Well! Things have certainly gotten.....interesting, haven't they?
It's Monday. There are currently 18 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nebraska. Zoe's school has closed for what we hope is two weeks. Supplies are flying off shelves. We're smack dab in the middle of the strangest time, my brain has never been this happy to play it's favorite game of Worst Case Scenario. I spent my weekend furiously updating websites. I went to bed last night and I couldn't sleep.
I went into work early today at the request of the director. We've implemented new procedures at drop off that require staff and I was torn between wanting to stay safely ensconced in my house under my blankie, Googling, or if I wanted to get out into the world and see if everyone else seemed as shell-shocked as I feel. I couldn't make up my mind, even as I pulled into the parking lot.
As it turns out, it was pretty much business as usual. Do you want to know why? Three year old's don't much care about COVID-19. Three year old's care about toys, snacks, and who is the morning helper. We washed our hands more than typical. We talked about germs and where they like to hide at Circle Time. We created an obstacle course out of packages of extra toilet paper. We made shamrocks and rainbows and read a book about a Leprechaun. We carried on. Preschoolers help keep your feet on the ground. When you ask a preschooler where germs like to hide, they might say something like, "Down your pants." and it will drag you back to reality and make you giggle and try your hardest to find a way to say, "Yes, that's true. Please keep your hands out of your pants" while also trying to figure out what choices you made in your life that led you to a moment where you have to say things like that on a pretty regular basis.
I don't know what tomorrow is going to bring. I don't know anyone who does. But I know this, tomorrow, I will go to work, and I will be happy to see all of my daycare babies, and I will worry about who isn't there, and I will worry about the ones that are there who have a little cough. And I will carry on, business as usual, because there is no crying in baseball, and no social distancing in daycare. I will wash my hands and I will wipe their noses and I will remind them to cough into their elbows and that we should be keeping our hands to ourselves. (Not just because of a virus.)
If you're stressing, I encourage you to remember what your friendly neighborhood childcare provider is telling your children.
1. Wash Your Hands.
2. Don't touch that. Or that. Or that, either.
3. Kleenex, not fingers.
4. Pick that up off the floor and put it in the trash, please.
5. We need to use nice words to our friends.
6. Sharing is caring.
Have a good one. Stay safe out there.
