4.22.20 & 4.23.20 & 4.24.20

Will all this togetherness, it was time to update the job descriptions

 in the Wangen Household.

It's Auggie's Job

to remind us when we're out of orange juice

          and the good snacks

to teach us to take time to play, 

       belly to the grass, real play 

to sprinkle "I love you's through the day

and to get dirt-under-the toenails-dirty

It's Charly's job... 

to point out embarrassments

          -big and small

to show us that creativity has no timeline

and girls are strong

to spread sunshine with every grin and every freckle

and say I'm sorry first

It's Scott's job

To be the stable when we're the crazy

and make sure the freezer is always stocked with ice cream

to get down to sweet eye level when delivering the hard blows

      like who gets the first cookie and it's not your day for the tv. 

to stay up late and shut down the house

           when mom can't make it past 8:30

So I guess it's my job

to pray over these people who love me even 

            when I'm crabby

To make sure the soft pants and the good pajamas are clean

To get up daily and work harder

       to love better

Because it's the best job in the world. 

At Cleary Lake wishing it was summer

See mom? I can still fit on this bike!

Outfit twins?

Online learning at it's finest

Had to capture that caption

Social distance gymnastics

Loving the new flag football jersey (not sure about why the snacks)

Falling asleep...but still wearing my football flags...you know, just in case

4.18, 4.19, 4.20, 4.21.20

The other day I had a moment of panic. 

Not because of the of the pandemic or the isolation, or even the stress of all this...

I had a moment of panic feeling like it might be almost over. 

I know. 

In my defense, I've always been a bit agoraphobic. I love the idea of traveling, but two days into the trip I'm longing for home. I love going places, but I relish winter when it's so cold that we are stuck inside together without pressures to go out and do all the things. 

There's something about being forced to stay home with people you love that is imprinting quite a memory page on my lifebook. 

When we were younger, my sister and I would play "poor" and take a backpack and our Cabbage Patch children and move onto the front porch. (How blessed we were at the time that our reality was not everything we owned in a tiny bag. .. but we were suckers for dramatic backstories to guide our shenanigans.)

I used to love huddling together on the porch. With everything we needed in our little faded Jansport backpack, (you know, just the essentials; hair combs, Lipton cup-a-soup packets and Bubbletape....), we weathered the storm in the scary wilds of suburban Eagan.

I think I loved this game so much because everything felt safe and contained in my little world. The anxious controller in me relished the stress-free zone that fit into a 3 x 10 space on the front of my parents' house.

So I admit, there's part of me that is not looking forward to when the flood gates open. When we start running to all the activities and we're lucky if our family eats together on a given night. 

I'm hoping I can take a page of this time and carry it through. 

The safety part. 

The people-we-love-time-together part. 

 And if not, sorry Mom, I'm moving onto the porch.

Nice little Saturday

Beautiful spot...wish 169 wasn't so loud!

I know it's just tween snark, but all I can think of is that odd brother in Wedding Crashers...

....anyone??

 

LOVING the hoverboard

The dandelions have bloomed!

Family trip to Starbucks (you can see Scott walking up to the drive-through in the background!)

Making churros!

Delicious!

Breaker, breaker 1-9, we found the walkie-talkies!

"Mama...take my picture!"

When you're four and they dump off a whole load of mulch in the cul-de-sac...
you grab your trucks and run over!!

4.15.20-4.16.20-4.17.20

I'm with you.  

Everything I've read about parenting an adolescent, (yes, Charly is only 11, but she's brooding at a teenage level.) says that sometimes the best thing you can do as a parent is just to be in it with them. So yesterday, as tears of frustration slipped down her cheeks, I tried to remember this. This revised type of "school" is hard for everyone, but sweet Charly was feeling the anxious weight of the "to-do" list, coupled with that Friday-exhausted feel.  

I temporarily abandoned my list of emails and student feedback comments, and pulled my chair next to her. "I know you're frustrated, but I'm here." I watched her check her multiplication, and answer tiny word problems on her Chromebook screen. For once, I didn't try and solve the problem for her (she knew how to do it), and I didn't chide her for not organizing her time better this week so she wouldn't have all the loose ends to do on Friday. I just sat. In a parallel chair, just with her.  

After she was done with her work she said, "Thank you mama.  I know you're busy too." It may not work every time, but this win made my day. 

I'm with you. I think that's all kids, or anyone, needs to hear right now. The other night we finished dinner as a family, having long closed up shop on Mrs. Wangen's classroom. I happened to check Seesaw for messages when I saw these from a student. 

"Mrs. Wangen, I need help with this. Can we Google Meet?" 6:23 pm

" I can't figure this out, can you help me?" 6:25 pm. 

He was waiting by his Ipad when I sent him the access code to chat. I showed him how to do the first few math problems on adding mixed numbers, and he quickly caught on. 

"I knew you'd get it right away!", I cheered, "Are you good now?"

**pause**

"Mrs. Wangen, can you just stay with me for a couple more problems?"

Yes, buddy, I can. I sure can. 

I know some educators are holding strict to their work hours, keeping boundaries tight. 

But we are going to get through this as a society when we honor doing what feels right to us. 

And let's be honest, sometimes all we need is just someone with us. 

We've finally reached the "cabin fever" boiling point

Speaking of cabins...Scott and Auggie went to check on ours. Brrrr.

Extra time at home means I could finish my ACES presenter certificate!

Wearing an Easter door hanger and playing with a toilet. Just a normal night. 

Taking apart an old black and white TV from my parents. 

TV was manufactured in 1975. My mom got it for her apartment her senior year in college. Ironically, I also took it to college in 1996. Then my son took it apart in 2020. Good times. 

Risked my life to get stamps. I lived. 

Hangin' with Hannibal Lector

4.10-4.14.20

The last few days bring a bit of deja vu from last summer. Auggie had a tough end of the summer. Lots of big emotions and frustration. 

The first few weeks of quarantine, he was loving it. Lots of Mom and Dad attention, lots of playtime. But with the snow and cold and the novelty worn, his fuse is running a bit shorter. The other members of the family are able to medicate with copious amounts of TikTok and Ozark, but Auggie is feeling the redundancy of screen time right now. 

I laugh at the irony of how much I delight in problem-solving other kids behavior, yet I'm slightly too close to the flame to always see the issue with my own. 

I realized this morning, he's just reacting to a lack of felt safety. As we get lax on schedules and parents' tolerance runs thin, he is lashing out to express his frustration with the absence of structure and inability to process boredom. Whew.

But here's the peptalk. Here is where we dig deep. And we dig in. We are all starting to be a bit weary around the edges. I see it in my students' faces (via Google Meet of course) and my own kids' patience. I'm holding tight to prayer, to thankfulness, and (to be fully truthful) Netflix. 

Cheers to another day.

Concentration

Chalk art by a family campfire

Back at the boiling springs!

"Senior Pictures"

"Senior Pictures- pose two"

Making us nervous

Happy Easter!

Happy Christm----I mean, Easter

Live stream mass!

Easter dinner!

Snuggled up and reading!

Creative kids working on projects

Bailey the dog needed a sewing repair (new smile)

4.8.20 & 4.9.20

Another hidden blessing is getting to know my class on a whole other level based on online learning and chatting via Google Meet. Here is what I know:

I know who prefers to chat outside,

I know who loves to be in their pajamas all day,
I know who has a friendly dog, or a cat who loves the camera. 

I know who is working with a sibling, and who is flying solo. 

I know who's got a basement bedroom and who has lots of windows in their kitchen. 

I know who has the assignment done twenty three minutes after getting it. 

I know who's submitting assignments at 10:15 pm because mom or dad is an essential worker, and they've been out all day... or maybe they are just a night owl.

I know who's up at 6:15 checking our class page,

I know who eats lunch at 3:00, and makes their own breakfast. 

I know who needs to change the batteries in their smoke detector because it keeps beeping. 

I know who has constant parental support and who is working resiliently because their parents have jobs that require them to brave the public right now. 

I know I miss my class. The smiles. The hugs. 

I know I miss teaching. Reading their reactions from a lesson, and hunching down so I can explain something eye to eye.

I know they need my positivity, ...so do my own kids. 

I know it will be ok.

But I also know that this is "trauma" and that things need to be recreated when we do school again.

I know this is an opportunity to be realistic and cut out the parts that no longer serve us, the parts of education that have become toxic to students. 

And I know when I chose my career path in third grade, I've never doubted it. 

Bubbles make the best toys!

Kinetic sand "cookies"

Building a fire station and rocking the hair. 

Epic fort

FaceTime Ukulele lessons with friends!

This sweet boy has been playing so hard he's gone back to napping.