I thought I should compose a quick post just to prove I am still here. Tonight is Hallowe'en. After a show of hands from my class (more or less eight year-olds), I found out many are going to be trick or treating, although some with a limited number of houses to visit (grandparents, cousins, etc.) and a small amount will be having fun at home, parents hiding treats around the house (like a Hallowe'en Easter egg hunt) and watching movies.
Daughter and I prepared little ziplock bags of treats and will set them out separately, so the few children who do come to our house can just snag a bag without rummaging through a bowl of treats. Our numbers in our region are very, very low and nobody is hospitalized, nor has anyone died, so we are fortunate.
School, my career, my thirty-plus years of experience, continues to be a different world. Retiring at this time is going to be bitter sweet for so many reasons and incredibly anti-climactic.
The weather was brisk today, to say the least. The chicken water outside was frozen this morning. I did my usual grocery shopping and have spent the rest of the day working on progress reports which are a set of report cards that go out in November.
Life goes on and I am well, as is the rest of my immediate and extended family. And everyone else I know, and everyone I work with, and all the children at my school.
I hope you are all contented and well. I'm still reading your blogs, but as I am plodding along the same way day after day, I don't feel the desire to post about it very often. Happy Hallowe'en, all!
Jenn glad to hear that you & yours are all still healthy. Big debates in & around our village about going out. We have decided not to hand out candy this year. We don't do drive thru pick up of food either! I haven't been blogging much either, although I should get back at it this week (col). I am sorry that your pending retirement from a profession that you enjoyed, loved & were good at is going to be a little less than you would have liked. Stay safe & should there be any left over candy, enjoy! ... Mary-Lou =^[..]^=
ReplyDeleteJust calling in to say Hi Jenn. X
ReplyDeleteAnd a Happy All Hallows Eve to you !
ReplyDeleteGood to hear you and yours are holding tight. I can't imagine how difficult your job is right now.
ReplyDeleteSounds good Jenn. Shared your post to my sister who is looking to retire early after this full school year is over.
ReplyDeleteI too know no one who is ill with this complaint nor anyone who has a friend or family member who is . That’s all I am saying on that subject.
Frozen chicken water it will be awhile before we are there. However our weather has cooled tremendously but the Creek fire near us is still burning. We had a good bit of smoke today but mostly it is pretty clear. 379,571 acres burned 70% containment and predicted full containment not until December. It started burning in early September.
Like you, I am grateful that my family, friends and neighbors are okay. Halloween is very scaled back and seems nothing like it used to be. We are all just trying to make the best of a less than ideal situation.
ReplyDeleteNo choice, really. Below freezing nights here and yesterday's snow storm left us 4 inches. Winter has begun early.
Happy Halloween! I'm sure these months seem somewhat surreal as things are so different from previous years.
ReplyDeleteThe city I live in has had a significant increase in cases, but I've been fortunate to not have been where exposures have occurred. My nephew wasn't as lucky as the school he works in (before/after school program) has recently had a couple of cases. He had cold symptoms so was required to isolate until his test came back negative.
I'm handing candy out but as I write this at almost 7 p.m. I've only had 10 little goblins. Normally I'd be in the 40-60 range by now. I guess there will be extra treats for us to eat...like I need them.
Take care, stay well!
It's so good you retire at the end of this school year. I wish you a safe and happy conclusion.
ReplyDeleteOur oldest son has about 10 years of teaching left though he plans on hopefully carrying on for a few more (he does not want to retire before 60).
ReplyDeleteVery few children coming here today. Only 8 so far and it is almost time to turn off the lights.
God bless.
Retirement is tough this year. My wife is retiring after 35 years of optometry in her own eye clinic. No celebration, just a sign acknowledging her retirement. Others will carry on. Any other year...
ReplyDeletePerhaps there will be a celebration for her after the fact, when all of this has blown over? Thirty-five years should be properly recognized, I think.
DeleteI applaud you for thinking of these littleness trick-or-treaters. I wanted to see them smile and have some sense of special days. I do little bags as well, every year in fact forever, so there is no lingering over the bowl.
ReplyDeleteHang in there!
Jane ❤️
We don’t get trick or treaters because we are too isolated but I know that the local village was doing similar to you.
ReplyDeleteHang in there Jenn. It’s not easy times
Glad to hear from you. I have been wondering how things were going. Glad you and yours are all well. Its tough, and apparently going to get tougher, as the numbers are going up.
ReplyDeleteI too haven't felt like blogging so often these days. I am glad to see that you are still here. We haven't had anyone knock on our door for a few years now so were not surprised that no one knocked last night either. Such strange times at the moment.
ReplyDeleteHappy Hallowe'en Jenn x
ReplyDeleteHey Jenn :) Happy Halloween :) We mainly celebrated Halloween at home with food like we usually do. It's getting cold at night here too, frosty crunchy grass in the mornings!
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from you, Jenn. Strange times all around these days and regardless of what we believe to be the real situation, there's not much of anything we can do except to keep our own little lives as happy and serene as we can while respecting others and lending support in any way we can. We don't get any trick or treaters here so that hasn't changed for us. We went to an outdoor Halloween party (bonfire outside) where one of the moms made a wonderful scavenger hunt in the woods (!) for the kids present. They enjoyed it immensely. You must be counting the days until your teaching career comes to an end. How much you will be missed!
ReplyDeleteGood to see a post and to know that you are doing well.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the city but live in an area with the second lowest infection rate and only have a bubble with one friend who lives in the same building (also on her own). We don't go into each other's apt. but will go for a drive - wearing masks and with windows open (yes, it's cold)! Yesterday we drove up to Jackson's Point just for a change of scene and somewhere new to walk. Made one bathroom stop and picked up coffee at a drive through (we pack a lunch). Driving home we detoured through the side roads and saw some kids out for halloween. They were out early so still light and I think this was by design. It seemed to be very much a street to street thing that a few parents had organized. Homes were all decorated and tables were set up at the foot of driveways - that sort of thing. Parents were out keeping an eye on things and it looked well organized so the little ones were able to have some fun.
Good to hear that you are ok..you will be so busy when you retire!! Xx
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear that your area has such low numbers for Covid. Awesome sauce! Kids around here are doing limited treating and having fun at home. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteGood to see a post Jenn. We only had a hand full of kiddos for trick or treating. Now I have a full bowl of candy that I will send the the firehouse with my husband. Better on them then on me! Glad things are going well. Hoping for better days ahead for all of us. xoxo
ReplyDeleteGlad to read that all is well. I am so worried about the Weaver of Grass, and Lucy in Halifax. I know the Weaver had a fall and is in hspital, but nothing about Lucy. I wish I knew how to contact her. Also Quinn of Comptonia has not posted in a month. My blog friends are like neighbors I have coffee with, and i miss and worry about them when they don't post. So, are you going to retire soon? Your post sounded like it's a possibility.
ReplyDeleteMy official date at which I can retire at full pension is January 31, 2021, so three months away. I've not given notice yet. I don't know about those other bloggers, but I've been reading Weave's blog for years. I don't know any particulars about her at this time.
DeleteLucy posted yesterday and at the moment I have no further news from Weave but if I receive any I will certainly pass it on via my blog.
DeleteSuch a different time for Halloween. So good to read that you and close ones to you are doing well.
ReplyDeleteHang tough. Although there are many negative things about this virus, I think it has made us more aware. Maybe we aren't taking things for granted like we did before.
ReplyDeleteGood you are all well. Do you wear a mask when you are teaching? Daughter says it is really hard to communicate with Kdgns. when you and they are all masked!
ReplyDeleteYes, I wear a "medical grade" mask, provided by the Board all day, even outside at recess yard duty. The only time it comes off is when I eat. At the end of the day, if I'm in my classroom and nobody else is there, I take it off.
DeleteGood to hear you are doing ok all nearby are healthy.
ReplyDeleteOur numbers in Australia are very good but I have friends who are nurses and they tell me sometimes the after effects of the virus are long lasting and quite serious.
Some friends in U.S.have family members who didn't survive and also a friend in Florida who is extremely worried as numbers there are awful.
Keep safe and stay well.
Nice to hear from you! Halloween was really different. I wonder what it will be like a year from now!
ReplyDeleteHi Jen, nice to read your update. It's getting colder over there it seems. Ice on the water brrr Hope all the kids enjoyed their Halloween
ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteNice to see you here.
Stay safe up there.
Have a cozy evening.
It will be odd for you, retiring the way things are. I remember blogger Erika posting about that lat year. So strange after all those years. It's good to hear what's going on with you and I'm glad you posted. Take care and stay well!
ReplyDeleteGlad you are keeping well, hope your Halloween night went well. All the best with your retirement plans.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed my visit here as always. The past couple of years, I've not bought any snacks for the wee visitors because prior to that we had not had any. But since they have opened my street to a new subdivision, I thought we might have a few so I bought candy bars. We had 10 and it was fun to see them in their costumes. We both handed out candy wearing our masks.
ReplyDeleteWe are well and will be having Thanksgiving dinner with our daughter and granddaughter, I will do my usual and they will bring a side. I'll go off my diet for the day and enjoy all those carbs.
Mama Bear