But I Smile Anyway…

Eight darn weeks of Lockdown…

Got your drink?

• This week I wasn’t on the school rota, meaning no reason to go out of the house, other than grocery shopping. But there is always work. to do, so along with helping my Team Teach to set up a class blog, we added posts so our class and parents could get in touch, and get additional support for tasks. Some more online learning and keeping track of what the childen have been doing, along with planning for the next time I am in, kept me busy.
• And we had our first team Zoom meeting which was cool. I am a people person, and I crave conversation. Online chats are fine, but being able to see and speak to others was great. I am sure there will be more to come!
• Obviously the big thing that was on my mind, and the minds of plenty of other educators, was the possible reopening of schools. I know, as the lower level of teacher, we don’t have full access to all that is being discussed, and we will be presented with a plan of action from our Academy Trust, and Senior Leadership Team, but what I an hugely aware of, is the amount of conflicting information that is being sent to the above individiuals, making the decisions even harder. One of my neighbours is a head teacher and we have had a brief over the road conversation about the stress she is feeling with everything. The ‘will we/won’t we?’ cloud has been hanging over my head all week.
• Adding to my own personal stress and worries, I am dreaming about it. One night I woke up and recalled my dream which was set on the first day back, and Hubby Dearest came with me (Goodness knows where my own kids were!) to an old building which is not our school. I had been given no plans or idea as to what we were doing, and was presented with a group of five children, some from my actual class, some not. Then papers were thrust in my hand with some resources, but I kept on losing the kids, who were sneaking into different rooms. It was all very odd, and I don’t doubt that the unsurity I feel towards everything, is what played through the dream.

• One thing I have been doing, when school work is complete, is cooking and I managed to make Hubby Dearest his favourite Shahi Paneer again, this time to perfection! Then I tried to make pakoras, or bhajis, which are little gram flour fritters with onion, potato and spinach, and spices, deep fried. They actually tasted pretty good!

• I read plenty, new books, older books that had been on my tbr pile for a long while, and arcs too… in fact, I read so much that I managed to hit my annual Goodreads Challenge target already, in May!

• Other than that, I have managed to get a few more words down, partially WIP related, some for the Story A Day In May challenge. And I got results back for my first two calligraphy course modules, passed with 100%!

The rest of the week, has been the same as the rest, daily waking up, working, eating, reading, writing, feeding others, cleaning, video calling family… And repeat…

This week, I am in school with the Keyworker kids on Monday, with a different partner teacher, so that should be fun, then we will be getting details of the tentative plans for the future… waiting with baited breathe. Then, as of Friday, it is officially the end of term, though we still need to be open for the keyworker children. At least that means the kids don’t need dragging, kicking and screaming to their computers in the morning, to log into their Google Classrooms. What the rest of the week holds, I have no idea…

What have you been up to?

Stay safe, my dear friends!

💜