Quarantine Blues

 I hate Covid-19.  For the past two weeks, I've been stuck at home due to the virus.  I don't have it, but my wife does.  She is over most of the symptoms now, but is still fatigued and sleeps about 16 hours a day.  And, from what I understand, that is a fairly mild case. 

Due to her illness and my close proximity (she is my wife), I am required to quarantine.  Which means I don't go anywhere.  The farthest I've been is Walmart to the Curbside Pickup.  The rest of the time has been spent at home.  I've realized over the last two weeks that I'm not cut out for working from home.  

When I first went into quarantine, I decided to try and follow my regular schedule:  Get up at 4 am, pray, read, then plan out the day, start work at 5:30 by listening to the two-way radio and helping when I could, work on admin tasks throughout the day, and then repeat the two-way radio gig from 2:00 to 5:30 pm.  That is my typical day at the office.  Needless to say, that lasted about three days.  I soon realized that I wasn't needed for the morning or the afternoon runs.  And, since much of what I do requires spending time with people and on campuses, I couldn't get a whole lot accomplished in those areas either.  

The second week, my alarm still went off at 4, but I wasn't getting up until 5.  I'd listen to the two-way while praying and planning and then try to accomplish a few things on the computer.  After a couple of hours, I was pretty much done.  Something I would need would be at the office and I couldn't get to it, so I would have to put the task aside.  I'd help my wife around the house, check e-mails periodically, field a few phone calls, and then be done.  That lasted another two days,  

Now, my alarm goes off at 4 and I get up at 8.  If I'm needed, someone will call.  I take my time going through the tasks of the day and do what I can at the kitchen table. After that, I spend time with my wife when she's not sleeping.  

Honestly, this has been a miserable experience.  I love to work and accomplish my goals and that has been extremely difficult during this quarantine.  When things were shut down in March, I was able to go to the office as our department was considered essential. I think that kept me sane.  People tell me they would love to be off all the time.  I find it exhausting.  

I guess I should be glad that no one in my family is seriously ill. Instead, I am just inconvenienced. 

On the bright side, I am only on quarantine for two more days.  And, the following Monday is Thanksgiving break.  At least I won' feel obligated to work over the holidays.  Not that I would get anything done anyway. 

Coronavirus- Shining a Light on School Support Services

Over the past few weeks in Texas, schools have been closed due to Coronavirus (Covid-19).  Campuses are virtually ghost towns, teachers go to classroom only when they have to, and students are working from home.  Yet there are a few people in districts who are not stopping.  In fact, a new light is illuminating their importance to the education system.

I'm talking about support services people (Transportation, Food Services, Custodial, Maintenance).  These folks usually fly under the radar.  We often forget they are even a part of the educational system. They are the epitome of "out of sight, out of mind." But, the work they do behind the scenes is essential and invaluable.  The coronavirus has shone a much needed light on their importance to school districts.  

In my district, bus drivers and monitors are now delivering meals and work to students daily.  As they run their route, they are bringing hope to families. Dressed in gloves, masks and maintaining social distance, they bring breakfast and lunch along their routes and let kids know they haven't been forgotten. 

We started with around 750 meals each day and are now up to over a 1000. Someone has to make those meals.  That's where Food Services comes in.  Every day, these men and women make over a thousand sandwiches, pack them with love in old-fashioned brown bags, and sort them for delivery to hungry kids.  They are at work before dawn, making sure the food for that day is ready to go.  Once that is done, they start preparing for the next day.  

As I am writing this, a young man is cleaning my office.  He is not only emptying trash and sweeping, but is doing the extra job of disinfecting work surfaces.  Custodial staff, like other support persons, often fly under the radar.  We don't notice them unless something is not done.  When they do their jobs well, we rarely know they are even there.  During this outbreak, their services are even more important.  Who know whether their disinfecting is keeping someone from contracting the virus.

Finally, I can't forget the district maintenance crews.  They are quietly keeping the buildings operational, doing summer projects, and ensuring that anything that breaks gets fixed expediently.  With them on the scene, students and teachers can return to stellar facilities ready to support learning.  

I hope that, once school resumes, we don't forget the invaluable work of our support people in school districts.  Without them, the district could not function effectively.  The coronavirus pandemic is just making this more obvious.

If you know someone who works in a support service in a school district, please take time to thank them (but remember to practice social distance when you do).  

New Year

 This holiday season,  I realized that I've strayed from some of my core principles.  One of the main ones is to focus on essentials and let everything else take a back seat.  In my work, I'm doing well on that, but not so much in my personal life.  At work, the essentials are discipline and morale.  I've been able to focus in those two and make some pretty impressive moves forward.  In my personal life, I realize that I've not truly developed essentials.  I've been flying without any real direction. 

For that reason, one of my main goals as I enter the new year is clarify the essentials in my personal life.  I cannot do the most important things if I don't know what they are.  So, this weekend, I will develop the essentials for my personal life so I can have a direction to go in.  Only then will I be able to make progress in the right direction instead of being scattered in a hundred different directions.