Friday, May 15, 2020Day Fifty-Nine
A million years ago, I delivered newspapers. That's how you know I'm old, by the way, I not only remember real newspapers that were delivered 7 days per week, but I was an actual person who carried a bag of newspapers while riding a bicycle around my neighborhood. Delivering newspapers was pretty much the only job you could legally have at the age of 10/11, so that's the job I had.
That was DEFINITELY a different time, by the way. Not only did I deliver newspapers door-to-door, I was responsible for collecting payments door-to-door as well. I had a set amount I had to turn into the newspaper every month, so the only way to turn a profit was to make sure that everyone I delivered to paid me.
Every month I would knock on every door along my route and ask for payment. I went into stranger's houses and waited for them to write a check or gather enough cash. Sometimes I stood there awkwardly for a loooong time because people are never really in a hurry to pay a bill. There was one house where I was always a little nervous standing there because their husky/wolf mix would stare.
Just stare.
He had the brightest blue eyes and was a gorgeous dog, but he was also definitely part wolf. He wasn't friendly AT ALL, though he never actually did anything aggressive. He just stared. Awkwardly. And made you want to run away.
Another house was weird to go to because the little boy who lived there was nonverbal. I believe he had Down's Syndrome, though it was a million years ago so I may be misremembering. Regardless, he often would open the door and let me in when I stopped at his house to collect, but then he would sit down and watch TV. And there were no adults around. Anywhere. I think maybe his mom worked nights and thus was sleeping when I stopped by, but I never actually found out because my interactions were always only with the little boy who didn't say a word. I only ever got paid because I figured out to write a note and leave it with him, and then would find a check taped to the door the next day.
Another house just across the street definitely didn't have adults home during the day. It was a girl and two boys. The girl was one year older than me and her brothers a few years ahead of her. That happens to be the house where we used a Slip and Slide indoors and didn't get sent to juvenile detention, so there DEFINITELY weren't adults around.
That was sort of the theme of my childhood. No adults. We were largely unsupervised ... all of us. We rode our bikes around the neighborhood from early in the morning until the sun went down each night. Somehow we always managed to entertain ourselves and stay safe, I guess because that was just the expectation. Go do something. Be safe while you're doing it. I'll see you later. That's what parenting was all about.
We're fifty-nine days into a global pandemic and I have realized I have that exact parenting style going on. While the girls can't go play with neighbors, I do expect them to go figure out how to entertain themselves all day while also being safe ... AND THEY DO IT. Some how, some way, each and every day they manage to get their school work done and play a lot, and they do it without me guiding activities.
Which ... huh. Whowouldathunk that was possible?
Day Fifty-Eight
When this all started, it sort of made sense to use blog titles to count the days. Now ... I'm not so sure. At what point do I stop? When everything is back to "normal?" If we're placing bets on that, I'm not grabbing anything prior to 2021. For real. I do not expect normal this year. I don't expect it early next year either. My optimistic side has it at summer 2021, but more realistic side says to consider 2022.
Do I stop counting when the girls go back to their regular school schedule? Because that might just be a ways off as well. I'm not gaining a lot of confidence with our school district's planning and may not have the girls go back in the fall, even if it's an option. I'm nowhere near making a real decision on that, but the fact that there is a decision to made says something, no?
What about when I return to working in the office? I guess that would be a viable option, but that ain't happening anytime soon either. I'm incredibly fortunate to work for a company that is having, "Should we go back?" conversations and right now it's looking more and more likely that I'm staying WFH for not just months, but likely years, if not forever. I've already told my team they can go to "forever" WFH if they'd like. I might just follow suit. (See also: School options may drive this to a can't go back to the office sort of thing, and that just might be okay.)
So I have no idea what I will use to trigger myself back to real blog titles, but I think it's going to have to be something completely random and dumb. I might as well let it be until I reach the point when I can't figure out how to write the numbers, though. Because getting into the hundreds? THAT is going to be super fun.
