2020 Life Logs, Day 112: MA Students Will Not Go Back to School
Date: Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Weather: Overcast, Windy, Rain Late; High 53 degrees, Low 33 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Massachusetts Republican Governor Charlie Baker announced today that schools in this state will not reopen this spring. The decision puts a huge burden on parents, but it is the right decision. In school districts where teachers are actually teaching online it is less of a burden, but in school districts like ours where teachers are sending assignments but not teaching the subject matter, it is quite a stressful situation even in the homes where both parents are working from home. For those parents who will be returning to work, I have no idea what they do with their children.
I spent another spring vacation day with the Goldpebbles. While I walked Shadow and then fixed breakfast, I let the boys have some screen time on Granddad’s tablet. They also did some chores for me. Sam drilled a larger hole in the bat house they gave me for Mother’s Day last year and finally got it hung on the front of the house. All three boys then worked to replace the free play time in their new backyard. At first it was sunny, making the windy day tolerable. But when the sun went away, the boys gravitated inside to read until lunch time. 
Then it was back to my house to play with Shadow, do more reading, go kayaking, and attempt a ‘deforestation’ project. I put deforestation in quotes. We are not chopping trees down, but Sam and Jonah are practicing their Scout skills with an ax to remove some saplings from the tree line in the side yard of The Cottage. Tomorrow, on Earth Day, we hope to transplant some raspberries from 60 Vidal along that tree line.
I continue to struggle with back pain. I have tried all of my tricks and they work, for a very short time, and then the pain is back. Obviously I have a disc sitting on a nerve that sends shooting pains into my hips and on down both legs. Walking gives me the greatest relief, but I really do need to see my chiropractor. I talked to Heather about it, explaining that I don’t want to chance bringing the virus into our family unit, but she agreed that I should make an appointment. I think she is going to have to make another grocery store run in the next week and Jed is desperate to go to hardware store. Of course, we will all be as careful as possible, but after no exposure for a few weeks now, going out seems a bit scary.
