Well, this is crazy, isn't it? Covid-19? Now there's no school for at least two weeks (and no church and no choir and no Conference, etc.).
The big question yesterday was: am I still going to get paid? I can't very well drive a school bus around if none of the kids are riding it. Although the school district wouldn't be out any extra money by guaranteeing our wages or salaries at this time, it is a tightwad district, so this was a valid worry. Most of us don't have contracts, so if the district decided they didn't want to pay us for doing nothing, they jolly well wouldn't have to. You might not have any bus drivers when you start school back up, of course, but maybe they were willing to take the risk.
Recently, we in the transportation department received a series of texts. First we were told that we would be asked to come in to work during our regular hours and would be assigned to other tasks: helping the mechanics, cleaning buses, cleaning schools, assisting with office work, etc. (I'm sure our bosses were sweating at the thought of trying to keep over eighty cantankerous bus drivers and attendants busy with busy work for two weeks.) Then we were told that, instead, we'd be required to come in for additional training today. Since we couldn't meet in groups larger than fifty, we'd be split into two groups. Then President Trump said not to get into groups larger than ten (I'm not even going to go into the ridiculousness of such government edicts right now), so training got canceled, and we were told we'd do an online training instead.
Later in the afternoon, we received an email stating that the district was guaranteeing the wages and salaries of both part- and full-time employees and we wouldn't have to worry about coming in to work until at least Friday this week.
Meanwhile, Johnny was freaking out. Since he's talking to me again (oh, I haven't told that story, have I? Long story short: I accidentally and unintentionally angered him in a series of bus misadventures, and I thought he wasn't ever going to talk to me again, which, admittedly, would make my life a lot less stressful. But I guess we're talking again. Does this story sound intriguing? Trust me, it's all stupid.), he was texting me all his worries. He didn't see the email in the afternoon, so he was very relieved when I told him about it and forwarded it to him. He hadn't signed up for the equal pay option, where your paycheck is split up so that you get paid through the summer instead of only during the school year. He wanted as much cash in his hands during the school year as he could get, so he was worried that instead of getting a much-reduced equal pay paycheck, he'd get nothing at all.
So that's me sorted for the time being. Husband is still working at the school this week as they set up online forums for school work. Next week, however, the teachers have been told they can work from home if they want. Some of them are really excited about working in quiet classrooms--especially if they have small children at home--so they're still going in to work, haha!
I have a pretty good relationship with most of my preschool parents, and some of them are closer to being friends than mere acquaintances. Yesterday, one of the moms I'm more friends with texted me and asked how I was doing, and after having a pleasant conversation, I asked if she needed any help with anything. I ended up giving her a ride to the grocery store because she didn't have a way to get there, and she needed some things.
As for church, I had a meeting with my FIL (who is the Elders Quorum president now) and the bishopric on Sunday. After that meeting, where we received instructions from our Area Seventy and our stake president via our bishop, I wrote and posted instructions on our Relief Society Facebook page to answer questions the women have had about getting the Sacrament in their homes during this time of not meeting at church. One of my neighbors is offering to set up her Zoom account so everyone can participate in Sunday School and scripture study classes. I also told everyone to check on their neighbors and friends to see if anyone needs anything.
Little Gary is pretty excited about having us home. He really craves family time, so he's been coming up with all kinds of ideas that we can do together. I'm making sure I spend more time with him. He's been really cuddly lately, even if he is twelve-and-a-half. He still sometimes tries to crawl into my lap like he's a toddler and not a long and lanky pre-teen. I had him help me cook dinner yesterday, and he was proud of his spaghetti sauce seasoning skills.
If nothing else, we'll all become closer as a family during this time. Elannah was in a community theater production of West Side Story that has been canceled, and Sophia was working as a substitute teacher. Elannah still works at the dental office, so she still works several days a week; but because of her job, she can't see her boyfriend right now (his dad has risk factors and they don't want visitors). Sophia was already applying for other jobs but hasn't been hired anywhere else yet, so they're both home a lot more.
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