Tallinn, Estonia.
The Great Preparation Day
Started with the teenage drama of course. After breakfast, we called for a family meeting, and as always, it was me and my mom and my raging pre-teen who went head on to battle. The only man kept his distance, as he always does. He anyways does what the women say. On the condition that we feed him 3 times a day, with meat. LOL.
Loore drew her daily schedule while Lea was busy fighting against any suggestion or agreement. This is the very first time that we need to implement daily schedules that are not determined by external requirements and must be guided by our own determination. It's not going to be easy. Even less so for the pre-teen, who thinks that education now means a few assignments for homework.
Just holding any discussion was brutal, because of that wall of defiance and screams that came from behind it. I lost it several times. Not really my cup of tea to start the day with a fight. Actually, it's never my cup of tea. I say, that all the parents with defiant children, who can keep their cool for even a few minutes are absolute heroes. I feel you!
In the end, we got it more or less settled, that we will have this general structure for each day:
8-9AM breakfast, with the rule that by 9AM the kitchen is clean and no one eats anymore.
9Am to 12PM Working and quiet games time. This means full working hours for me and mom, and study hours for Lea. Loore will have to play by herself in the living room.
From noon to 2PM - family time with shared food preparation. After lunch, I and mom will decide who gets to work quietly and when. And who goes outside with kids or finds them activities to do in the house.
From 5PM to 7PM. Evening meal prep time and eating together, chores.
7PM to 8PM. Family time with board games, movie watching or reading time.
Then kids to bed and adults can have a few hours to work.
This obviously has its external structure that shifts day to day based on tasks, but I think it could be more or less followed.
We spent the day cleaning the house and running some errands. We drove into the city with Lea, it was so quiet, I expected more mayhem around big stores and even though the parking lots were full, it didn't look to be panicky. We picked up some groceries I ordered a few days ago, then drove to the city to have Leas's new glasses adjusted.
The look on the sales people's faces was, to say the least, surprised when we walked into the optical shop - I don't think they were expecting anyone and it seems they were worriedly discussing the current state amongst each other. We got her glasses quickly fixed and headed for the library. You could see that precautions were taken there too, librarians were wearing gloves, people kept their distance from others, there was a disinfectant on the counter. We used it, it's also very important to help other people to remain calm and relieve their anxieties with your actions.
Once we had dropped off the books and picked up new ones, we picked up Leenu from her house and went to the sports outlet. Lea needed a helmet - the weather seems to be really springy, and living on the edge of the town means we can take advantage of bicycle rides outdoors. On the recommendation from my sister, I bought Leenu running shoes and that turned out to be a wise choice cause they forbid all gym visits by the evening.
Once home, the mood seemed a bit more settled and we managed to get through the day without too much drama, except for an episode. The weather was really nice and sunny, even though the wind was chilly, so we spent some time outside practicing bike rides with Loore and she got her full playing outside. It did trigger another meltdown because she was not allowed to go and play with neighbors' kids. She does understand these rules, but it makes her really sad. Luckily, it all passes quickly at that age.
The evening was really settled. I watched too much news, I have to stop. I am getting worried. Not about our personal health. About the medical personnel. About Italians especially. About the children who have to stay at home all day long alone. About the children who will no longer get a free warm meal in the school. About older people being socially so isolated. About people in my neighborhood - does everyone have a safety net. Etc.
The Great Preparation Day
Started with the teenage drama of course. After breakfast, we called for a family meeting, and as always, it was me and my mom and my raging pre-teen who went head on to battle. The only man kept his distance, as he always does. He anyways does what the women say. On the condition that we feed him 3 times a day, with meat. LOL.
Loore drew her daily schedule while Lea was busy fighting against any suggestion or agreement. This is the very first time that we need to implement daily schedules that are not determined by external requirements and must be guided by our own determination. It's not going to be easy. Even less so for the pre-teen, who thinks that education now means a few assignments for homework.
Just holding any discussion was brutal, because of that wall of defiance and screams that came from behind it. I lost it several times. Not really my cup of tea to start the day with a fight. Actually, it's never my cup of tea. I say, that all the parents with defiant children, who can keep their cool for even a few minutes are absolute heroes. I feel you!
In the end, we got it more or less settled, that we will have this general structure for each day:
8-9AM breakfast, with the rule that by 9AM the kitchen is clean and no one eats anymore.
9Am to 12PM Working and quiet games time. This means full working hours for me and mom, and study hours for Lea. Loore will have to play by herself in the living room.
From noon to 2PM - family time with shared food preparation. After lunch, I and mom will decide who gets to work quietly and when. And who goes outside with kids or finds them activities to do in the house.
From 5PM to 7PM. Evening meal prep time and eating together, chores.
7PM to 8PM. Family time with board games, movie watching or reading time.
Then kids to bed and adults can have a few hours to work.
This obviously has its external structure that shifts day to day based on tasks, but I think it could be more or less followed.
We spent the day cleaning the house and running some errands. We drove into the city with Lea, it was so quiet, I expected more mayhem around big stores and even though the parking lots were full, it didn't look to be panicky. We picked up some groceries I ordered a few days ago, then drove to the city to have Leas's new glasses adjusted.
The look on the sales people's faces was, to say the least, surprised when we walked into the optical shop - I don't think they were expecting anyone and it seems they were worriedly discussing the current state amongst each other. We got her glasses quickly fixed and headed for the library. You could see that precautions were taken there too, librarians were wearing gloves, people kept their distance from others, there was a disinfectant on the counter. We used it, it's also very important to help other people to remain calm and relieve their anxieties with your actions.
Once we had dropped off the books and picked up new ones, we picked up Leenu from her house and went to the sports outlet. Lea needed a helmet - the weather seems to be really springy, and living on the edge of the town means we can take advantage of bicycle rides outdoors. On the recommendation from my sister, I bought Leenu running shoes and that turned out to be a wise choice cause they forbid all gym visits by the evening.
Once home, the mood seemed a bit more settled and we managed to get through the day without too much drama, except for an episode. The weather was really nice and sunny, even though the wind was chilly, so we spent some time outside practicing bike rides with Loore and she got her full playing outside. It did trigger another meltdown because she was not allowed to go and play with neighbors' kids. She does understand these rules, but it makes her really sad. Luckily, it all passes quickly at that age.
The evening was really settled. I watched too much news, I have to stop. I am getting worried. Not about our personal health. About the medical personnel. About Italians especially. About the children who have to stay at home all day long alone. About the children who will no longer get a free warm meal in the school. About older people being socially so isolated. About people in my neighborhood - does everyone have a safety net. Etc.
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