FF – There was an old woman

My photo this week; from a decorating activity during the holidays. I can’t wait to see what everyone writes!

THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,

With so many children she didn’t know what to do,

School closed, then opened, then closed for 8 weeks,

Then opened again; the future looked bleak –

For the old woman, because every time one kid got croup,

She’d to keep them all home – which threw her for a loop,

She had only 2 children, one dog, a cat,

But it felt like a dozen to the poor old bat,

And the longer it went on the battier she grew

In her 3-bedroom house that felt like a shoe.

Extroduction – don’t read this, I’m just ranting.

Tricky day today. After finally getting the kids back to school in mid-February, I felt like I might get some sense of normality back. Some chance to ramp up work and start earning money again, to put the house back to rights, to lose the lockdown weight, to regain my sanity and theirs. Last week, S got a cold. We staved off the croup that threatened with it, but still had to keep them both home for the rest of the week pending covid tests. Negative. All clear. Back to school Monday and I felt the hope rising again, then yesterday lunchtime the call came – positive case in D’s class. Come and pick them both up. They could be home up to 2 weeks. Just in time for “March break” for a week from 12 April. After which we have no guarantee that schools will reopen.

I’m bracing myself for having them home now until September. For the loss of time and work and sanity for me, for the loss of education, socialisation and sanity for them. I know we have so much to be grateful for, I know it could be so much worse and I know that we will make the best of it. But that’s the back story of today’s post and why I’m sure the gingerbread woman is hiding tears behind her painted on smile.

Back to too much screentime for my little unicorns!