Being denied the experience of third grade is torture for my granddaughter Olive Krug of Topeka. She loves her teacher, Mrs. Kido, the new friends she has made, and just about everything about school.
To help distract Olive, her mother, Louise, began a game of listing things that have either changed or remained the same because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They then included me (Mimi) in the emails.
Here are our entries:
Olive:
I’m so bored because I have not seen my friends in forever. But as a family we still have fun together.
Louise:
There’s no more playdates for the kids. Olive still doesn’t like stewed tomatoes.
Mimi:
Our small town of Iola is so quiet. Sometimes I walk around the square and hardly see a soul. But the seasons still change. I love that spring is here and the flowers and trees are blooming.
Olive:
Now I take my violin lessons over the computer. My teacher watches me and tells me what to do. It’s not as good, but I guess it’s better than nothing. My little brother can still be a pest. Will that ever change?
Louise:
There’s no more babysitters. No more date nights. It’s just the four of us as a family day in and day out. The kids’ rooms are still a mess.
Mimi:
I miss my friends and going to church. I’m glad I still have a job to go to.
Olive:
I’m starting to clean my room more often. We still love each other.
Louise:
Now Olive has school at home with distance learning. Sometimes I worry she’s on the computer too long. We still have Pizza Night every Friday, with a picnic on the floor while we watch a movie.
Mimi:
I’m starting to use up all the bottles of face lotion and cream in my bathroom cupboard. Always in search of the fountain of youth, I’d go from brand to brand, never quite finishing one before I’d fall for another. I’m determined to use up every last drop before I buy another.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that little boys, especially, like to use sticks to poke everything in site. Grandson Lucas recently was mesmerized by a frog sitting in a ditch. And then he just had to have a stick. I think you know what happened next.
Olive:
I want to talk about our cat Cupcake. Now that I get to sleep in late every morning Cupcake comes into my room as if to say “good morning.” She probably thinks I’m her mom.
Louise:
One thing that is the same is that we still like to take bike rides. But now we stay away from the playground equipment when we go to the park.
