Family Support

This Will Be Easier If You Don’t Struggle So Much:

(Family Support: Whether You Want It Or Not)

We were all back to school, both remote and in person.  Both iterations were challenging for all involved. Everyone needs support...but they might not enjoy receiving it. And we might not be offering the right kind.

On another note, I am still thinking about faces and face recognition...and drawing the kids in such a way that their faces are partial or not exactly recognizable- at least to an algorithm.

Napkin Portraits

Yearly Napkin Portrait Dysfunction:

The Cover Your Nose and Mouth Edition.

Every year I rediscover the information that napkins do not photograph well when put next to actual people. And that my kids are unwilling to cooperate for even the two minutes it might take to line up the image. And this time I did not ask them to embarrass themselves on a subway platform.

But it’s the dysfunction that makes it interesting....right?

If the photo actually lined up the way I planned, what would be the fun in that?

Monkey On Your Back: On the Couch Version

Pandemic Bonding Continues:

New York is opening up a bit recently, but it hasn’t really changed our sons’ couch-centric quarantine lifestyle.

And they can exercise while on the couch, mostly through”body-weight” exercises.

Incendiary Masking for a Happy July Fourth

There doesn’t seem to be much enthusiasm for fireworks this Fourth... maybe because there have been constant explosions throughout the city all week...or maybe it’s just the state of the world?

We are wearing our masks whenever we go out. Perhaps unfortunately, they do not launch fireworks. 

I’ve been sitting the last few weeks out in terms of social media, since I really did not have anything particularly pertinent to add to more important national conversations.

But petty familial mutual irritation and bad drawing have still continued.... even if they are not getting posted.

Hope everyone is safe and well this holiday!

You can see Fourth of July napkins from years past at this link

Alone Together

We’re All in This Loneliness Together:

There’s much less FOMO when you know everyone else is also trapped at home. You are reasonably certain that they aren’t having fabulous parties that you weren’t invited to.

But social anxiety is probably not entirely extinguished by the inability to socialize.

Pandemic PE

Remote Learning Gym Class:

Is It Working Out?

We are fine. We have relatively little to complain about, given what is happening in the world lately. 

But this is not to say that the situation is optimal.

Hope all is well with you and yours!

Exercise During Remote Learning

Restorative Exercise Breaks Between Stimulating Remote Learning Classes:

It has been said that because of recent world events: in the war between the screens and the not-screens, the screens have definitely triumphed.

Our sons have never been convinced of the goodness of exercise or the merits of outdoor activities. 

And the harder I am selling something, the harder the pass. 

I would like to say these things are a recent development, but, no they’re not. 

My ability to form memories was severely compromised by extreme sleep deprivation for many years during their early childhood....but I can clearly recall our first son prone on the floor wailing, “I HATE OUTSIDE!” when he was a toddler trying to avoid a trip to the playground.

So this stay-home-all-day-with-your-WIFI  hasn’t exactly been the kids’ worst nightmare come true. 

Though after a month, there have been suggestions that they might actually miss going to school.  

Exercise, probably not so much.

Stealth Pajamas

National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day Was Today.

And Every Day.

Both kids’ schools have some sort of officially stated rule about student dress, or lack thereof, during remote learning.

Pajamas are, of course, officially forbidden.

But what if you were regularly wearing the clothes you sleep in to bricks-and-mortar school before the pandemic?

The bathrobe visible in this drawing might be giving it away. 

But if they can only see him from the chest up on Zoom, it could just be an extra cool hoodie.

Remote Learning

Remote Learning May Not Be As Stimulating as Non Remote Learning:

Spending 24 hours a day with my kids is delightful...maybe. I’m sure I will reflect fondly back on this period of time in my old age after they have moved far away. (ok, in my older, old age)

But the remote learning situation is really a bit of a challenge for us for many reasons.

Perhaps the least of the challenges is the physical environment...but it’s still a problem nonetheless.

In the past, we always wanted to avoid having the kids on their screens while alone in their rooms, so their desks and gaming have been out in the communal space.  This doesn’t work so well for virtual school, so they both set themselves up in makeshift situations in their bedrooms.

In all fairness, what you see in this drawing is no longer the arrangement for this particular student. He is now actually sitting on a chair rather than crumpled in the corner.

It’s a very uncomfortable chair in an uncomfortable location, but at least he is no longer stuffed between a stairway and a dresser.

I don’t observe any additional evidence of physical vigor, however.