On Tuesday morning the girls went back to school.  Dee Dee was excited to show off her new hair cut (first in four years) but Audio was a bit concerned about seeing the mean kids that she hasn’t had to think about for the past month.  From what I understand, the “mean kids” don’t mess with Audio, they just happen to be disruptive and obnoxious, and she finds them disruptive and obnoxious.  There was a large, mean girl who picked on Dee Dee last year.  So, we’ve had plenty of opportunities to talk to the girls about how there are mean and obnoxious people everywhere, so grade school is a good time to get used to those sorts.   

It started snowing while the girls were at school and didn’t let up until the end of the school day.  Dee Dee had her second to last after-school program at the end of the day.  When it was time to pick up Audio, I shoveled enough to get her into the house, grabbed a plastic sled with a cord on it, and headed over to the school.  Audio came out of school without any mittens or hat.  She said that they were wet.  After we walked away from the crowd, I gave her my choppers and had her sit in the sled.  She likes to be pulled in the sled, and it gets us home in half the time it takes us when she walks.   

When I got home, I sent Audio inside to change out of her school clothes and clean up.  I didn’t feel like taking off all of my outdoor clothing and then putting it all back on to do a bit of shoveling.  From the doorway, I told her that I was going to go back outside for a bit. Without looking back at me, she said, “OK.” I closed the door, grabbed a shovel and started working on the driveway.  Audio stood in the window and watched for a bit.  I didn’t like leaving her alone, inside the house and decided that I had better quit and go hang out with her.  But, as I set the shovel down, Audio smiled through the window at me and held up an iPad that she’d helped herself to.  Knowing that she was safe in the hands of modern technology, I finished shoveling the driveway.   

After the driveway was cleared to my satisfaction, I walked back to the house. Without taking my boots off, I stepped inside the house and called to Audio.  After the third, and loudest call, Audio answered quietly and apathetically.  I asked if she was all right and if she was looking at the iPad.  She made noises that I recognized, and I decided that I might as well keep shoveling, since whether I was inside or out, she’d be focused on the iPad.  I told her that I’d be out front, shoveling the sidewalk and that she’d be able to see me through the window.  After a few silent seconds, I told her that if she needed me, to go to the front window and I’d see her.  After a few more silent seconds, I asked if she’d heard me.  She said something in a tone that told me that she’d heard me and that I was annoying her, so I closed the door and shoveled the walkway around the side and front of the house, the steps, and the sidewalk. 

When it was time to pick up Dee Dee, I put Audio back in the sled and hauled her back to the school.  We collected Dee Dee and I hauled the girls back home.  By this time, their mom was on her way home.  We could follow her progress on Google Maps.  She was at the off ramp to get to our neighborhood.  She was in the same spot for a long time.  We’d learn later that there was a Highway Helper and a state trooper there, helping unstick the cars that got stuck, including my wife’s.   

Eventually, the icon that symbolizes my wife on the map was at the end of our block.  After being there for a while, she called to say that she couldn’t get up the hill at the end of our alley.  So, I suggested that she park the car in the street in front of our house and enjoy walking on the freshly shoveled sidewalks and steps to come inside for dinner.  After dinner, I helped her get her car into our driveway, off the alley.   

We received an email from Audio’s teacher during the day and an automated call from the school saying that it was possible that the school would switch to E-Learning (also known as Distance Learning, Tele Education, or School Over An iPad In Our Dining Room) on Wednesday, due to the snowfall that was predicted.  The recorded message that I listened to over the phone said that the school would let parents know whether or not the school would be open by 5:30AM, Wednesday morning.   

Sure enough, the phone rang at exactly 5:30AM with a recorded message that students were to stay home.  At 6:00AM, my wife got up and by 7:15AM was saying goodbye to me and Audio, who was sleeping in our bed.  By 7:35AM, she was texting to say that she was stuck in the alley, about 20 feet from where she started.  By 7:45AM, Audio was comfy on the couch, watching kids’ shows and I was outside with a shovel and an ice chipper.  By 8:05AM, Audio was outside with us, in her unzipped coat, watching us shovel, drive, push, dig, chip, sweat and swear.  By 8:15AM we had managed to get her car back to where she started from and went inside.   

We got Dee Dee up and after she ate breakfast, we got her set up with her school issued iPad and her headphones at the dining room table between syrupy plates and empty cups.  Her teacher met with the class online and then the kids worked alone until after lunch.  They all met online again after lunch, did some work on their own, and then had an end-of-the-day meeting at 3:00PM.  Audio’s class didn’t do any sort of online check-in.  But parents received an email from the High Five teacher instructing us to have kids play during the day.  So, we did.  And she did. 

At 7:30PM we received texts, emails, and robocalls letting us know that students would have distance learning the following day, due to the prediction of even more snow. At some point during the day, our alley had been plowed. So, on Thursday morning, my wife was able to drive to work. The rest of us got settled in for another day together. Being with the girls all day is nice, because I enjoy being with them. However, even when we have nothing to do and we’re all stuck together for too long, we all get a little testy with each other. When there isn’t anything that we have to get done, we can give each other space. But, when things have to get done, the days get a little exciting and tiring for all of us.  

Through the day, we dealt with Dee Dee crying because she couldn’t do a drawing of a mug of hot chocolate along with an instructional video, Audio upset because she wanted to go to school, or at least see her classmates over the iPad, like Dee Dee could, and a lot of me running back and forth between the dining room and the living room, trying to keep everyone from having a meltdown.  

Like most four-year-old kids, Audio gets bored easily, and unfortunately, she sees candy and snacks as a good way to relieve the boredom. And she is clever and brave enough to find a way to get her hands on most things that she wants. And, while Dee Dee is good at asking for help, I often figure out she needs help by hearing unhappy noises coming out of her. But we made it through to the day. Then, I went out to the alley, and along with a neighbor, got my wife’s car unstuck and into our driveway. Before the end of the day, Thursday, we had been informed that students would have in-school classes on Friday.