For Whom the School Bell Tolls

"Don't let school get in the way of your education."

- My mother, via a bumper sticker she gave me in sixth grade

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Among the curious details of life during this pandemic, there is one in particular on my mind this week.

It concerns a contradiction I have noticed. 

Many of the people decrying what they claim to believe are the devastating effects on children of lockdowns, remote learning, and even mask-wearing are the same people who like to fret in public that kids today are being raised as fragile snowflakes. 

So, which is it? Are the current precautions damaging our children, or might our children be tougher than that?

Ten Years in a Small Place

The spring of this year brought the ten-year mark of our tenure in Waldhurst. I only realized this a few weeks ago, however, and if Petra registered the arrival of this anniversary in late May, she kept it to herself. It was a disconcerting season. We had other things on our minds.

A Knock at the Door

 A craze for ghost-hunting took hold among the neighborhood children for several weeks this fall. As usual, it was YouTube's fault. Somehow, an enthusiasm for certain channels purporting to depict actual paranormal investigations became widespread, and soon pint-sized ghost hunters were roaming the neighborhood. 

Signs, the Times, and Signs of the Times

For the record and as a reminder, as of 6 a.m. this morning, it is not over and there is still hope. Whether any of us are able to actually let ourselves feel hope is of course a very personal and specific thing. As you'll see, I'm not here to recommend one or the other. We have all bought our ticket, and we must now finish the ride in our own ways.

Song of the Handle Jiggler

Jiggle the handle: Shaking toilet handle to reseat float valve; avoidance of dealing with permanent fix for same. 

 - Urban Dictionary 

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This year, as October drew to a close, we came to the end of a season of construction and home repairs in the Oakes household. Over the last six weeks, we home-based workers and students have grown so accustomed to the sporadic comings and goings of tradesmen that it will seem lonely when the last of them has packed up his tools. The results of their labors include a new furnace that is supposed to save us a quarter on the dollar compared to what the old one cost, the shoring up of some subsidence under the mud room, and twenty or so feet of new sidewalk in front of the house.