It’s the last day of spring break, and we just found out the schools are going to be closed for the next week.
My husband and I volunteered to take care of our five grandchildren since their parents are still working outside the home.
The grandkids come to visit often, so we’re familiar with their routines. We also reared three boys, five guinea pigs, two hamsters, a cat and a couple of dogs.
How hard can taking care of our beloved grandkids be?
Day 1: The kids arrived at 7 a.m., ready to start playing, excited about being out of school an extra week.
As the day wears on, the news isn’t looking good about school returning next week. In fact, it looks like a lot of businesses and establishments are going to be shutting down.
News flash – there are rumors that school could be closed an additional week. No problem. Parents have created elaborate online schedules to keep their children on task, and they look easy to copy.
I’m a list maker. I should be able to come up with something for the next few days.
News flash – school’s out until Easter.
Kids celebrate.
I scramble for a game plan.
Day 2: I have a plan. We’ll get up with smiles on our faces, have a delicious and nutritious breakfast and then spend 45 minutes reading.
Then it’s play time, a hearty lunch and they’ll quietly complete worksheets for another hour. After that, all the happy children will go outside to play.
The plan is a moot point about 10 a.m.
We had a pretty good breakfast if a pound of bacon and a half pound of powdered sugar on french toast is considered nutritious.
When it was time to read, somehow I was the one reading all the books while the kids curled up on the couch all around me.
I’ll admit, it was heavenly even though the 45 planned minutes were over in 20. I suppose I’m a fast reader but we did cover six books in that amount of time.
News flash – people might be forced to shelter in place.
My husband braves the grocery store and comes back with everything we need. In the meantime, I thought the children could straighten up their rooms.
That was pie-in-the-sky thinking. Instead of cleaning up their toys, I let them swim while I obsessed over grim Covid-19 news.
Lunch was Spaghetti-O’s and chicken noodle soup. Snacks were all the Doritos in the pantry and a few oranges thrown in to ease my conscience.
I did manage to get some worksheets printed out. The hour of after-lunch learning was over in 4 minutes and 29 seconds, and then it was time to eat again.
Dinner was spaghetti and meatballs, snacks were the crumbs from the Doritos bags, two bags of cookies and an apple with Nutella on it.
Hey, that’s somewhat healthy.
Day 3: I don’t think I remembered to brush my teeth last night or this morning.
I don’t remember taking a shower last night either.
It’s hard to be sure since I slept in my clothes, falling asleep on my way from the laundry room where I just finished folding the 10th load of clothes for the day.
Day 4: Or is it Day 5? Maybe it’s the weekend.
Wait, it’s only Day 4 and there’s almost 30 more to go?
We’re gonna need a lot more Doritos and Spaghetti-O’s to get through this.
This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.