A little backstory, if you please...
You already know I write all the words for psychological contemporary romance/women's fiction. You probably know I have three teens (one in college in Georgia and two at home) - Ms. 19; Mr. 16; and Mr. 14 (his birthday is in 13 days so 14 is close enough for government work). You probably also know I live in Washington state - home of the Seahawks, the Space Needle, and way too much rain.
March 11, 5:23 am
So, to start our adventure, I received a text from Ms. 19 in Georgia with the warning that her university was contemplating... CONTEMPLATING closing campus and reverting to online classes only. A few things to note... 1 - she is in her Capstone studies, thus meaning she has an internship hour requirement to fulfill; 2 - she does not have a driver's license or know how to drive; 3 - there is no way in hell her father or I could just drop everything to go to Georgia. So, rather understandably, Ms. 19 had a moment of panic.
Mr. P and I did as we always do and began brainstorming possible options to get Ms. 19 either home or to a trusted friend or family member. We had a plan with many options should the campus be shut, Ms. 19 calmed right down and we carried on.
March 12
Contemplation got a swift kick into "we are closing campus effective March 22" with the notice that all classes for the week of the 16th - 20th were cancelled for students to pack and vacate campus. All students must be off campus no later than Sunday the 22nd. And to make this even more exciting, the decision was made with such haste that the staff was given no more notice than the students.
Cue CHAOS!
Professors trying to calm students while attempting to get solid info from the Administration.
Students scrambling to find boxes, rides, make arrangements, deal with homework, classes, and all the things.
Parents trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
Pure madness.
What were out of state students and international students to do?
I spent the entirety of Thursday on the phone with Ms. 19; movers (because how am I going to get her shit from the dorm to a storage unit?); the storage facility we'd used before; the airlines; hotels in Atlanta; Mr. P... my ear still aches from wearing the bluetooth so long. Tickets home were purchased (thank the stars for that early tax refund!!) for Friday the 20th; hotel for the night of the 19th reserved; storage unit secured... all we needed was a mover to get crap from dorm to unit. Plans in place... breathe deep.
Then I got the email from our own public school district...
Effective immediately, all OSD schools would be closed on MONDAY, MARCH 16. Only March 16...
Sigh.
March 13
Ms. 19 put herself to the task of getting her ducks in a row, she found a staff member to help her move her shit to storage on Thursday the 19th so things settled... slightly... for a moment. Until the next email came in at 11:55 am...
Effective immediately: "ALL OSD schools will be closed from March 16 - April 27. Practice social distancing, don't let your children hang out with other children, don't go anywhere, we don't know what the hell we're going to do for classes but if you need to, you can drive through the parking lot and get your kid(s) breakfast and lunch to go. Wash your hands." (-Cliff's Notes version of a really long email.)
SIX WEEKS??
sigh...
March 14
Mr. 16: Hey, Mom and Dad, my friends want to go bowling tomorrow.
Me: That's nice but no. Mr. 16: Why? (teen whiny voice)
Me: Because that defeats the purpose of "social distancing". If your friend's parents are letting them go bowling, then your friend's parents are stupid.
Mr. 16: Fine! (growly, snarly face with a phone toss after a text saying he can't go.)
Me: Remember, son, you aren't the one who is at risk but if you go and become a carrier then run into someone else who has grandparents or compromised health, you spread the mess. Also, when you start feeling sorry for yourself... remember that your brother was supposed to be at Comic Con right now.
Mr. 16: Sigh... I know. I just think it's stupid this crap is ruining everything. Me: I know. But it's life.
March 15, 6:30 pm (so 9:30 pm Georgia time)
Email from Ms. 19 comes in.
"Effective immediately: All students must vacate the campus no later than 5 pm (EST) Wednesday the 18th... oh and stay the hell away from everyone and wash your hands." (-Cliff's notes version)
WEDNESDAY??
Finally, an email that sent my blood pressure through the roof. How the hell can they expect students to revise plans like that? On a Sunday? At 9 at night? A big part of me was ready to get on the phone to the asshat who'd sent that email and give them a piece of my mind.
Deep breaths ... lots of them.
Text to Ms. 19 from me: If they don't let you stay on campus that one extra night, I am going to start deducting the cost of this fiasco from the bill we still owe on.
Ms. 19: Fair enough.
Monday (Today)
Ms. 19 forwards me an email from her university giving her permission to stay on campus until her scheduled (by plane ticket) departure date. Cool. Now I don't have to go all sorts of pissed off mama bear on the university admins. LOL
Mr. 16 and Mr. 14 and I work out a plan for them to do homework/schoolwork from 9 in the morning until lunchtime with no lunches before noon. Any homework due that day must be completed before they are done for the day. If none is due that day then noon is their stop time. Then they should go outside for a minimum of 30 minutes in the afternoon because it's a rare opportunity for them to get air/exercise they don't usually get.
So, barring any travel restrictions, Ms. 19 should be home on Friday evening and I won't be a complete basketcase of sanity by the weekend.
Stay tuned for more adventures of the Introverted Author and Three Tetchy Teens!
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