I still haven’t gotten better at making the daily visits, but here’s one a week after the last.

(Truthfully, I just wrote the one about last weekend’s road trip...)

The week was largely uneventful. I haven’t developed any symptoms from my trek out, so I’m probably fine. I do still have some allergy bits going on, so I’m congested and have a sore throat from that. No fever or unexpected body aches. I’m old and fat and don’t really exercise, so mowing the lawn takes some recovery.

The week was filled with meetings. The older kiddo is doing some summer learning Monday through Thursday. The younger kiddo is getting a lot rebellious and a little stir-crazy. The missus is really ready to get back to work, whatever that’s like. I think she’s getting to her wits end a little bit, cycling through keeping the kids away from dad in the morning, keeping the bigger on task while keeping the younger occupied elsewhere. I try to step in, and at least be nearby where he is; I can take many of my morning meetings anywhere with my tablet, and he’s sometimes happy enough to have someone sit with him while he colors or plays or puzzles, even if total engagement isn’t possible.

We’ve been sticking to a pretty similar routine for the last month or so, really just grinding through the days, trying to not grind through each other’s nerves.

Since I’ve not been good about keeping up on the updates, here’s a bevy. The garage has been cleaned. The lawn has become neglected. We never got to planting in our planting beds, but they’ve all been weeded now. There are planting bed repairs that we’re putting off because shopping for that doesn’t seem like it’d be quick enough. The basement has been organized a lot better. The slowly creeping mountain of clean-but-not-put-away clothes in the laundry area has been put away.

Both of the kids have broken the screens on their iPads.

The little is frustrated when video games win, as we all are. But he sometimes takes out his frustration by smacking the screen, or dashing the iPad against something, or sometimes throwing it. It’s now got a senselessly smashed corner, obliterated into tiny shards, now covered in packing tape for protection. It powers on just fine, but isn’t even really helpful as a secondary display. His is old enough that there’s no Apple Care any more, so it’s a few hundred dollar, or more, repair, or simple replacement.

We already bought a new iPad for the older, as her old one stopped taking charge. It, too, is too old for Apple Care, and was facing an unknown repair bill. On a sale, and with discounts, I’d grabbed a new one. Evidently taking after the younger, she decided to vent some frustration by actually biting it. She cracked the screen where her teeth met, sending cracks across the whole thing. It works fine, but does have Apple Care, so sometime in the near future I’ll arrange its repair or replacement. Holding off now in part as punishment.

I had replaced mine, too, as it also wouldn’t boot. My old one was old enough its Apple Care had expired, and without Apple Stores being open nearby, replacement was really the only option. Also on sale and with discounts, I replaced mine, with the newer version. I haven’t broken mine, nor have the kids. It is sought after, though, as they miss theirs so much. I’m trying to control access, and encourage good behavior. It’s working, as there’s still frustration, but no screen slapping, dashing, or throwing. They also don’t use mine without permission, which is a shift from theirs, which they also weren’t supposed to use without guidance, but did anyway.

The dogs are well. The younger wants so much to behave, but gets spun up too fast. She still chews too much, and has eaten through more than a few of the kids’ shoes or toys. She’s carried the wife’s slipper a couple times, but not chewed yet, nor has she taken to any of my shoes. The older dog has become a bit of a “rebellious teen,” ignoring us when called, refusing to go to the dog area for dog business, and generally just flopping noisily when she lays nearby.

We have stepped up the dog walking from before. Previously with the yard, we’d just let the dogs roam or cruise or wrestle or whatever. The old dogs, that is. These dogs still prefer to dig, or fight, or poop in the grass when you’re not looking. Not sure how they’re the worst pair of dogs we’ve had, given the extra time we’ve had to spend with them. I blame the fact that we have young children, and we’ve probably changed in temperament and patience to boot.

We have a tent-camping trip planned for early August. Thinking ahead to either virus relief, or social distancing, we reserved a group campsite. With things working they way they are, we plan to be the only tent on the site, taking advantage of all of the space. However, the state has different ideas, and many of the state parks have declared that at least group campsites are closed, if not all of their campsites. The one we’ve reserved, however, will neither confirm the closure, or discuss any options for the week we’ve reserved it. I’d suggested we could instead embark on a trip to the cabins at the resort near my pal’s cabin I visited last week, but that was met with discouragement and “not camping” dismay.

We trudge on.

We eat take-out more than we should, again. We’ve gone to a few of the places we can eat separated from others, like drive-ins or with spaced-out outdoor seating. We still shop infrequently and one-at-a-time, for the few things we can’t order for delivery. Everything else is delivered.

It’s our new normal. We expect to be doing it for another year, at least.

Oh, which brings up school in the fall. We’ve got a solid month to go. Still no decisions from our district or state. We’re pretty committed that if we’re not sold on the safety the school comes up with, that we’re going to work out how to distance-learn or home-school.

Everyone’s healthy.