Well I had a Plan, But....

I had planned to build my first of several raised bed vegetable gardens today, but that's not how today went.

Today was the Last Day (capitalized on purpose) to get what we needed before truly holing up for good. I thought surely I'd have a few minutes today to run to Home Depot and grab some vegetables and soil to add to my compost and plant my garden because really who knows how long this thing is going to last?

It just didn't go that way.

Today was our first day of school following Spring Break, and I loved seeing all of my teachers interacting with our kids online in their virtual classrooms. Students were asking for more work, something to do, asking how their teachers were, and sharing what things were like and how they were feeling.

Broke my heart in the best way.

I sent kids links to online museums and public library websites, artists and chefs and authors sharing their thinking because what better way to understand author's craft than to hear it straight from the author?

I'm committed to showing the things I'm invested in doing to spark ideas, encourage anyone needing encouragement, and showing how we can use this experience to grow our skills and interests in positive ways. But I also feel like it's worth validating how overwhelmingly unreal this all feels to me.

Is it me or does anyone else feel like we are attending the wedding of The Grapes of Wrath and Twisted Sister presided over by none other than Isaac Asimov?

I made one last trip to Whole Foods yesterday because my daughter is vegan and, after surveying our pantry, I realized she wouldn't make it through two weeks of quarantine with out a few more options. I LOVE going to the grocery store, mostly because I am a food nut! I walked through the store kind of lost, wondering what I should get. The store posted limitation signs on items like nut butters, canned vegetables, grains, and other staples to avoid shortages like that of toilet paper. I have never cried over a can of tomatoes, but this was the last straw. Two cans of stewed tomatoes remained, exactly what I needed to make the double batch of stew I'd planned to make and freeze--just in case.

It was just too much. The tears just came. In the middle of the canned tomatoes. The reality of the unknown days ahead overwhelmed me in that moment. I just felt so sad that in such a short period of time, our entire way of life was completely foreign. I'd dealt with my kids who were irritable (understandably so), those closest to me who I could see from the safety of six feet away but not hug or comfort. The impending isolation became very real in that moment.

I'm not going to spend much time being all victim-y, but I do think it's worth taking a minute, giving ourselves the space and freedom, to feel the heaviness of our world right now. Some things we can't change, but some things we can.

We can stay home.

We can put sight words in our front windows so the kindergarteners can practice them on walks. We can ask our neighbors how they are from our side of the street. We can encourage everyone we influence and we can pray for mercy.

Tomorrow I am doing yoga and planting one of my gardens. That means it's happening. Sleep well, friends. 

Clean Team!

When the kids were little, I researched natural ways to make my own everything. I made their baby food from real vegetables and fruit. I grew flowers, herbs, vegetables, and fruit in our yard so they could see where some food comes from, to have the satisfaction of knowing that the blackberries they picked are in their PBJ for lunch the next day. Since the three of us had a tendency to be highly allergic to all kinds of things, I also made the cleaners I used in our house. Cleaning often comes with the toddlers-who-play-outside territory.

Oh the internet and its resources! Recipes for cleaning all kinds of surfaces with your own household chemistry set flow in abundant 1s and 0s online. The perfect concoction of custodial ingredients depends on the surface to be cleaned and what unwanted entity is to be removed from said surface.

A Google search, Instagram, Pinterest, or Martha Stewart's website produces recipes for just about every cleaning need imaginable! Before getting started, here are the things I collected prior to mad scientist mixology.

Fun Facts

Some recipes also incorporate vodka, but teachers can't post alcohol online... Also here are a few tips I've learned over the years of mixing up my own cleaning products that might be of interest.

• Tea Tree oil is a natural antibiotic.
• Lavender reduces stress and creates a sense of clam. Not a bad idea right now...
• Citrus juices are acidic (THIS is when you will use the pH scale from high school chemistry. You know you asked, "Why do I have to learn this?") and acids break down grimy stuff. Lemon and lime provide just enough to do the trick with the added bonus of smelling clean and happy.
• Castile soap is like the stem cell of cleaning. Just read the side and you wouldn't believe all the things pure castile will clean! Dilute castile whenever using it. Think preteens with Axe... Just a little bit goes a long way. Too much is, well too much. 
• Vinegar and baking soda breakdown stubborn things. Seriously, baking soda is the best toilet bowl cleaner and much cheaper than that thing that turns the water blue. 
• Borax works great to boost cleaners, especially in the bathroom. 
• Bleach, of course, but be careful! It will take the color out of most everything.

My multi-surface cleaner includes rubbing alcohol, vodka, castile, a few drops of dish soap, tea tree and orange oil, and distilled vinegar in a squirt bottle then diluted with water. I use it on all surfaces (including the fridge) except wood. Honestly, I even used it on some wood surfaces yesterday because I'm not willing to roll the dice.

Mixing up your own cleaners might be a fun distraction for younger kids. If you have slightly older ones, have them research the chemical properties of these household staples. They should be able to explain the chemical reactions taking place that cause grimy things to break down or change when other chemicals are added. While you're at it, make some elephant toothpaste just for a fun distraction.

When every Clorox wipe has wiped it's last and there are no more left on the pillaged Target cleaning aisle, we can always revert to the cleaning tricks of our great great grandmothers. Happy Cleaning!

Coronapocalypse!

My seventh grade history teacher, Miss Holland, used one explanation when teaching us about dark events in history--People behave differently in wartime than they would in peace time.

I think we can all agree that man vs. virus counts as a new kind of significant conflict.

And we can already see examples of people who are behaving differently under these seriously bizarre circumstances.

As in all things, I'm approaching this challenge as an opportunity to, well, look for more opportunities within the confines of viral avoidance and social distancing. I'm an extremely social person so the unknowns ahead of us as humans feels a tad like becoming an unwilling character in a Choose Your Own Adventure book called Virus Attack! Every page is full of information and choices that lead to something unknown but also will include more information and more choices. We don't know how long we are in this deal, so getting my head around the possibility that the current reality may be our new normal buzzes around my head like an inconvenient annoyance that won't go away so I can get on with things. My things. My plans.

My things and plans feel less imperative at the moment.

We study history to learn from those who lived before us so we take what worked and carry it forward and leave behind what didn't. I'm a World War II buff, so some of my favorite stories include common themes--kindness, sacrifice, tenacity, hope, bravery, love. Those characteristics saved people, cultures, resources, art, and humanity. So I'm doing my part to be a giver and not a taker, a vehicle for positivity instead of gloom and doom because when we look back on these very strange times, people will remember who we became in uncertain times. More importantly, I will look back on who I became in these uncertain times.

There. All done with philosophical positioning on a virus named after a beer that is only drinkable with the assistance of a lime.

I'm committing to a daily update from the Teacherwithtude on what I'm doing with my uncommon incarceration...

Making time for the arts.
Grow a bigger vegetable garden.
Maybe get some chickens?
Spend more time outside.
Read for fun.
Watch less TV.
Can some food just in case...
Reach out to people I haven't seen in a while.
Write more.
Spend more time with my kids since they are barely still kids!
Make my life less busy and more meaningful.

A Note to My Teacher Friends:

If any group of people were ever prepared for something like this, it's you. Teachers are the CEOs of the corporations that are their classrooms. Teachers plan for specific outcomes and design plans for kids to engage in the experiences to learn and grow. Teachers love kids like they are their own children. Take care of yourselves and remember that twenty years from now, your students will remember YOU, the teacher that taught them and kept something consistent in their little lives when they felt afraid and anxious and uncertain. You are the thread of our communities and you are a significant reason we will all get through this better people than BC (Before Corona).

Check out my first task tomorrow -- Cleaning House!