Strange Stuff

It has been strange around here for the last week.  Everyone has been sent home to do their work. 

Patrick's college classes were canceled around the middle of last week and he is now just waiting for his instructors to move their training materials online for "distance-learning". Many colleges already offer online courses and distance learning options so this isn't a dramatic shift for them. However, many of his classes benefit from student/instructor interaction.  He has been grounded from flying until further notice. And Men's Wearhouse, where he works, has closed all of their retail shops and sent the staff home. They have done a nice thing by paying their employees (even the part time and hourly) for regularly scheduled hours, so the three shifts a week that Patrick normally would work he will be paid for.

Jörg was also sent home last week and told not to come back until further notice. The work marches on, of course, so while his venue has changed the workload has not.  Now he has to put up with a little more noise and interruption, but we have nicer bathrooms and better coffee.

Katherine attended her last classes at Trinity on Tuesday.  The hope is that classes will resume normally on April 6, but there are rumors out there that the shut down will go on for a while. If that is the case then they will shift to online learning just like Patrick.  Katherine was sent home with all of her school books and materials to complete her classes in the event they don't return to school this year. Fortunately, she has been taking Chinese online so she already has some exposure to what it looks like to do school via internet.

Life hasn't changed that much for me.  I still get up and showered and ready for the day. I still have errands to run, laundry to do, a house to clean, and rental work to handle. My caseload at the Defender General's office doesn't really change that much, although our court hearings have been indefinitely postponed.  And I still fix the meal. I will say that finding certain food items has become a bit of a challenge, and access to paper products is still not happening, but little by little sanity is returning to the area and grocery shelves are being restocked.  I am optimistic that by next week I should be able to find toilet paper…just in time.

Today's weather seems like the perfect end to a crazy week. We have had sun, fluffy clouds, wind, "spitty" rain, pouring rain, more sun, higher winds, and now dark and low storm clouds.  The temperature was lovely today, although rumor has it we will be back in the deep cold overnight.

I have been sitting on the front porch watching the clouds roll overhead, enjoying the Canadian geese honking overhead, and listening to the trees in the wind.  The temperature is falling and it is getting cool so I will go inside and say good night. Wishing all of you a less crazy weekend as we settle into a new "normal". Stay healthy.