And Now We Wait Some More, News In Progress

Here we are again folks. This will be a super short freak out. So my state just announced that we will continue to be in this limbo, weird, floating 4.5 stage of opening for at least two more weeks. At least two more weeks. School starts back up in less than that. What the what. I’m not great at math, but does that add up? I think of that Julia Roberts trying to figure out the math equation meme. That’s all that is going through my head right now. Nothing was said about schools with the announcement. What is going on around here?

Now, some schools have already stated that they are doing e-learning only. Some local townships have said that as a whole they are all doing e-learning this school year. Some have pushed back the start date by a whopping two weeks… because this will all be resolved in two weeks, right?… Some schools, my kids’ school included, stated they are opening as normal, on the normal start date. Some are waiting on the state’s plan, which will be released at the end of the month… again, schools open at the end of the month. We are in this 4.5 stage of opening for another two weeks they said. Which would be at least the 31^st of the month. Schools open between July 27^th and 29^th. So which is it? What are school supposed to do? Parents? Kids? Teachers?

Do parents buy the full school supply list? Which some schools haven’t even posted a current year’s list yet. Do parents wait until the announcement of what is going on, then pray they can find wipes and sanitizer the night before? How are teachers supposed to supply and decorate their classrooms? Normally teachers use some of their own money to pay for such things. Do parents go out and buy new uniforms, shoes, get their kid that haircut, all of that in case? Maybe most importantly, how can schools open if the state says you can’t have more than 250 people gathered? Is anyone else absolutely freaking out about this? Just me? Do I need to switch to decaf?

My stomach is in knots thinking about all of the last minute, last second, what might happen, what do I do stuff. I had a conversation with my kids’ Principal the other day about my uncertainty about sending them to school. She understood. She told me many other parents have talked with her about the same things. She was obviously a bit nervous, because that’s another three students potentially lost, and the tuition that goes with them.

Also, what if schools have to close down in a few weeks anyway? All of that money needlessly spent and then just sent home again. I was told if we do the e-learning option through the school, which most schools are offering, it will be full tuition. We did that for the last three months of last school year, and it literally emptied my bank account. I cannot do that for a full year. Not with the additional grocery bills, higher electric bills because everyone is home all day every day, and every other bill just higher with everyone home. I had to tell her I would let her know within the week, but that I will probably be pulling all of my kids out of school and do the free state online school. I was assured that if I did that, the following year would be no problem with re-entry for the kids. I could hear the defeat in her voice, but I know she could hear the bankruptcy sound in mine. But I’m not so worried about next year if I decide to put them back in school. That was a huge “what-if” for me for some reason. I had this idea in my head that their school would say, “oh ewe, you did online school for a year, no your kids can’t come back” though I have no solid evidence for my psychosis. So there’s that at least. But still. How is this all such a mess?

I’ve seen other states make their announcements weeks ago about school. I’ve seen other counties or townships in my state announce their plans weeks ago. But not mine. We are just waiting. I will admit I am the best and laziest procrastinator, but this is a bit extreme, even for me. I’ve been on FB, in all of the groups for local parents who are deciding what to do with their kids, almost every single day trying to figure out what to do. I’m quite sure what I should do, what will be best for my kids. I just have this small part of me that can’t pull the trigger until my state and/or county figure it out.

With the official start of school being just next week, and the county and state making whatever decisions they feel like around then, I guess we wait.