just such an uncertain time.

So whereas Erin avoids my camera like the plague and my grandson is quite reluctant as well, I am bigger than him and made the most of twenty minutes on a bridge down the street from Lauren's house. He had no interest in playing along but despite his best efforts to lose me, produced some pretty sweet second birthday images for his Mimi. Goodness, I love this baby.