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| Anna enjoying Mom's lemon meringue pie |
The week of March 16 marked the first week of "social distancing" for Anna and family. Anna was out of regular school, but virtual school began. All activities ceased, including church services. Theresa still went into the office, but only to prepare for remote work. Joe secure supplies for the family (including Lysol and toilet paper). Life has changed.
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| Enjoying a walk at a local park |
Anna's school was well prepared for the potential of a long-term shutdown thanks to the new principal, Mrs. Parker. All of the teachers were trained, as were the students, and virtual classes began on Wednesday. Anna is quite excited not to wear a uniform. She has 4-5 hours of work a day and the teachers are available for questions during office hours. Anna was face timing her friends for part of class. Mrs. Parker also added weekly photo contests for the students, including St. Mark extreme makeover (where you submit a before and after photo of your work space that you have updated) as well as the Great St. Mark bake-off (see Anna's chocolate sugar cookie submission). There were some technology challenges, but everyone seems to be settling in. The local public school kids are not in the same situation as the schools shutdown without adequate preparation of teachers or students. Anna was a bit irritated about this as her neighborhood friends are essentially on vacation (if you can call it that). She will be better off in the long run....at least that is what her parents tell her.
Theresa spent the last two weeks working long hours at the office to prep for remote work. There was a wide variety of issues ranging from changing Federal HR requirements, to dealing with buildings where employees were being tested for the virus, to technology challenges to Congressional proposals for stimulus packages. On the plus side, DC was virtually empty which meant that Theresa was able to enjoy the cherry blossoms at peak bloom with few tourists. That will never happen again! She is now home for the duration.
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| Peak cherry blossoms with not tourists.....during the week |
The weekend was spent finding various things to do to occupy the time, including movies, board games, craft projects, books, baking, nice meals and lots of walking/hiking. Storm is really enjoying having everyone home and all of the extra walks. Today he joined the family hike to Hemlock Overlook regional park. There are lots of people walking the neighborhood and few cars. Tonight was the first Fagella Family Facetime, as organized by James. We got to catch up with the Aunts and some cousins to check in and see how everyone is doing.
This week promises to have an entirely new set of challenges as we anticipate further restrictions on travel and more closures. No one will be surprised if school is suspended for the remainder of the year. In the meantime, we will find ways to get out as much as we can even if it is at a distance. Our yard will look really nice........
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| Anna made new National Park pillow covers |
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| Anna's chocolate sugar cookie submission for school |
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