We have been surviving. Some days it feels like just that. We have been fortunate to have already been working from home when the pandemic started. I run our real estate investment business and am the Stake Young Women's President (youth leader over 12 congregations) and David works for a spin-off of XOS called ZSpec and is in charge of keeping up on politics and covid vaccine technology for the family. David usually goes in once a week, but it depends how high the local covid numbers are. He is prone to bronchitis and pneumonia and likely already has some lung damage, so we have have to err on the side of caution during the pandemic.
Last weekend we took the kids skiing for the first time this year after sending Bryson out to see what the Covid protocols were like at the resort. They really had things under control and everyone was very good about wearing masks. Plus with skis on you can't get very close to people anyway, so the physical distancing was no problem. The only time you didn't have to wear a mask was when you were skiing down the hill, but most people kept them on even then. We saw very few people without masks even while skiing. For that reason I am grateful to be living in New York during this. Almost everyone knows of someone that died in the first wave that hit New York so hard, so people are very good about obeying the rules.
Kadence started in-person school for the first time in almost a year yesterday. They're in 5th grade.
Austin has been going since September because he really didn't do well in the remote environment, so we needed him to be in the classroom. Kadence is a great remote learner and she is more cautious and felt more comfortable at home. The Albany County numbers have been coming down and their school tests every person in the school every Tuesday for Covid. They also put up desks in classrooms at the beginning of the year with plexiglass dividers. They are trying to adapt to the safety concerns while maintaining the Montessori environment. One way they do that is that every child brings in a camp chair and the classes spend most of their day outside (weather permitting). It's been too cold lately, so they've been inside for learning. For music, which is primarily singing when there isn't a pandemic, they are all learning the ukulele. That is a great alternative. We were surprised to hear that Austin's class got a new class pet yesterday. It's a chicken! It freely roams around the classroom. Apparently it was pretty exciting. I'm not sure how long that will last.
Devonne is working hard at this high school thing. She has in-person school every 3rd day for the whole day. I think she looks forward to those days the most.
K-teen (foster child who I can't name online) is in the 6th grade and doing well. She likes writing and dancing, but she only talks about celebrities and what they are doing in their lives and talks about it CONSTANTLY. I have to admit, I don't have much patience for it.
A-tot (foster child) turns 2 in a little over a week. She demands to do everything herself and do it her way. She's going to be great at this 2-year-old thing. It's hard to believe we've had them for almost 2 years.
