Hello, Friends!

We are emerging (cautiously) from Quarantine Life. We are still concerned for the vulnerable around us, but the relaxation of some of the state imposed restrictions has made life a bit easier for our kiddos.

I’m still not taking them to store with me. The reason: I almost never take them to the store with me.

Now we’re considering what summer might look like. Still a lot of unknowns, of course.

But I went to Sam’s Club a couple of days ago and they were fully stocked on everything I wanted. (I noticed they were still out of yeast, but I didn’t actually need any) And it felt like Christmas just to be able replenish our pantry. I don’t think I’ll take shelves of toilet paper for granted again for a while! (How delightful to be thankful for something so…mundane.)

Also, I had a birthday this week. So I am older now (and, obviously, Wiser *cough*).

The iBoy thinks I am 25. Which, fine. (I was, ahem, quite a bit older than 25 when I gave birth to the iBoy seven years ago. But, it’s better than when he asked me if I was 84.)

On to the links! (And yes, there are quite a few Covid-19 related links. But there are others as well, so skim down if you just can’t read one more thing about This Current Crisis.)

Corona / Sars-Co-V-2 / Covid-19 / Pandemic Related Links

• There have been obvious downsides to quarantine for many kids, but this opinion piece is a counter-weight: Why Some Kids Are Happier Right Now And Other Unexpected Effects of Quarantine.
• Sherry at Semicolon shared some thoughts and links on education during the pandemic: Corona Diaries #6.
• I think this piece captures some of the reason why talking about this virus has been so frustrating. You have areas that are absolutely devastated where everyone knows someone who has the virus or has died from the virus. And then you have other areas where no one does. The Covid-19 Riddle: Why Does the Virus Wallop Some Places and Spare Others?
• How the Coronavirus Outbreak Upended the Entire U.S. Food System. (As mentioned above, some of this seems to be easing, but we can probably expect higher prices and occasional scarcity of certain products for the foreseeable future.)
• I hope no one is still sharing the “Plandemic” video at this point. (I’ve been saving links for several weeks since my last post.) But just in case: If You Found that “Plandemic” Video Convincing, Read This Too from Lifehacker; Why It’s Important to Push Back on “Plandemic” – And How to Do It from Forbes; and Fact-check: Is the Date on Coronavirus Bill Proof the Government Planned the Virus? from Statesman.
• This opinion piece counterpoint to the well-known story of the choir in Washington State that met and spread the virus to 75% of its members was somewhat encouraging: No, the Superspreader Choir in Washington Doesn’t Prove Church is Dangerous by Timothy P. Carney.
• Could be helpful: The Risks – Know Them – Avoid Them by Erin Bromage.
• The Anchoress writes from a Catholic perspective (and I’m not Catholic), but her predictions and discussion of trade-offs seems accurate to me: In a Post-Covid-19 World, Everything Will Be Different.
• Agreed: Government Orders Alone Didn’t Close the Economy. They Probably Can’t Reopen It. While we’ve started venturing out of the house a bit more, when my husband asked me if I wanted to go out to eat to celebrate my birthday the answer was no. I just have no desire at all to go to a restaurant right now. I hope outdoor playgrounds open soon so my kids can burn some energy. And I want to be back in church in some way with my church family, but most other places are not high on my list.
• This one broke my heart and made me pray a little harder for those who don’t have the privilege of treating this time as an academic exercise: A Doctor’s Diary from a Covid ICU from The Dispatch.
• A graphic supposedly from the CDC made the rounds on my social media the other night (and since I direct a homeschool co-op it definitely caught my eye), but it was, shocker, not entirely accurate. One person who had shared it on Twitter issued a correction in this thread: Re: School Opening Guidelines. Here’s something I found sad about the whole thing: the fact that “guidelines” was misspelled at the top of the graphic was my first clue that something wasn’t right. But many people on FB and Twitter took it as yet more evidence for how incompetent the CDC must be. Which, maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but we’re all really good at confirming our biases, aren’t we?
• A Small Tool to Salvage Your Sanctification While in Self-Quarantine by Joe Carter. Habit formation, for the win.

All Other Links / Hodge Podge

• Important reminder that when we talk about History we’re talking about real people and the language we use matters: “Surplus Population” by Susan Wise Bauer.
• This one really resonated with me: I am NOT a Reader by Megan at Redeemed Reader.
• Another one from Redeemed Reader: When is it Okay to Mess with the Classics? (My gut response: NEVER. And then I remember that I used to write fan fiction…)
• How Reading Got Farm Women Through the Depression by Livia Gershon.
• This made the rounds recently because it is fascinating: The Real Lord of the Flies – What Happened When Six Boys Were Shipwrecked for 15 Months.
• Not All Homeschoolers are Prodigies (And That’s OK) by Purva Brown. (I used to say I should write the book “The Joy of Raising the Average Child”)
• Poignant: An Ordinary Abundant Life.
• 5 Common Mistakes When Counseling Others by Lilly Park.
• Most of these are over my head but I smiled anyway: History’s Most Evil Mathematicians by Ben Orlin.
• Speaking of over my head: Graduate Student Solves Decades Old Knot Problem. (I didn’t even know “knot problems” was a thing.)
• I hadn’t seen this before this week and I’m not sure where it’s from but I love it: Star Trek Writers Guide pdf.
• Quarantine has lead me down some internet rabbit trails. This was one of them: American Shaped Notes Tune Books and the Fasola Tradition. (As a pianist trained to read classical music, I can’t help but think the way I learned is both correct and easier. But the entire tradition fascinates me.)
• I enjoy Olive and Mabel (and their owner’s voice): Olive and Mabel Episode 3 (video).
• OK, this is pandemic humor. But it made me laugh so I’m sharing it here: Good News! Wait, Never Mind from McSweeneys.
• And one more from McSweeneys that made several of us who live in my house laugh and sigh: A Note from Your University About Its Plans for Next Semester.

OK. That’s a deluge of links. So we’ll stop there for now. Stay well, friends!