Sunday, April 5, 2020

Ready, Set, Zoom - Week of Mar. 30th

"Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress and working together is success." ~Henry Ford
Our new normal of home life seems to be hitting a stride.  Although work is hectic, Cam is doing his best to keep himself busy with homework and visit his mom and dad in their respective offices.  A new fun activity he has discovered is following our cat, Stella around to see where she will lead him.  Interestingly enough, she seems to know her presence is needed now.
Grabbing the daily mail used to coincide with school bus pickup and drop off.  Now it is a task set aside and one to look forward to, especially when there is something for Cam.
When he opened the card from his teacher, Ms. Konkle, he was very surprised to see a "Save the Date" for her August wedding.  After his screams, he told his parents, "This is such an honor to be invited to your teacher's wedding!"  Chris and I agreed that the teachers miss the kids as much as the kids miss school and the teachers.

With the governor's directive to stay home and stay safe not only in Michigan but across the country, many people, including schools, have embraced videoconferencing technology.  In March alone, there were 62 million downloads of video apps.  Ms. Konkle sent out an invite to her group of 7 kids to connect via a Zoom conference.  The classmates stayed on together with their teacher for almost an hour, excited to see each other and talking about different things they had been doing.  At one point, Cam turned to us and said "I think everyone is going crazy because we miss each other."

It is strange that being outside seems a bit of a luxury these days.  On a warmer, sunny day Jane asked Cam if he wanted to go for a drive.  They ended up at a nearby park that was practically deserted.
An older couple was in their car and commented (from 6 feet away) "It is such a nice day."  Jane and her son agreed and Jane said "Are you staying safe?" The older gentleman said "Oh yes and don't you worry, things will be fine."  As Cam and his mom made their way to the sidewalk, Jane told her son that it was so good to hear the man say that.  Cam led the way and they ended up on the boardwalk down by the river.  There they stayed, in silence, both looking at the river.  Cam said "This is so relaxing."  It is ironic that in 'normal' times, this outing would be a rarity.  Even more rare is the absence of people.  In all of the chaos in the world, Cam truly seems more at ease.  Maybe it is because of the pause in the hustle and bustle of normal activity.

At Cam's request, our big weekend outing was to the backyard for our son to feel relaxation once again, but this time in our hot tub.
While we were all hanging out, Cam said "Thank you for getting this, Mom!"  I reminded him that the hot tub was a birthday present to me from he and his dad.  Cam smartly replied, "I guess you need to thank us again then!"

Camology Quotes:
With the daily changes in the news and multiple announcements from our governor, Cam has taken a keen interest in hearing the formal addresses and has actually asked to watch the news a bit in the evening. He is very intrigued by the concept of an 'executive order' and decided he would create his own at bedtime.
"This executive order says that you must pay me $8 for 5 hugs and then you will need to get my permission."

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