ADDmire: Short Term Journal 2020-2021

Hi everyone!   Snow in RI/CT/MA today- at least 9 inches and still falling.  What a time!  I am sure I will take pictures later, but for now it has no ambiance out there aside from feeling like you are trapped inside of a snow-globe that was just shaken and has not yet settled. I awoke to sounds of plows passing down the large boulevard where I live.  Then my husband in the early morning hours going out to use the snowblower to clear our driveway and our neighbor's driveway. One of Alex's teacher's had emailed about a test today.  They were kind enough to allow him to complete the test next week on 12/23 which is when he will once again be reunited with us and with his home and with his chromebook!  So today is 12/17/20 and he can come home at last on 12/22/2020.  That is Tuesday of next week.  Today is Thursday.  It has been extremely difficult to accomplish his schooling items during the quarantine. As previously mentioned, there is no...

HELLO FRIENDS!  HAPPY COVIDS-GIVING.  oooh....maybe I should work on that a bit.  Sounds unappealing .   Anyway... Today I want to share about the magical week we had while hosting our out-of-town guest, E.  She is a delightful youngster with a brilliant personality, a HUGE amount of courage, and a bright future ahead of her. As we all know, Covid-19 has made travel and visiting nearly impossible.  But with devotion and ingenuity , E's mother and I created a safe visit for E to come and see my husband's Aunt Jean who is E's Nana.  And let me tell you it was WELL worth the effort all around.  We started planning this about a month ago.  At that time, we knew Rhode Island was being mandated to go on a "Pause" from the Governor, whereby shopping and dining out would be so limited that most people would opt to stay in and not spread Covid 19.  Cases here in the smallest state in the country SURGED just a week before E got here! My own ...

  This week has been like a beautiful gift, so much to be thankful for and to appreciate!  Inwardly, it has been a struggle since receiving the email from work last Tuesday.  I have not spent a lot of time dwelling upon it...it was not as though I did not realize that a choice needed to be made.  The problem is that I feel SO ALONE in making it...I feel abandoned and lost as I try to decide what to do next. Some people might think that "taking a Leave of Absence" from your work is like walking outside and then back inside the house again.  It's not like that.  You LEFT your world behind...you WALKED AWAY from it.  There ARE going to be hard feelings and there will be ramifications.  I know it from personal experience, I know it because I am deeply intuitive.  I can literally HEAR what others are saying at my job. I know it might sound weird to some of you, but it just is what it is on my end.  I know what is happening. When I walked away...

 Good morning! Today I received the correspondence from work asking me to decide and inform them of my decision: Do I return to work or not? Date for this return would be 12/28/2020 My HR person has been truly awesome.  Unlike some of the other staff and personnel I have encountered, she has really done her job well and been neutral. She reached out yesterday and offered me that I could come back or I could resign with the potential for rehire at another location.  I responded to let her know that the confidence that they have in me to rehire me if I were unable to return, really told me everything I needed to know about how they see my work. I should not doubt myself...but my boss was abusive, so it's hard not to! Anyway, back to the real issue...Stay home or go back to work? I have decided that I need to see the plan written out on paper in order to decide, so that will be my next step.  I will not have much time to decide on these things, so I must move on it quic...

As December unfolds and edges us ever closer to our New Year, I reflect on how it has all gone and how it is now.  As I sit here this Monday morning,   that uneasy feeling of lack of completion, settles upon me. I ask myself how I could have done better.  What could I have done differently?  What can I still improve now?  I am getting ready to take the first steps in a variation of the Distance Learning plan.  I feel almost ZERO support from anyone as I support everyone around me.  I am not upset about it...just resolved that I am the one who knows what must be done and I have been given the space and time to achieve it. Yesterday I hit a hard wall- crying for hours.  Finally my "meds" started to help.  The low dose I use isn't as effective in difficult times like the one I am having, so I had to just take the space needed to calm myself and center and also to ask for the space and help I needed from Jamie and Annika. Annika had a memori...

  We have added a new layer atop the continuing saga of homeschooling.  Alex is now in quarantine due to his exposure to his father who tested Covid-19 positive.  Alex will now remain in quarantine at his father's home until 12/22/2020 in keeping with the CDC requirements. To say that this has been an unexpected twist in the road is an understatement for sure.  It was difficult as it was...getting Alex out of bed daily, fed and medicated and in his seat to attend virtual classes online from home.  It was already a battle to keep him motivated and focused, as he was sitting here next to me. So here are my new thoughts- new observations. My communication with Alex since his quarantine began has been over the phone or using Google Duo on the phone or just simply through text.  Texting is a fine way to say, "hey kid...thinking of you"!  But aside from that, I have to rely heavily on the phone and video calls.  Alex is a quiet talker, and the dynamics ...