Envisioning an ideal school year for 20-21

This summer I had the opportunity to embark in two important professional development courses.  One was with Lee Ann Jung on assessment and reporting during online learning.  Although a lot of it was related to the battles, educators face in navigating reliability in assessing children in an online environment, there was also a lot of content that centered around topics like the importance of multiple means of expression, goal attainment scoring and building academic integrity in students, which are things we want in all of our classrooms whether we are in person or doing distance learning.    The other course I took was a MS responsive classroom course, it was so refreshing to me after being an instructional coach this year to learn some more techniques that I can use with kids to deepen their socio-emotional learning, constructive collaboration and in light of the times, zoom in on identity building and ownership. 

Through all of this learning and plenty of time on my hands, during Co-vid, and not being able to nurture my traveling spirit or see as many good friends as I would normally in a summer, I have been conjuring up what my ideal classroom would look like this coming school year, particularly because I am due to be starting teaching MS Humanities in person, in Madrid, in the next few months.  

I have come up with a number of categories for establishing how I could feel safe as a teacher, parent, and provide equal security for my students and their parents going into this school year which has all of us wondering, what is going to happen?

The Space. 

In a perfect world, no matter what age, I think that the ideal space may be in a house that was transformed into a school for its students.   Of course, this would include an outdoor space for children of all ages to relax or play in, a space where both toddlers and teenagers could contribute to a garden, or design a playground, or mud kitchen or what not.  It would include a kitchen where kids could learn how to cook, and healthy meals were provided by a chef for younger kids, likewise, with kids in secondary or older, it would be a place where math and chemistry competencies and concepts could be embedded into a small group cooking the class' lunch.   Masks would be worn by kids above the age of 6, and in secondary kids would come to an agreement through debate whether they would prefer plastic shields between their work or eating spaces or to use the plastic hats on top of their masks.  Finally, and this is what will throw people over the edge, there would be no more than 12 kids in the house/ class etc, with no more than 2 adults also entering and exiting the house.  Wifi would be readily available and there would be a room to do virtual video calls with experts outside of the teacher's area of expertise particularly related to content or what not. 

Time.  

The school day would be set by the times agreed on by the group of parents whose kids were in the house with a maximum of an 8 hour day and within that 8 hours, at least 1-2 hours (age dependent) for eating and play/ relax.  This way the parents would have ownership of the owners and understand the multiple perspectives playing into opening up a school and meeting the needs of all stakeholders in the community. 

Teachers.

Teachers would wear masks and face shields as needed.   They would maintain distance but also realize that by nature, we are human beings, and there are times that call for compassion, appropriate touch, and parents would respect the professional judgment of the teachers to make those decisions, like they do with family members or friends.   Teachers would be given a hazard pay bonus because of the situation they are putting themselves in each day until a vaccine has been released. 

Tuition. 

Tuition would cost $10,000 per kid and contribute to hiring the space for the school and paying the teachers salary and health insurance.  In order to diversify classrooms racially and class wise, these pod-schools would partner with tech conglomerates such as Google, Apple, Microsoft etc to bring more diversity through offering scholarships into these pod schools while not devaluing the importance of the space and qualifications of the teachers. 

Global Citizenship and Service.

Teachers would be trained in responsive classroom or another agreed upon socio-emotional set of practices to help support children through this trivial and tumultuous time in everyone's lives.  Children would be made aware in age appropriate ways of the global issues we are facing and be empowered to work independently and collaboratively to combat one of those issues.  In that regard, we would be lifting the level of student's social awareness, by giving them ownership and problem solving skills in trying to combat one of the global issues people in and out of their communities are facing daily.  This would be not only integrated into the curriculum, it would be a part of the day, or week that is dedicated to the generating ideas, nurturing of those ideas, building and rebuilding of those ideas and then putting those ideas into practice and educating others about the issue at hand. 

Boot camps.

Since summer school and vacation are not fitting the traditional mold this year.  Boot camps would be provided for students for free, 2-4 weeks before the school started.   These boot camps would be lead by various teachers, community members and mainly be done online, depending the age appropriateness but would range in topic.  For kids under the age of 6, you may be looking at routines we follow at school to take care of ourselves, take care of others and to take care of this place.  For kids under the age of 8, you might be looking at a course on navigating the tech we'll use Or how our classrooms, lives, communities, world has changed in a year.  Finally, for secondary students, we may be looking at how to truly own our learning,  or better yet how to show our learning in multiple ways. 

Assessment. 

Grades would be kept in place using a set of power standards per core subject.  Teachers would work with instructional coaches and administrators to tease out the power standards and progressions for the year.   For example, if there was a MS Humanities class that had 8 power standards, an instructional coach would work with the team to tease out what might these standards look like in October, December, February and April and June during the year mirroring a goal attainment scoring model.  Students would then work in partnerships with their teachers to make goals to progress along the continuums.  More basic structures would be provided for early childhood not only around competency skills but also around kinesthetic (ie.  fine motor skills) and social emotional competencies (working with others).   Above all, students would be given the opportunity to demonstrate their learning through their median of choice.  Teachers would work as coaches for kids, partnering with them to help them make decisions about what median works best for them, and on what strategies to access to help them achieve their co-constructed learning plan. 

Parent Partnerships. 

Parents would become partners more than they have ever been.  Weekly emails would be sent out to the parents about areas of strength and areas for improvement and strategies that parents can use at home to reinforce their children's individual learning targets.   Parents would meet with teachers at the beginning of the year to discuss their child's hopes and dreams in an interview that would end with the student participating in the conversation as well and sharing his/ her opinions, feelings, ideas about the parent's intentions with the teacher and parents.   Parents would be expected to contribute to the community whether that was to provide a virtual read aloud, pick up groceries for lunch, print out flyers for the global citizenship project the students are working on, etc.  Parents and teachers would meet every other month to discuss successes and give feedback to teachers on what is working for their children and not working.  Parents would work with the teacher and other parents to help support families that may need extra support.  

This is dreamy but it isn't impossible.   My hopes with these pod schools as well is that in the future, when we hopefully, are able to be more free in our communication and movement again, that all these pod schools might generate different waves and schools of thought which would evolve into a working and adult world with people who had an array of tool kits both personally and professionally and a deeper sense of empathy for all.  

#educhat #2021schoolyear #bethechange

The Pushes and Pulls on a Monday Morning

This morning, I woke up, still foggy, train horns blaring outside the window, the chug, chug, chug of each train passing by 3 or 4 times compounded with my tossing and turning and kicks from the Fraggle like blond toddler in my bed.  I read my daily news dose while Pablo watched his morning 20 min fix of Peppa pig, while sipping chocolate oat milk.  When I see his days, I somehow remember that it's such a shame we don't remember our early, early childhood, when the days of contentment, snuggles, inconsistency were so fresh and wonderful.   I simultaneously reflect on how happy I am that he might not remember the before because I fear the days of happy parks and even regular parks may be a thing of the past.  His future of schooling entails socially distanced spaces, masks, temperature checks and things that take the fun and freedom out of being a kid.  The push of going back to school is pulling on my heart strings as I watch kids in France, sit playing alone in chalked off boxes.  The song "World, Hold on" plays in my head on repeat, with little Twisted Sister speech bubbles of "We're not going to take it" plays up in the graphic novel being written in my head.

I went for a quick run this morning, 4 km, light and easy, up the beach boardwalk, and down along the water on the way back.   It was 9:50 am when I left for my indefinite run and when I returned 10:30 am. There's a 6-10 am curfew for exercise in Spain but I have yet to see it enforced. As I cruised down the sand, the earth pulling me to it, inhaling the salt water, basking in the sun and golden sand reflections, and savoring the cool air whispering gently on my face, I noticed two police cars.  One police officer got out, walked towards the beach.  I knew that despite the awesome weather and earth calling my name to continue the run, I needed to not tempt fate.  Cops are pushing 600 euro fines for breaking the quarantine rules.  I curtailed and headed towards the apartment, past the police car and another police officer got out and said, "Go home."  I said, "That's where I am headed."  This encounter just reminded me while our feelings, our bodies, our hearts, our minds are all being pulled outside, we have to push ourselves to be reasonable and follow rules so that more and more freedoms can be restored in the future.

Pablo and I made popsicles this morning and then played with the house, and the world we've created in our living room.  1 pm rolled around quickly and our helper called to ask if Pablo could come to her house to play with her kids today.  We were happy and excited for Pablo.  He's been without kids for nearly 2 months but he was a little bit cautious.  We prepared a bag with some comforts, raisins, chocolate oat milk and a couple of his favorite toys.   When we went down to get into the car, he reached out for me, and Carolina, our helper, and her brother, had to take him away, gently pushing me away so it wouldn't be harder.  I sat there, doing my best to pull back the tears in my eyes.  I wish that I could sit and do my online classes, work, meetings, etc with my kid magically playing and entertaining himself in the background with few screens involved but the reality of the world right now and my energetic toddler who loves to play and involve others in his magical worlds, is far from that.  When I received these images later,  the weight on my shoulders was lifted for the moment.

We've entered this time in our lives where we have to sit down and it's easy to notice the pushes and pulls.  Thank god though that balance is still a part of our charmed lives.



 

In a time of...

In a time of uncertainty,
Soak up the laughter that comes from
You mouthing words to your son
While your father tells him
Something else completely.

In a time of anxiousness,
Find a corner or space in your house
To fake punch a wall
Run between walls
Sit against the wall
Or headstand against the wall
Letting the blood
Flow in all different directions.

In a time of unknown,
Let the creativity erupt from your skull
Flow into the universe
Through innovative teaching
Through choose your own adventure recipes
Through art projects you never thought you had in you
Through building god knows what out of wine boxes.

In a time of solitude,
Reach out,
You are surrounded by others in the universe and
Are far from alone.
You have your head
Your heart
And hundreds of ears and eyes
Craving that you
Pick up the phone
And Say Hello.

In a time of messiness,
Say yes to the mess.
Say no to that
Anal devil on your shoulder.
You aren't going to get ahead
Of it and if you do, it means
You got behind
In something else.

In a time of desperation,
Start writing that
Gratitude list.
Start dialing those
Numbers.
Start
Having faith
That the
World will win.

#day31 #SOL20 #I'llmissthis

Day 30: Tired, Grateful, and Oreos

It's 9:13 pm here but in most of my people's worlds it's another time of the day, or perhaps another day.  You see I live in North America, which makes me an anomaly in the sea of expats here in Argentina.  The New York Times said it had the most Millenial Expats in the world, Heather... Come on.... 

I, however, friends, am exhausted.  My day started at a toddler reasonable time "7:45 am" and Pablo touched down into sleepiness at "7:45 pm" 12 hours later so things could be much worse, but now, after a little bit of wine.  It's a mid-week holiday, shoot me. And a little bit of good conversation, Yes, my neighbor, who has been looking after Pablo, while single parenting, snuck over.  I am done.  I am ready to close my eyes and surrender.  Part of me wishes I was in New York at a climate change conference when I think of my prior plans, and then, the other part of me, says, "No. Love Argentina and all it is right now."

I am thankful for empanadas.
I am thankful for oreos.
I am thankful for tired husbands.
I am thankful for tap water.
I am thankful for friends who listen wholeheartedly.
I am thankful for joy: here, there and everywhere.

#SOL20 #March30 

Happy Accidents; Feeling Groovy

6 pm this evening, I went out to buy onions. 
We needed onions for our pasta sauce.  It was a mandatory trip, plus a breath of welcomed fresh air.

First stop, Dia, the local chain discount supermarket.  I usually try to avoid this place but there were no lines and I didn't really need anything else.   I walked in.  There was orange juice.  Orange juice is hard to come by these days.  I think people really want the vitamin C so are stocking up.  This is a good sign, I thought to myself.  I continued down the aisle to the fruit and vegetable sections.  There was a lone half chunk of lettuce, a tomato, a couple of apples.  I scanned the empty boxes looking for a sign of onions.  Finally, at the bottom of a box, I saw a few.  I picked one up. It leaked juice and bugs flew out.  #shoppingfail

Next stop, I went to the Chinese grocery store across the street.  There was a line of 5 people but it moved within 5 minutes.  I went in and saw the vegetable part of the store run by another person was closed and walked out.

I began to lament.  Pasta sauce without tomatoes.  Of course, it would work but wouldn't be so good.  As I approached the corner to turn back to my house, I saw the little organic store, with two people outside.  It seemed open.  I walked up.  A cute shirtless man stood outside talking to his other friend.  I said "Tienen cebolla/ do you have onions?"

They said, "Yes, but do you know how this works?"  He then tossed me a gorgeous green apple.  "You need that too."

I replied "Yes, I do, but I really need onions for my pasta sauce."  They responded with a giggle and asked whether I wanted brown or red.

We chatted for awhile and I gave them my number so I can order vegetables from them in the future; it's an organic community garden that creates boxes and delivers them within the neighborhood.  Totally my jam, but just hadn't taken the time to sign up, especially since we are theoretically leaving soon.

I asked "How much?" as I was about to go.
They said "No worries, it's a present."

Whether this was a kind exchange, good energy, a happy accident, or Heather, still having a bit of groove, even in quarantine gear (puppy shirt, post-workout pulled back hair, and blue running shorts), it was a boost to my self esteem and a great little dent in my day.

#SOL20 #Day29 #grooveisintheheart

Papa's Home

We woke up around 8:30 this morning, Pablo and I.  We didn't make it that far out of the room. 
I got him some milk.  He watched his Ipad a bit. Then a car passed and I said, is that papa. 

He stood by the window, staring longingly.

I saw the tinted windows and car parking in front of our house and thought, that must be him.

A neighbor's son stepped out of the car, "Not papa," I said sadly.

"When's papa coming?"  Pablo asked desperately.

"Soon, any minute now?  Keep looking out the window.  "You could put on pants?" I suggested to my naked boy.

All of a sudden, I saw a car drive by with what seemed like a larger man in the back.  I didn't want to tell P that was him because I wasn't 100% sure, so I played it cool.

"Keep looking." I said and then, when Pablo turned around for a split second.  He arrived at the gate.

"Hola familia!" He said cheerfully.

I ran to throw on clothes to be decent enough to go outside to open our gate.  Pablo ran to to the door and opened it naked.  He waited patiently as I opened the gate to our door, and then we put in the key to open the gate to the courtyard.  Papa picked up Pablo and gave him a giant bear hug.  He moved him to one side and invited me into the family hug.

We cuddled.  We smiled.  We sighed.

#Thankfulforfamily #SOL20  #day28

Random thoughts

#1: My husband comes home tomorrow, 7 weeks of single parenting and 2 weeks of quarantine later. 

We have all missed papa so much and are looking forward to his return. 

#2: My child and I were listening to music via the google speaker in our house today and it was absolutely hysterical to watch him try to talk to google.  He was like "Okay google, play wheels on the bus." 

#3: I was planning on cooking hamburgers and french fries for dinner alongside fresh melon and what did I do instead.  I ordered food because my son wanted the food delivered by a moto.  You pick your battles in life, but when you are single parenting and in a pandemic, you let a lot of things go and just roll with the punches. 

#4: Whether we are exercising, or teaching online, or playing with toys or houses, or trying to cook something, or do something artistic, I am losing creativity in having to be switched on every single second I am awake. 

#5: I am really bummed about not getting to see one of my besties: Heather and her family, for Semana Santa/ Spring/ Easter break.  They have been somewhat close the last two years living in Monterrey, Mexico and if our intended move to China does happen, then I worry, we won't see them for awhile again.

#6: Speaking of China, closing it's borders, dodgy Harvard medical scientists being paid by Chinese government.  I hope that this isn't part of the conspiracy theories that I play out in my head each day. 

#SOL20 #March27 #4moredays

Beaches by Tuk-tuks

"I want to go to the beach by tuk tuks." said Pablo today. 
 A few months ago, during happy times, we visited this magical little island off the coast of Honduras, called Utila.  

We boarded a plane with just four small seats, for 3 adults and Pablo sat on Andres' and I's laps.  We took the gorgeous flight 3.5 km above the sea for about 20 minutes before we landed on a strip of pavement in a sea of green.  When we arrived, there was not really an airport but the women in charge of the airport there, plus, a tuk-tuk with the other passenger's friend to come and meet her.  Pablo and I hopped on the back of the moto with the airport lady, and Andres went in the tuk-tuk with the luggage.  Within a few minutes, we arrived at our hotel or lodge known as the Mango Tree Lodge.  It was quaint, with a dive pool, restaurant that served cold beers and delicious pizza and super comfy.  

Utila is small, so much that there are not a ton of cars on the island and most people get around by walking. motorbikes, tuk-tuks or golf carts.  Pablo loved this.  He got a little tired of driving around in the US so much in cars so was happy with the free flow of walking or breeze blowing in his face while riding the other open air transport.  

There wasn't much to do on this island, dive, go to the beach, drink beers, eat, search for shells, read books.  It was just what we needed to relax and forget about reality for awhile. 

My friend and I were talking today about the fact that so much of our lives as expats is about looking forward to our next trip. With COVID-19, there is uncertainty around our move to China, and we also aren't sure where we will go this summer for our short vacation, if we can even leave this country.  So for now, we just have to dream of faded memories of going to the beach by tuk-tuks.

#SOL20 #day26 

You are more than you think!

When you are staring at the screen and can't think of what to write, it's because your head is blank.  You have put so much into today. 

You did the NYtimes mini crossword.

You woke up and made eggs for your child, made coffee, played with the train.

You did math with Pablo with cups, counting and pots and pans. 

You video conferenced with a colleague to plan for supporting two of her challenging students who need a lot of extra love and support. 

You built a fort/ office for your son so that he could have his time while you video conferenced with your student book clubs. 

You laughed with your students in book clubs with wonky wifi connections. 

You let your child climb up on your lap when he was feeling left out and say hi to your students. 

You made lunch: chorizo, melon, strawberries, avocado and cheese for your son and salmon raviolis with pesto, cheese, broccoli and chipotle flakes for you. 

You tried to unclog the toilet again and failed and covered yourself in shit, literally and figuratively.

You played with the train again. 

You made a playground for the wooden people and played house. 

You listened to the Noodle Loaf podcast.

You watched Pup Academy with Pablo.

You played soccer, and other ball games with Pablo. 

You practiced somersaults with Pablo. 

You took a bath with Pablo and washed his hair. 

You brushed the dreads out of his hair. 

You started curating a digital text list for G2 Series Books List across Epic, Big Universe, TumbleBooks and Destiny. 

You ate pizza. 

You made an order for necessities, groceries, cleaning products online.
You spent the last hour and a half, reviewing your students' work for today, leaving comments and prepping for tomorrow's lessons. 

You blogged. 

You watched one episode of guilty pleasure tv. 

You passed out effortlessly. 

What did you do today? I am sure that it might have felt messy and rough but listing all the things I did makes me feel quite pleased. 

#SoL20 #Day25 #6moredays #Imtired 

Come on America... We should be better.

I'm enraged by what's happening in the US right now and am thankful that I call Argentina my home for the time being.

What has got my hands up in the air? THIS (above). This is something that we could have avoided.   This is something that we could have learned from.  It felt like I was being punched in the stomach when Trump said "We are learning a lot."  Then, shut the country down, mate.  Argentina had less than 100 cases and decided to ban international incoming flights from other countries and then, cancelled schools and finally, put us on a strict quarantine for two weeks as the numbers of cases started to double each day.   It is extreme and awful and emotionally and physically challenging but this country knows that they don't have the economic nor medical means to do deal with an outbreak like Spain or Italy. 

  This is something where Americans might need to put away some of their pride and egocentrism and say, let's learn from Italy, from Spain, from Iran, from China.  There is no reason for it.  Although Italy and Spain run social healthcare systems, there are some values shared between our Western cultures.  Although, there are many differences in governments and philosophical as well as religious views in China and Iran, how do we not learn from them and pay respect to American elders by taking a chance to actually stab this in the back before it gets dreadfully out of hand.  Although quite frankly, I think it's past that point now.  There is a good chance we will pass Italy no later than the end of the week and if ignorance continues to be bliss in the White house, then we will pass China in the week to come.  

And, the comments today of the Texas Lt governor, who is willing to sacrifice the lives of tax paying Americans over the age of 70 to get the economy back in gear.  Really?  Is this what the world has come to?  It's a dystopian novel nightmare.  

In other countries, this disease is bringing something beautiful out in cultures.  Virtual dance parties, Distance learning creativity, Balcony claps nightly, Music on balconies, Lots of calls to loved ones we often neglect.  So get your act together America,  before it's too late. 

#SOL20 #Day24 

Dance party denied!

Today, was a good day, there was some exercise in the morning on the rooftop and then my friend, Christine, decided to teach Oula via a Zoom class.

We all logged on between 4:25-4:30 pm.  It was refreshing to see smiling familiar faces.  Some near, some far but all familiar.

We started on time and Pablo was into it for like 30 seconds.  He let me dance and got distracted by his house for the first 5 minutes.   Then, he all of the sudden got frustrated I was not playing with him, walked straight up to the computer and slammed it shut.  I reacted by saying "Pablo, please.  I really want to dance with my friends." I calmly opened the computer and started again.  He joined in for a few minutes. 

He then sneakily snuck away and took out the lego maze box.  He poured it all on the floor but was again, distracted once more.  All of a sudden as I was doing a little jazzy spin, he comes around, shuts it again and says "No mama, no more."

My virtual dance party was denied.  I need a back up plan if I want to join on Wednesday.

#SOL20 #day23 

Love.. inspired by Matt de La Pena

In the beginning, there was a disco and a passing
and an open space
and a happy accident
and a long conversation in Spanglish.

Over Japanese bbq and Raimat,
the chat bloomed and love radiated,
smelling soft and new, like spring.

Love, too, was the first time
we travelled together.
A skiing trip, with your black leather jacket
and urgency to buy gloves, we made a lot of love
that weekend, but didn't ski.

In a crowded Senegalese bus,
You hang off the back with your hair blowing in the wind
Me smushed, a speck of white in a sea of darkness,
but laughter and smiles are love.

In the morning before Pablo is born,
you nearly faint holding me up as the epidural needle pierces me.
Later on, you hold me up, as I wail with pain and gasp with laughter in between.

One day, I wake up suddenly, and you're not by me.
And I have this feeling. And I check my phone.
4 calls from my brother and dad.
Their silence pounds on my helplessness.

And when we get on a plane, 16 hours later.
And she is already gone, all you can do is hold my hand,
and let me cry as I need to.
But our love, our joy, Pablo, is bursting with life and
we are so lucky we have him.

And when he gets up and parades around Mom's funeral,
the silent grins and cheeky snickers ring through the air,
sending love into the universe to wherever she is.

And in time, the love that we have is a cheeky theater night in the city,
A bottle or two of wine on the back terrace,
A family swim in the pool that goes on and on.

And love is when Pablo wants to talk with Abu or Grandpa or Lane,
because the people we love, are the people that love him.

And love is the "I'm sorry mama" when he rolls over my foot.
Or the "I miss papa" week after week after week of work travel and now quarantine.

And it's love in the phone call, you make, to tell him Asterisk, all the while,
gathering images on your screen to show him you are reading the book.

And it's love, when we talk three times a day and it still doesn't feel like enough
because even though you are here, you aren't here.

And the words popping out on this screen are love for authors and books and words
that really bring us to the moment.

#SOL20 #day22 #love 

The Single Parenting Quarantine Marathon

4 words that you probably never would have foreseen going together"

Single parenting quarantine marathon

Our day began at 6:30

"Mama, I want chocolate milk"

"Pablo, you went to bed at 9. Go back to sleep"

"Mama, wake up."

"I will get you milk but you are going back to sleep."

I get the milk. P drinks it, rolls over to face me.

His eyes are rolling to the back of his head, 

Please.  I think.  Go the fuck to sleep.

A little while later, he starts to roll around.  

I pick up my phone. It's 7:57.  I sigh.

"Okay, we can get up." 

We go for our daily walk.  We don't need anything really.

But we need to look like we need something and actually buy something.

So we go to the bakery and get croissants. 

Then we go to the store and buy avocados, peaches, corn and blueberries. 

When we get home, I declare it's exercise time. 

So we take the purple mat and the orange roller and our water up to the roof. 

We stretch and then do some running races together. 

I follow up with a 6 rounds of different jumps

5 rounds of legs and 300 abs, with a run back and forth across the roof in between each set. 

Pablo plays in his Dad's office (currently uninhabited) and pokes his head out the window

pretending he runs a food delivery place and asks me what I want.  

I learn sooner than not that it's hard to count reps and not be redundant with your food orders while playing restaurant / doing leg lifts. 

It's about 10:45 am at this point.  Time for a change of pace. 

We decide to clean.  We clean the kitchen: all the cupboard doors, sweep, the windows 

and then mop the floor.  Then, we clean the devices, because it's been 2 days, rubbing them down with cotton and alcohol.  Then we do some rounds of doctor with Pablo's doctor kit and now, it's about 11:30 am.  Then, something happens (my day has been so eventful and it was also so meaningless) Pablo has a meltdown and gets mad at me.  He also gets his typical wave of boredom/ tiredness and says he wants to sleep.  I tell him to go lie down on the bed and go into join him.  He's sad.  Missing his Dad.  Confused by everything.  Why isn't Vero (his nanny) around?  Why can't we go to the park? Where is papa? Questions that have been repeated at least 5 times a day for the last 48 hours.  

Finally, we become a little more relaxed.  And, we start talking about lunch and I say, "Do you want this or that?" and P replies "I don't want anything." So I get on my storytelling, special voice and say.  "Oh I have an idea" and concoct a long tangent about the best sandwich ever.  We go to make grilled cheese and finish off the meal with a homemade ice cream sandwich.  

My next idea stems from an early childhood group.  We make paint out of flower, salt, water and food coloring.  We do this together and Pablo enjoys the chemistry of putting it all together.  Then, we go out and paint awhile.  Then, I get distracted, as I do often throughout the day with these tasks, and I start to pull the ivy off our walled in yard, which is quite intense.  After an hour later and getting Pablo involved in the process, I am pretty satisfied that I have cleaned 80% of the wall, bagged it up and feel a lot less stressed out.  We also call Abu (Pablo's Spanish grandmother) and get to talk to cousins and aunties too.  As most of you know, Spain is on lockdown too, so 6 of them are cooped up in Andres' sister's house.  

Following this liberating time in the garden, I decide on top of our: exercise, make something, quiet time, grocery/ scooter outings, call someone we love, I must add "gardening" projects to our list of things we do daily to kill time. 

Once that is done, it's about 4:50 pm.  Time for another walk to buy something when the stores open at 5 pm: trash bags, a new dustpan, salt for making play dough tomorrow and ice trays for another painting popsicle project. 

We walk there and walk back, taking our slow time.  It's clear Pablo is trying to procrastinate going back to the house as much as possible with his turtle pace, random stop and observe think alouds and more.  

Upon arrival, it's time for some train play.  We construct houses, a hospital, have bbqs all with legos next to the lego train which delivers fruit and bread to people because they can't leave their houses right now.  Sound familiar?  

Suddenly, there is a "Mama, chorizo" whine which means it's time for dinner.  Pablo gets the fresh dinner of pasta, chorizo and melon.  While mama eats all the leftovers of other meals.  

Bath time, then, 20 minutes of Cars the movie while hair dries,  and then 2 books down, when Pablo says "I want to sleep, mama" even before the book ends.  Within minutes he's down, and now here I am doing my slice of life, looking forward to the guilty pleasure of Netflix series and passing out early because the reality is, I got to run another marathon each day for the next 7 days. 

#SOL20 #day21 #thenewnormal 

It's 12:12 pm.  Day 1 of Quarantine and we have been up since 6:30 am.

Since then, I had an admin leadership meeting.  My son and I went to buy some fruits, veggies and almond milk.  We made chocolate chip cookies.  We talked with our friends in Mexico on Facetime.   We cut up melon.  We did some exercise, running races and 200 sit-ups.    Time is a gift when we can get such a variety

Now, it's a 20 minute tech break for Pablo and I.  I am taking advantage of SOL blogging while he watches some Youtube kids.  I also learned how to block channels and certain videos which was pretty simple and great because I really don't like him watching some of the crap that is on youtube these days.  It's that I never have time to do this when I am rushing in the morning to take a shower and let him have his 10-15 minutes of screen time.  Time is a gift, even 1 minute to just remember to do this simple thing.

This afternoon, we'll probably go out again.  Some friends might sneak over when "they are out shopping" for margaritas and we want to have snacks to entertain.  Time is a gift when you can make the time you need for one another because you aren't busy being busy.

#SOL20 #day20 #11moredaystogo

A Messy But Beautiful World

Things just got even more real in Argentina.

We are on lockdown until March 31, 2020.  Waiting for official news to see the implications but not a good situation. 

Just watched an Indigo Girls concert that attracted 60,000 fans via facebook.  The world is messy but there is still so much beauty.

Ordered 12 bottles of wine today and made a cardboard bus out of the boxes for my toddler.

This is the time to let your creativity flow and relinquish control.

#SOL20 #day19 #wow

Oopsie. Rascalish Moments from Pablo

As we were eating pizza and watching Pup Academy, a Friday night activity that has somehow made it to the middle of the week, we were giggling and Pablo grasped on to a new dog, called Oopsie. 
He asked "What's oopsie?" And kept repeating it frequently like it was being repeated in the episode. 
I said "It's kind of like uh-oh."

And then, Pablo said, oh "like shit."

And I said, "Yes" but "Oopsie is what you say, not shit." 

To which he jokingly replied "Oopsie. Oopsie.  Oopsie."

And to which I grinned, sheepishly.

#SOL20 #day18 #Oopsie 

When It's Over

When It's Over, I want to go on a trip to a beach and drink margaritas and build sandcastles while splashing around in crystal clear water.

When It's Over, I want to go to a discoteque and dance, hard, up and down, joyfully jumping, laughing, screaming and raging like I am 22.

When It's Over, I want to take my son to 4 different parks in one day and let him jump in the ball pit, and eat popcorn and live.

When It's Over, I will have upskilled my online learning skills but will probably want to use tech as little as possible in my life.

When It's Over, I hope we can preserve how we stopped and examined our lives carefully for seconds because we had time.  Time is a gift and is important.

#SOL20 #day17 #tired

80s Moment Magic: A Comedic Flashback

Once upon a time, many years ago, on a frigid October evening in Upstate New York, my friends Hannah and Isabel and I were sitting around in their dormitory, finishing up our dinner and debating what lay ahead for the evening.  Do we bear the cold and go out to a party?  Do we hunker down and drink wine and watch a trending comedy?   A few silly drinking games later, Hannah and Isabel convinced me to go to a sorority's 80s party.  We did a bit of a dressing room parade before we secured our outfits and there I was, ready to go, with liquid courage and little enthusiasm except for quality time with those too.  Adorned in neon green ruffles with a top ponytail, we climbed aboard the school's shuttle and headed towards the 80s party located in the ever so classy, Bundy Dining Hall. 

As we walked through the doors, it was as if 80s paraphernalia had exploded everywhere: crimped hair, jean jackets, rainbow and neon colored tutus all to the lulling calm of Tiffany and Debby Gibson.  I looked at Hannah and Isabel horrified and tried to bolt for the door.   They grabbed me and said "Let's get a beer."  We went to the bar which was luckily slow and ran into some other friends and chatted to them. 

When all of the sudden, a girl with too much blue eyeshadow, combined with too much Budweiser, cruised up to me, and goes "Are you Heather?" And I said, yes, curiously.  And the boppity, beer drinking random girl, continues while pouring a beer on my top ponytail.  "This is for making out with my sister's boyfriend." And then ran away hysterically, while I stood, stunned, slightly soaked in my hideous green dress.  My friend, Molly responded with more speed then me, running over and starting to kick the culprit.  I felt like I had been doused in clarity and walked calmly over to the accuser and her sister. and said "I'm sorry but I didn't know you were still dating, and let's look at this situation, he made out with me, while he was dating you.  Who is the bad guy here?"   The girl whose boyfriend I had apparently made out with, was clearly shocked that I had continued this whole very 80s movie exchange but acknowledged my point.  She didn't say sorry but nodded and that was enough.  Enough for me to have peace with the moment,  enough with me to have my miserable and ridiculous 80s movie moment and enough for me to end my evening of drinking and proceed to my dorm's charming shower stalls.  

#SOL20. #Day16 #comicreliefincorona 

When... #newnormals

When all is unwell, we draw rainbows and red cars and bushy trees on our wall outside and listen to the Greatest Showman soundtrack, dancing in shorts that resemble jams from the 90s but cut off mid thigh.

When all is unknown, we make Easter bunnies from our cotton normally reserved for removing nail polish.

When we can't go to the park, we build forts, big ones, with 2 sofas pushed together and 5 blankets as rooftops, and 3 different rooms: one for Pablo, one for mama and one for Mona, the stuffed monkey.

When there's not much new to do, we invent things, like cleaning the windows or cleaning Papa's room he'll be quarantined in when he moves from his airbnb to home in a few days.

When we are disconnected, we end up talking to loved ones more often, and appreciating them and loving them much more then we often do but as we should.

When we go to the grocery store and the pastas, beans, rice are all but gone, we decide, maybe it's time to actually stock up our freezer instead of living our typical European day to day, shop for what you'll cook/ need lifestyle.

When you are tired at the end of long day #can't count anymore and you still need to blog, this is what you get.

#SOL20 #day15 #newnormals

Uber Power: Adventures in Coronavirus

Today, was another day full of uncertainty and wildness.  My husband arrived safely back from Spain but is now staying at an airbnb in quarantine for 5-14 days, depending on whether or not school closes.  If school closes, we'll get him home and hunker down together.  If school doesn't close, we might have to extend our airbnb situation.  Nothing is easy right now.   So before he got there, I had to drop off some stuff for him, and ordered him a lot of food and supplies for the next week.   I had to pick up the key from a dodgy patch of grass/ shrubbery, as the owner of the airbnb didn't want to be in contact with the new arrival from the airport either.  Fortunately, I left my child with some dear friends, and uber-ed around in the pouring rain.  When it rains, it definitely pours.  Nevertheless, I took him some clean clothes, and stuff he needed so he could still work. 

Still, throughout this day, I took 4 Ubers.  We don't have a car in Argentina and if there were not torrential fall rains, I would have probably walked or run to let out stress but that wasn't possible at this particular moment.  So bless the Uber drivers, because they are out there, doing a job, for us paranoid people who don't want to take public transport or don't have access to cars.   These Uber drivers are champions because they are risking their lives to move people around safely and that's something admirable in a time when things are so volatile.

So cheers to the Uber Drivers. 
#SOL20 #Day14