Staycation Day 1-3

Usually at this time of the year, educators are like, “We made it to spring break…yeah!” And well, yeah, we made it to spring break…our third week of not being in school. Vacation plans have fallen by the wayside, and we are looking for ways to keep busy in our homes.

• Reading- I know educators spend a lot of their vacation times reading. I think I am up to 32 books. Mostly true crime. Reading helps me to take my mind off overthinking. So, Yeah…I have been doing a lot of reading. In addition to my kindle books, I’ve been scouring NPR articles and news outlets from around the world. Dang overthinking.
• Home improvement projects- Lets face it, educators love breaks so we can repaint bathrooms, install new flooring, replace doors, paint furniture, and we usually have a ‘honey do’ list a mile long if we are not on vacation (as in away from home vacation).
• Day trips- School breaks are always about day trips if we are not on Vacation (as in away from home vacation). Parks, water parks, distant malls, Theme parks, beaches…. yep.

This year, staycation looks a little different. My kindle is at capacity so I had to order a new one. Day trips are iffy at best, and I have a few projects on my ‘to do’ list and my ‘honey do’ list. But not only am I lacking motivation…I also didn’t make it to Menards, Lowe’s…or worst case scenario….Home Depot. And since I for one am taking this whole social distancing thing seriously…I’m not going.

I have been hunkering down in my house and have been reading, dog walking, overthinking, cooking, and trying to stay positive. Yesterday….well. I was in some kind of mood, feeling some kind of way….probably approaching Crazy as a shit house rat*….and I noticed as I was walking the dog that many of my neighbors had guests. I get it…long week of social distancing, so let’s just undo it all and have guests over?!? Wait. I don’t get it. I don’t get it one bit. And after a week of isolation…. That was all it took to take me from Crazy as a loon, to the next level. I took a picture of one house in the neighborhood with four extra cars in their driveway….and I posted it on facebook.

Not my finest moment. Petty as can be, and I wouldn’t like it if it was done to me. But here is the thing….I want my life back. I want to get up in the morning and go to spin class. I want to go to work and see my teachers, and kiddos, and parents. I want to be able to go down to the Bone Island and have a drink with friends. I want to meet my Hubby at GRB and use our mugs during happy hour. I want wing night. I want to take my kids on a trip, I want to go get my tattoo worked on, and I even want a stinking mammogram. But I can’t do any of these things until this is over, and it won’t be over until people stay in their own houses. And I have NO control over this…so I go back to overthinking other things.

So, some random thoughts from the past few days….think of them as intermissions to my overthinking about people not staying home, the shape of the curve, and that twinge on my back to the left of my spine right in the middle (Overworked muscle from Body Beast in the basement, or COVID-19?).

• I don’t usually have an audience when I run, but since some people actually are staying in their homes, my neighborhood has been a busy place. I didn’t realize that even though I don’t hear myself singing along to my running playlist with my earbuds in….other walkers and runners do. “Electric word life it means forever and that’s a might long time…”. At least today was Prince….Let’s go Crazy…fitting…very fitting. The looks on other people’s faces….
• We are in the midst of a sanitizer shortage. I’m a sanitizer addict. Ask any former student, and they will tell you that it’s actually ‘Bless You Sanitize’. There is literally NO. Sanitizer.To.Be.Found.ANYWHERE. Bath and Body Works is sold out, and has been for days….as is every grocery store, drug store, convenience store…dollar store. You name it. They are out. Now, as an educator, I do have a stock pile of sanitizer. Unfortunately, the majority of my stockpile is in my office. Which is locked, and off limits. So, I rounded up all of my little mini bottles that I have stashed around the house, purse, car… and if it was just me, I’d be in good shape. But…..My hubby is an essential worker and he is out in public replacing water heaters and fixing furnaces… Which requires sanitizer. Let me just say, God bless the kid that gave me a 12.5 fluid ounce bottle of sanitizer for Christmas. I love you.
• I actually spend a lot of time in somewhat isolation as a kid. Many, many Mexico trips I was the only kid which meant weeks on end I amused myself walking the beach and playing with my dog. I think the difference between then and now is the Beach and authentic Mexican tortillas. I plan to attempt to make some this week.
• I also spent a lot of time home with my Gran and she always had a story. I loved her stories, and I wish I would have written them down. Yesterday, as I was cooking a turkey using the generations old family turkey recipe, which has a bunch of stories about great grandparents, aunts and uncles that have to be told during the preparation, I started thinking about my own turkey story. The first time I ever cooked a turkey by myself, I was somewhat clueless, having paid more attention to the stories being told than the recipes and directions. Being the stubborn know-it-all that I can be (at times), I proceeded to open the packaging in preparation for washing the bird when I noticed this little red and white round thing. I immediately start screaming, and call my mom crying hysterically asking how I am supposed to get the bullet out of the bird.
• I think I need to make a ‘Crazy’ Playlist for my staff. see the reference of my levels of crazy blog post if this doesn’t make sense, Link here ——–>https://fromtheprincipalsoffice.com/crazy-o-meter-preparing-for-pandemic-day-5/ .

Aaaannnddd, since I haven’t checked the headlines in the last 32 minutes… I must now go overthink.