Over the weekend I was so crabby. Everything was rubbing me the wrong way. Elwood and I went out for a bit yesterday afternoon and I was trying to figure out why.
Last week was the final week of my class, so I had a ton of work to do.
Last week was also the first week since March in which only one parent was home during the workday: Elwood is back in the office. The kids didn't interrupt Elwood very often while he was working at home, I don't think, but they could go to him when I was obviously busy.
Last week the school district announced that the option we had oh-so-carefully selected would not be available to us, which caused some flailing and uncertainty.
I had been looking forward to making music at Mass on Saturday afternoon, but this week there was a new person nearby with little regard for the mask requirements. Usually I love my corner next to the amp because I am miles away from everybody. This weekend I felt stuck there, sharing the air with someone whose approach to COVID risk management aligns very poorly with mine. It did not feel restorative.
(Side note: I'm feeling more comfortable with COVID conversations when people are either friends or total strangers. On the running trail I can say politely, "Six feet, please!" to someone who is taking her half out of the middle, as my grandmother used to say. I am more at ease now saying, "Could you pull your mask up, please?" But acquaintances inhabit a strange middle ground, where it feels uncomfortable to speak and uncomfortable to let it slide. It's a weird time -- have I mentioned that recently?)
But I'm feeling more optimistic today. I submitted grades (and, like clockwork, got an email complaint within 15 minutes) and finished up the associated admin tasks. I have some loose ends to tie up this week, but it's almost sabbatical time. We made a decision about our second-choice school plan and I know (or I think I know) what I need to do to make it happen.
I don't know quite what to do about the church situation. There's been a small reconfiguration along with a personnel switch, and the combination is making me wonder again about how much aerosolization happens with singing and how much of a risk it might pose. I suppose I don't have to figure it out tonight, though.
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