I have taken the last month off from blogging. This was not intentional, at first. As I wrote in my last post, my dad died on April 9th, 2020. I took the following week off from pretty much everything. I spent a lot of time with my kids. I spent a lot of time sitting in a chair, staring through the walls.
The following weekend, my sister and I took a trip to South Carolina to pick up some of my dads remains and possessions. I plan to write a separate post about that. I captured a lot of video and have been trying to find the time to edit it. It includes an impromptu interview with a random stranger who had something to say about UFOs. That should be a fun one.
When I am not scouring the county, looking for food items that are sold out at our normal markets, or disinfecting those food items, or rearranging those items in the pantry, or counting rolls of toilet paper, I have been spending a lot of time on my yard and garden. It snowed, here in Connecticut, over the weekend, so that did not help. I had to cover the raised beds with tarps. Hopefully, everything will survive.
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| Me, picking up tree saplings in Katonah |
Mostly, though, I have taken over the role of a school teacher for my kids. They each have great teachers at school and they have adapted well to the online curriculum. But during our quarantine we have an excellent opportunity to do more. I am doing that.
My middle-schooler takes a lot of time with her work. That requires a lot of my attention. My two elementary school kids usually finish all their school work by 11:00am. After that, I work on US and world geography with them. This is something schools tend to do a poor job at. The boys are preparing for the GeoBee contest. My older son tied for first place in his grade earlier this year, with very little preparation. This year, both boys are getting a head start. This is going to be good.
After Geography, we have music. I get the sense that the kids have a decent music program but there is only so much individual attention a teacher can provide each student. And then it is often rudimentary. I want my kids to have a love for music. I have placed over a dozen instruments in their study lounge so they can feel comfortable with just picking up the instruments and playing them, anytime they want. I also do piano lessons and help the kids find YouTube lessons for the ones I cannot play (which is most of them). Sometimes it sounds like Bugs Bunny killing the bagpipes, in our house but they are learning and having fun.
After I am done being a geography teacher and a music instructor I become the gym coach. I try to get the kids out of the house for at least two hours every day. That has been difficult lately because this is the coldest, wettest spring I can remember since 1983. When we cannot go out I try to get the kids to use the elliptical machine. That is a fun novelty for them but it is no substitute for playing outside.
Sometimes I will have a specific agenda planned for the kids. They hate that. But there were many things my dad made me do that I hated and now appreciate. There is a meme that says, "Some of you never got yelled at by your dad for holding the flashlight in the wrong spot, and it shows." My kids will learn to do the things my dad taught me to do and they will learn to be good helpers in the process. A good leader is first a good helper. This is all going somewhere.
I am hoping the weather has finally broken, for good, and it will be warm enough to resume our gym classes outdoors. Maybe Mrs. M will also take a lunch break with us and do some mid-day hikes. The irony of me being the kids' teacher is my wife is a teacher in one of the best school districts in the world. If anyone should be home-schooling our kids it should be her. But she is working harder than ever, doing the job she gets paid to do. I cannot speak for all teachers. There may be some who have completely checked out, with the online learning. But from what I have seen, teachers are working harder than ever to be in over twenty homes at once. If everyone could see what I see my wife doing each day they would have more appreciation for their kids' teachers.
My afternoons have been less structured. That is my time to finish up any business I was not able to do while the kids were doing their school work. My business is still functional, though much less so because of the quarantine. I am also trying not to get involved in any new big projects because I have a couple other irons in the fire. Stay tuned for that.
Regarding the overall subject of this blog, there has been a lot going on in the public eye, with the government acknowledging the veracity of the UAP videos released by TTSA. I do not even know where to start with all this. But I do plan to start writing more over the next few weeks. Big things are happening.
Speaking of big things, I am looking forward to the next season of Unidentified on History. I keep checking its site to see when they are going to announce Season 2 of Unidentified. But so far, the only acknowledgement I have seen of it is this video, below, by Tom Delonge.
As soon as I see the official announcement, I will write more about this. In the meantime I will continue to enjoy this brief moment of calm, with my family, before the summer heats up. These are exciting times we are living in. History will tell our grandchildren much about what is happening right now. I will try to enjoy it.
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If you have seen an alien spaceship or any type of unidentified flying object (UFO) contact me using the Contact form on this page. You may remain anonymous if you want. I will not ridicule you or try to tell you why you are wrong. I get it, I saw one too.
Thank you for reading and keep an eye on the sky.
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