A little about me: I'm an English teacher with a master's degree in History. As an English teacher, I understand the importance of daily writing to be a reader/writer. As a historian and researcher, I understand the importance of daily writing to preserve history, to understand perspectives and points of view.
I titled this blog "Modern Day Pepys" because of the importance of that 17th century diarist, Samuel Pepys. Through him, we know more about society, about the ins and outs of 17th century life, of the Great Fire of London, of human nature in that time period. No other diarist has been as prolific and important as him, and journaling is somewhat of a lost art. I remember going through a set of archives years ago, researching the one individual. I was able to read letters she wrote and thought, "What are historians going to look at 100 years from now about today?" And so I started journaling more. Now, however, in the midst of what is happening, I feel that my hand-writing journaling isn't enough; that my hands will get tired and that I won't be able to write as much as I have thoughts in my head. So: my solution is a new blog and write daily. And then print it for posterity.
Right now, the world is in the grips of a pandemic - the Coronavirus (or COVID-19). This is new territory for my generation and even for my parents' generation. Schools are shut down. Restaurants are shut down. Courts are shut down. We're being told do isolate ourselves ("social distance") in order to slow down the spread of this virus. 6 months ago, none of us would recognize the world we see now. Fights over toilet paper. People hoarding hand sanitizer and then marking up the price online. People bickering over which political party is at fault or is not doing enough. People claiming it's a conspiracy while others are fearful for their immuno-suppressed child. People panicking because there's no bread and no flour. People calling each other names either because they're not "socially distancing" themselves or because they're "too" socially distancing themselves. And politics. Man, the politics.
My school district officially shut down yesterday for the next 4 weeks. Suddenly, the world shifted even more. As a teacher, I have a responsibility to my students to ensure they are still learning. But many of them are now babysitting their younger siblings, earning money to support their family because others have lost jobs due to a city shut-down (both voluntary and involuntary). Some are afraid, some are not. Some have technology, some don't. Some are motivated to keep learning, some aren't. Some have parents who are forcing them to stick to a routine, some have parents who don't care about routine.
Meanwhile, I'm stuck at home. As an introvert, I'm absolutely fine. For now. My 65-pound rescue pit-lab mix is super happy that I'm home; he's taking advantage of the situation and getting all the snuggles he can. My husband has cabin fever already, but I'm hoping I can convince him to work on/in the back patio today (I'll help). The news continues to update with shut-downs, hour changes, etc. Currently there are 30 cases in Houston/Harris County area, but the first died yesterday. The news is also reporting that many people are carrying the virus without knowing it, and so the spreading of it might be more far-reaching than actually documented. I'm personally not worried about getting it. I do have asthma, but I have meds and I tend to not get sick that often. But I don't want to be the reason someone else has it.
My goal for today: start a routine.
I hope to try this routine this week:
* 5am: work out for an hour. Shower.
* 7:30am: Get online to check my class discussion boards and answer students' questions.
* 8:30-11am: Maybe work on distance learning techniques and/or give commentary on work turned in. Maybe clean my house. Depends on what I have to do.
* 11am: Skype meeting with my English team.
*11:30am: Check my class discussion boards again after the meeting.
*12-1pm: Take a walk and eat lunch
* 1-2pm: Read through my AP Research papers for class feedback.
* 2pm: Check my class discussion boards again, answer questions, look at work turned in. Disconnect around 2-3 and try to turn "work" off.
*3pm: Make a pot of tea and read my book.
* 4pm: Take another walk or clean the house (basically, get movement)
* 5pm: Read some more (must counterbalance screen time from my "work hours"
* 6pm: Cook dinner with husband. Eat.
* 7:30pm: Watch tv.
* 9pm: Bed.
My daily priorities: Work out/walk, drink lots of water, eat veggies, balance reading with screen time. Blog.
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