Still Connected

How was your day?

I know the question will be asked, my husband and I ask it of each other every day, but I don't know how I'll answer tonight. How was my day? Tiring. Confusing. Overwhelming. Strange.

All staff was required to report to work today. No kids, just staff. Our day began with a staff meeting conducted via Google Hangout Meets, which was surprisingly simple. Thank goodness one of my teammates showed me how to mute the microphone and turn off the camera, so I didn't get caught saying or doing something embarrassing. Fortunately for us, not everyone figured that one out, so we were entertained while we waited for the meeting to begin. 

Then began the arduous task of figuring out what we wanted our third graders to do from home for the next two weeks. Once that was determined, we had to figure out how to organize it and present it to our students. It seemed so easy in theory. Actually doing it was another story entirely. The goal was to have the two weeks set up and ready to go. By 5:00, I was beat and not even halfway to my goal.

So here I am now, sitting on my couch, neck and shoulders hurting from being hunched over a computer all day. Tomorrow morning I will get up at my usual time and record a video to post to my students, welcoming them to our new and strange classroom, trying to inject some semblance of normalcy into their day. I know some of them are anxious to get started; a flurry of messages popped up throughout the day on our Google Classroom. My favorite so far: "I'm excited for tomorrow Mrs. Regan, see you then." 

More than anything, I think, my kids want to feel reassured that we are all still connected.