JULY W.I.S.H. Challenge - Summer of Positive Change

[MickeyMom76]

It’s Self Care Sunday! What will you do to refuel before starting a new week?

I found this article on self-care and how to make small changes in daily routine that have lasting effects on your overall health.
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/g25643343/self-care-ideas/
Today I am going to get up and do my workout (part of my daily routine, but today is mostly stretching and yoga). Then I’m going to take a shower (apparently that’s part of self-care...which makes sense, but I never thought about it). Then I have a grocery pickup (meal plan was done yesterday and I ordered necessary groceries). I’ll pack my cooler with meal plan items. Then I’m off to the ball fields for the next 6-7 hours. I’ll try to mix in some walking and reading in between games.

It has been a pleasure hosting this week. I enjoyed reading through all your posts and always appreciate your openness to share! Have a wonderful Sunday!

 

[PollyannaMom]

No big plans for today - I was busy out of the house on Friday and in the house on Saturday, so today is going to be more chill.

I’m already outside with one of the cats (which according to the article is good - it said morning sun helps you fall asleep faster at night) so that’s a positive start.

They are getting far too clever, though - to get me up this morning, one actually opened the curtain with her paw!

 

[MickeyMom76]

They are getting far too clever, though - to get me up this morning, one actually opened the curtain with her paw!

Those are some smart cats!! They’re great accountability partners

 

[sjrec]

What a good read! And I enjoyed a couple of the articles at the end as well.

Had a lovely visit with family yesterday-celebrated our grandson’s 10th birthday. Found a recipe for M&M cookie bars, which he loved and I was happy to send home with them. Spent most of the day outside since it was so nice.
Today will be a quiet day on the porch reading and getting out later for a walk.

I have started a new self care routine where I take a shower after my walk, put my robe on and lie down on my bed for a half hour. It feels so good to put my feet up and read, text with friends, check the Dis or just close my eyes. I think the GH list called it alone time.

Have a good day, everyone!

 

[Summer2018]

Great article. Amazingly enough, I already do the majority of things on the list...during the pandemic and summer. It is when I'm going to school every day that I neglect my self-care needs. The pandemic has forced me to slow down and take better care of myself. That is one of the good things that has come out of this truly challenging time.

Right now, I am concerned that I may have a hard time this fall. The state has us opening with full classes every day. My union is protesting, but it may get bad enough for us to do a work stoppage. Nobody wants that. The state needs to consider everyone's health needs first. HR isn't being cooperative. The form I need to teach remotely is an Adult 504. It is not on the website, and HR isn't providing me with it. I'm concerned that that option is no longer an option because all there is only an FMLA form. Nobody at HR is getting back to me and answering questions. Teaching remotely from home is my best choice, and FMLA is my last resort. I don't even know if FMLA will be an option because the way the doctor wrote my note, although it says that my safest option is to teach remotely at home, it also says that I could be in the classroom wearing a mask as long as my students and colleagues stay more than 6 feet from me and I can take mask breaks. Now, you know that I have been teaching 3 and 4 year olds for 18 years. I have experience that Governors, Superintendents, and Principals can't pretend to have. My new students cry for the first few weeks and need lots of hugs. If you don't give them a hug, they will cling to your legs or climb right up on your lap. They flat out refuse to socially distance. How do I change them when they wet or soil themselves? The nurse won't do it. How do I clean their wound and put a bandaid on them when they inevitably get hurt? How do I clean their faces? It isn't normal to teach littles in large groups separated from them. We meet closely in small groups. The powers-that-be actually believe that if they remove all of my furniture and put desks (not tables which we normally use) in my room 6 feet apart, those littles will stay in their seats for 7 hours. Yeah, right. Preschoolers are constantly on the move like butterflies going from activity to activity. They fling themselves at you and each other. Their masks will be wet from tears and boogers. They will wear them wrong...put them on their head...twirl them around...try them on a doll...trade them with each other...throw them away...flush them down the toilet. If you think that I will be able to keep 18 little 3 & 4 year olds wearing masks properly and socially distancing from each other and me for 7 hours every single day, you are dead wrong. Those making the decisions have no clue what goes on in early childhood classrooms. If they make me go back in the classroom because they can supposedly guarantee that I will be able to socially distance myself from my students and colleagues, I will be in danger. I'm truly scared for my life and the lives of my family, not to mention my students, their families, my Assistant, and her family.

So, tomorrow, I'm going to email my principal who is on the reopening committee and see if she can help me. If nothing else, she may have more information for me as to what my realistic options are now so that I can temper my expectations. I only have a month before we return to school, and I need this resolved. The unknown is so stressful. I prefer to have all of the information...good or bad...so that I can be proactive and deal with this problem head-on.

Then I can have some peace.

 

[sjrec]

The people making some of these decisions have never worked with small children. My daughter’s district is offering full days in a learning center for a limited amount of students (parents have to apply) but otherwise doing virtual learning until 1/22. They have lunch as a full hour. Can you imagine trying to keep elementary children entertained after they finish lunch in 20 minutes? They can’t use the playgrounds. My daughter had lunch duty in her K-3 building. The little ones can’t open their juice pouches or yogurt containers without help. Social distancing from a kindergartner is impossible. These are all such difficult decisions and I can’t believe you are the only one with serious health concerns. I worked until I was 62 and I would have been apprehensive returning to work at that age and I was in good health.

 

[Summer2018]

The people making some of these decisions have never worked with small children. My daughter’s district is offering full days in a learning center for a limited amount of students (parents have to apply) but otherwise doing virtual learning until 1/22. They have lunch as a full hour. Can you imagine trying to keep elementary children entertained after they finish lunch in 20 minutes? They can’t use the playgrounds. My daughter had lunch duty in her K-3 building. The little ones can’t open their juice pouches or yogurt containers without help. Social distancing from a kindergartner is impossible. These are all such difficult decisions and I can’t believe you are the only one with serious health concerns. I worked until I was 62 and I would have been apprehensive returning to work at that age and I was in good health.

I know I'm not the only one. If I didn't need to teach just 7 more years, I would retire. A friend of mine is taking early retirement at 55, but she has 30+ years in. I didn't start teaching until DD was 4, so I only have 18 years under my belt. Dedicated teachers who were called to become educators are rethinking their careers entirely. I have a friend in her late 30's who was Teacher of the Year on the state level and competed on the national level. She has severe asthma like me, and this completely gifted and devoted teacher extraordinaire is thinking about leaving the field and making a career change. If you asked me one year ago if she would leave the field, I would laugh in your face.

During the spring, teachers were finally enjoying the praise from parents that we never got before once they saw how difficult our job is. Now we are being vilified for wanting to continue remote teaching in order to preserve our lives, our loved-ones lives, and our students' lives.

Never in my life did I think things could get so ugly, and I would be fighting for my right to live.

 

[Oneanne]

Someone in my IG feed posted today "... and on Sunday we rest...". Oh, OK, I'm not being lazy, I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and going forward Sunday will be my official day of rest. I have done the dishes and a couple loads of laundry, so there's that.

Our county covid numbers are growing, slowly but they are going up. I'm not doing anything I would consider risky, but I think I'll go back to grocery shopping early in the morning as that is where I encounter the most people, even tho all are wearing masks. Being able to get out and drive around really helps to not feel housebound, so it isn't like sequestering back in March/April was, but do I see a lot of porch time in my future again. I feel for you @Summer2018 , and am grateful to have the option to work from home.

Temps are heating up, Mon, Tues, Weds are supposed to be the hottest. My "office" is in the northeast corner of the house, so stays the coolest but I do need to get one of the fans out of the basement to use in here, else my fuzzy little office mate is going to be pretty miserable.

 

[piglet1979]

It feels like forever since I have been on here. It has been a pretty rough week to 2 weeks. DD is having a really rough go of it right now. After a few days of complete breakdowns she started to talk to me. She did tell me that she feels like she is depressed. This is what I was thinking was going on. I think that this is because of the pandemic. She has nothing going on and nothing to really look forward too. She is missing her friends. She is missing school since she knows she will be doing virtual learning. It has all caught up to her. I have been pretty worried about her. Her therapist did get her in quickly. She stayed late to see her before she out of the office for a week. She goes again next week. I have been spending extra time with DD as well. Watching tv together, playing board games, and baking. This seems to be helping her.

Work has been really busy as one of my employees had her baby last week so I am doing her job too and I have another one that is leaving in 2 weeks so I am training his replacement. Then to top it off our fiscal year ends at the ens of the month so we need to make sure everything is good to go. I also took of last Thursday and Friday.

Thursday was DH's birthday. I made him a German Crown cake. He said it was good but it did not turn out right. Last Tuesday I also got a box of Georgia Peaches that I split with my mom. They were the best peaches I have had in awhile. I had so many that I made a homemade peach pie. I cut up 4 pounds of peaches peeled and pitted. I still had 10 peaches left and they won't last much longer.

 

[Summer2018]

It feels like forever since I have been on here. It has been a pretty rough week to 2 weeks. DD is having a really rough go of it right now. After a few days of complete breakdowns she started to talk to me. She did tell me that she feels like she is depressed. This is what I was thinking was going on. I think that this is because of the pandemic. She has nothing going on and nothing to really look forward too. She is missing her friends. She is missing school since she knows she will be doing virtual learning. It has all caught up to her. I have been pretty worried about her. Her therapist did get her in quickly. She stayed late to see her before she out of the office for a week. She goes again next week. I have been spending extra time with DD as well. Watching tv together, playing board games, and baking. This seems to be helping her.

Work has been really busy as one of my employees had her baby last week so I am doing her job too and I have another one that is leaving in 2 weeks so I am training his replacement. Then to top it off our fiscal year ends at the ens of the month so we need to make sure everything is good to go. I also took of last Thursday and Friday.

Thursday was DH's birthday. I made him a German Crown cake. He said it was good but it did not turn out right. Last Tuesday I also got a box of Georgia Peaches that I split with my mom. They were the best peaches I have had in awhile. I had so many that I made a homemade peach pie. I cut up 4 pounds of peaches peeled and pitted. I still had 10 peaches left and they won't last much longer.

I'm sorry that it has been rough for you and your DD. When they hurt, we hurt. It is so hard to watch them suffer. It seems like you are doing everything you can to help her get through this. Good job Mom.

 

[sjrec]

It feels like forever since I have been on here. It has been a pretty rough week to 2 weeks. DD is having a really rough go of it right now. After a few days of complete breakdowns she started to talk to me. She did tell me that she feels like she is depressed. This is what I was thinking was going on. I think that this is because of the pandemic. She has nothing going on and nothing to really look forward too. She is missing her friends. She is missing school since she knows she will be doing virtual learning. It has all caught up to her. I have been pretty worried about her. Her therapist did get her in quickly. She stayed late to see her before she out of the office for a week. She goes again next week. I have been spending extra time with DD as well. Watching tv together, playing board games, and baking. This seems to be helping her.

Work has been really busy as one of my employees had her baby last week so I am doing her job too and I have another one that is leaving in 2 weeks so I am training his replacement. Then to top it off our fiscal year ends at the ens of the month so we need to make sure everything is good to go. I also took of last Thursday and Friday.

Thursday was DH's birthday. I made him a German Crown cake. He said it was good but it did not turn out right. Last Tuesday I also got a box of Georgia Peaches that I split with my mom. They were the best peaches I have had in awhile. I had so many that I made a homemade peach pie. I cut up 4 pounds of peaches peeled and pitted. I still had 10 peaches left and they won't last much longer.

Hope your daughter is feeling better-I’m sure talking with her therapist can only be helpful. Our children and grandchildren have a lot to process:
Your peaches sound wonderful and if you have some getting ripe you can slice and freeze them.

 

[gardenrooms]

It sounds like you had a wonderful day Summer 2018. So happy for you. My DH and I will be married 49 years this fall. He talks more to himself and the dog than he does to me. We had another fun "distance pool day" with my son and his family. His old bedroom/bathroom can be accessed from the street and the yard and can be shut off from the rest of the house, so it is perfect for this. They stay on the patio by the pool and we stay on the deck (up a bunch of stairs) next to the house. I can hardly wait to hug and kiss them all safely.

Oh, and lightning bugs! We don't have them here, but we lived outside Chicago for a year right across from a field and I loved to watch them rise up out of the grasses as the sun set. We went to my niece's wedding in Atlanta last year and my son's family got to see them for the first time. Not as many, but real (they've only seen the the couple in DL's Pirates of the Caribbean).

Sending you positive thoughts 4Mickeys. I hope the neurologist has some answers for you and can quickly get you on the road to recovery.

My goodness. Page 16 only now loaded on my computer. So sorry to read about what you are going through with school, Summer18. We are starting distance but districts can apply for waivers for elementary schools so we don't know what is going to happen. Face covering and physical distancing are not required for K-3 students. I have spent many hours writing emails.

Piglet1979, it sounds like your daughter has a wonderful mother and a caring therapist in her corner. Let's hope they get a vaccine or 3 soon so all the children can get back to their normal lives, doing the things kids should be able to do. There seem to be some positive indications. Even Dr. Fauci sounded encouraged.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Good Morning, Everyone, and Happy Motivation Monday!





What's motivating you not to quit today?

 

[MickeyMom76]

I started a new workout program last week, so today was the start of week 2. This program is keeping me motivated because it’s something new and I want to stick with it! Plus I’ve already seen results on the scale and want to keep that going!

We were back and forth about our Outer Banks vacation because as of now our Pa adept of Health has us self quarantining when we return from certain states including NC. This would mean that my kids would miss out on their sports. So I actually decided to cancel but didn’t realize our trip insurance wouldn’t cover the state/government imposed quarantine. Then we decided that, since we’d be out a lot of money, we would just go. So now the idea of being on a beach in 2 weeks is also motivating me.

 

[Oneanne]

It feels like forever since I have been on here. It has been a pretty rough week to 2 weeks. DD is having a really rough go of it right now. After a few days of complete breakdowns she started to talk to me. She did tell me that she feels like she is depressed. This is what I was thinking was going on. I think that this is because of the pandemic. She has nothing going on and nothing to really look forward too. She is missing her friends. She is missing school since she knows she will be doing virtual learning. It has all caught up to her. I have been pretty worried about her. Her therapist did get her in quickly. She stayed late to see her before she out of the office for a week. She goes again next week. I have been spending extra time with DD as well. Watching tv together, playing board games, and baking. This seems to be helping her.

Work has been really busy as one of my employees had her baby last week so I am doing her job too and I have another one that is leaving in 2 weeks so I am training his replacement. Then to top it off our fiscal year ends at the ens of the month so we need to make sure everything is good to go. I also took of last Thursday and Friday.

Thursday was DH's birthday. I made him a German Crown cake. He said it was good but it did not turn out right. Last Tuesday I also got a box of Georgia Peaches that I split with my mom. They were the best peaches I have had in awhile. I had so many that I made a homemade peach pie. I cut up 4 pounds of peaches peeled and pitted. I still had 10 peaches left and they won't last much longer.

It's good that she will talk to you and that she can identify her feelings. I hope things turn around soon.

 

[Oneanne]

What is motivating me to not quit... I really did wake up this morning feeling like it was a fresh start, so that is very helpful with getting and staying motivated. Today I'll go thru the food in the fridge and plan out what I want to get tomorrow morning, I'm in a real simple basic mood so just some proteins and fresh veggies... the less cooking this week the better.

I'm going to rearrange my office a bit this week, taking at least one piece of furniture out so that I have room to do some exercises, I've been looking for a program to stream from my PC, maybe chair yoga or something of the like.

 

[gardenrooms]

You all are motivating me now. This is going to be difficult week with a lot of school issues being hammered out that are outside of my control (though I have emailed everyone I can think of), so I just need to focus on myself. Summer18, I didn't start teaching until DS was about 20, lol (went back to school when he went off to college) so even though I'm 71 I have only taught 15 years, so I will never have decent retirement, but I love to teach the struggling readers and do free after school tutoring every year. I would hate last year's distance learning to be the end but that may have to be what I do.

Enjoyed yesterday's article. Haven't quite finished but I'm going to do that before and after picture idea. I've got 2 rooms of stuff I have been trying to shovel out.

Ah, enjoy that vacation MickeyMom76. It sounds wonderful. Again, I am so jealous of you east coasters with that wonderful warm ocean.

Hoping for some good news 4Mickeys.

 

[sjrec]

I’m determined to get out for a walk today-even if it’s just 20-30 minutes.

We have corn, watermelon and tomatoes from our local stand which makes meal planning so much easier. I do need to go to the grocery store because my freezer is pretty empty. Salmon would nice and only 20 minutes in the oven sounds good right now.

 

[sjrec]

I started a new workout program last week, so today was the start of week 2. This program is keeping me motivated because it’s something new and I want to stick with it! Plus I’ve already seen results on the scale and want to keep that going!

We were back and forth about our Outer Banks vacation because as of now our Pa adept of Health has us self quarantining when we return from certain states including NC. This would mean that my kids would miss out on their sports. So I actually decided to cancel but didn’t realize our trip insurance wouldn’t cover the state/government imposed quarantine. Then we decided that, since we’d be out a lot of money, we would just go. So now the idea of being on a beach in 2 weeks is also motivating me.

A week at the beach might be the break you all need right now. Could you get tested a few days after returning so the kids wouldn’t miss as much of their practices? I bet you aren’t the only families vacationing and the coaches will hopefully be a little more flexible.

When we were at the beach last weekend the water temperature was 76 degrees! It will be lovely in NC!

 

[Summer2018]

Good Morning, Everyone, and Happy Motivation Monday!


View attachment 513704


What's motivating you not to quit today?

I'm motivated by starting to feel more like myself.

I'm beginning to feel more normal for the first time since the end of May. Mouth pain is lessening. No side effects from antibiotics or thrush medication. (I'm monitoring my mouth closely for a reoccurrence.) No GERD symptoms...nausea...coughing...burning...throat pain...loss of voice...at one point, the acid coming up from my stomach was so bad, I had no voice at all for 5 days. I can eat more normally, but I know that I won't be eating a steak for a long time lol.

I got a very negative email from HR this morning basically stating that they can't help me. Wow. Thanks. So I forwarded the very unhelpful email to my principal and detailed my needs based on my severe asthma condition...how I would not only need to stay 6+ feet away from students and colleagues, but would need to wear a mask and take frequent mask breaks. I don't even have time to take a bathroom break. Where and how would I take mask breaks? Anyway, since the majority of my job involves close contact with students, my doctor prefers I do remote teaching from home. I'm hoping that she will have answers for me since HR has dropped the ball. My union is concentrating more on protesting than advocating for individual teachers at the moment, which I understand.

Praying for a miracle.

Update: My principal really disappointed me with an answer that the superintendent instructed her to give..."Follow up with HR and copy the union on correspondence." So, no help whatsoever. That tells me that the reopening negotiations have not gone in my favor. It appears they are not providing the opportunity for teachers with underlying conditions to teach from home. It looks like my only option is FMLA, and that can be denied so...I emailed my union again, detailed everything, and we will see. I very well may end up hiding at my desk all year with a partition around it while I tell the little ones to "stay in your seat; put on your mask; don't hug your friend; sit down now."

Oh. My. God.