By Nicki St George
April 28th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
Nicki St George is the mother of two, lives in Aldershot and teaches at a private school in Oakville. She is also a recovering cancer patient.
WEEK 6 – seriously?
As the days are becoming indistinguishable from one another, here are some ups and downs during my time in self-isolation:
The UPS:
• When a box is delivered, and you cannot remember what it could be because you have ordered so much crap over the last 6 weeks.
Clifford the cat and the kids – in their parents bed.
• Clifford the cat – my self-isolation guru.
• When the makers of Candy Crush give the gift of unlimited lives for a whole week!
• Having the time to make homemade hamburger buns and other treats.
• Puzzles – Now that everyone is into doing puzzles, I do not feel like quite as big a nerd.
• No sport on TV = nothing left for my husband and I to fight about.
• Learning a new language while binge watching Money Heist.
• Saying goodbye on Zoom or Houseparty…you just hang up! No more awkward goodbyes at the door.
• Saving money on car insurance because you are no longer driving to work every day.
• Bringing out the patio furniture and setting up the trampoline. It’s starting to feel a little like summer.
• Less laundry…just choose your legging/sweat top combo for the week and you’re good to go.
• The magical hour around 5pm every day when a glass of wine and favourite song provide me with the motivation to dance and cook dinner.
• Discovering a new podcast.
The DOWNS:
• Temperatures in the single digits in April…or worse, snow!
Results of a parent led art class
• The annoying soundtrack of Beatrix’s YouTube videos which have become ambient noise in the house.
• My embarrassingly high score on Candy Crush.
• Where do all the charging cables keep disappearing to?
• Making plans for the summer…
• Google classroom on the iPad: why can’t I just write on the document?
• Sad husband because there is no sport on TV.
• Finding out that schools will remain closed until at least May 31st – SERENITY NOW!
• Doing your tax return – the worst part of being an adult.
• Getting the weekly alert telling me what the average daily screen time was last week…gulp.
• The absurd volume of new passwords to remember for accessing homeschool websites.
• Deciding what PPE to don on the weekly trip to the grocery store – how many times can I reuse this same mask?
• At home haircuts…they’re not everyone’s cup of tea.
• Finding the motivation to do at home workouts and complete assignments for grad school.
• Being interrupted by children asking for TV during a work Zoom call -this was not on the list of pre-approved activities.
• Google Play charging $19.95 to RENT Trolls 2 – how dare they?
• Discarded latex gloves left on the ground: so uncool.
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