On the Feast of Saint Hugh

Time flies, and life; and many thought,

Into unsunny currents wrought,

Is in hoarse eddies wheeling:

I am a man of growing wants,

And I have many wayward haunts, 

Haunts both of thought and feeling.

- from The Yellow-hammer by F.W. Faber                                 

This morning I read the above poem in one of M's readers. He didn't understand this stanza, but enjoyed the rest of the poem which describes the poet's reminiscences of his carefree youth upon hearing birdsong. For me, all the worries and stress of the past few weeks are captured in this verse.

Coffee and monkeybread for breakfast this morning, then schoolwork with M. I am ready for a break from the homeschooling, but know that we need to persevere and keep him (and me!) on a schedule. It had snowed several inches overnight, and the others shoveled the driveway while we were studying.

At 11:15, I took a break and trudged through the snow to the schoolbus stop to fetch M's lunch packet. The school is delivering lunches to all children under 18. This is such a wonderful service! The packet contained milk and snacks of things we don't have at home, so it was quite a treat for him. I stomped flowers in the snow while waiting for the van to arrive.

T made us lunch of tomato soup and grilled cheese open-faced sandwiches. We ran out of bread; rather than buying a loaf at the store (if any is available), H will make some more. He usually bakes a couple of loaves a week, but it's being devoured by the extra mouths at home all day so he'll have to make it more frequently.  I'm not a huge bread eater, so I couldn't be bothered making any, and I think there are a few bagels in the freezer.

I headed into work in the afternoon, stopping first by the post office to mail cards to a couple of elderly people in nursing homes. One was a birthday card for an elderly neighbor requested by her daughter via facebook, and the other was to a retired priest who recently moved into assisted living. I also mailed a birthday card to M's penpal's younger brother, who celebrates his birthday this weekend on the same day as T. I wonder if mail is still being delivered on it's usual schedule. There are some unsung heroes: postal workers! But my boxes still haven't arrived, so I won't sing their praises too awfully loud.

Work was very productive. I finished sorting through books to give to children via a bookmobile. I'm not sure exactly what the principal is planning, but he now has several boxes of books ready to be distributed. I am so relieved to have that task completed! I found the book, Outbreak! Plagues that Changed History in the pile of books I was going through. I'll have to read it and see how terrified I should be about the Covid-19 pandemic we're currently experiencing.

M and I made salmon chowder for dinner, a quick and easy (and delicious!) meal. Wednesday is M's day to make dinner and I'm trying to teach him how to cook a few different dishes. His standby meal is sausage, sauerkraut, and instant mashed potatoes!

I am tired this evening, and am looking forward to a quiet day tomorrow. I didn't exercise at all apart from the walk to the schoolbus stop. I wore the dress again today. Day 4 of the challenge. I don't think I'll win any fashion-plate awards!

Some news: our above-mentioned nurse cousin and his wife will be going to NYC to work in a hospital there. So glad they found work, but praying they stay healthy. And a dear childhood friend, also a nurse, is transferring to a Covid-19 unit in her hospital. They will all be on the frontlines, so to speak. Very nerve-wracking for us friends and relations so far away.