Reasons Like Seasons

I am sitting in the stairway between the first and second floors of my appartment building. Why would I be doing that, you ask? Well, apparently this is how Evan has chosen to punish me for taking away his screen time. Because taking away screen time is punishment. For everybody. We came to an agreement that he was to go to camp three days a week. Just three. All the other days he can lounge to his heart's content and watch 20 year old men children play Minecraft and yell a lot. I get three days. Just three.  Today was the first of these days. I front loaded the situation, asked him what time he wanted to get up so that he could watch a video before going. He was all on board last night. This morning was a different story. I woke him up when I got up, just as he'd asked, and let him watch videos while I prepped tea and checked my email. Then, as soon as I got out his clothes to get him dressed, he flipped out, screaming that he couldn't go to camp. I insisted that yes, he r

There is so much going on right now, that I don't know really how to begin. Ian, 10, is scared of martial law. Evan, 6, refuses to go to camp because he rather watch YouTube videos all day. I am tied to the news, expecting terrible things to happen any minute. I don't know how to proceed. I called a friend and my in-laws, which helped a bit. Connecting with people who love me can't hurt. But now, it's almost bedtime, and my mind reels. I don't see a clear path forward. Yesterday, I went on a bike ride. I went past the beach, which was full of people not wearing masks and not practicing social distancing. It made me sad, thinking of all the people who could get sick, but there was nothing I could do. Trying to explain the protests to my son made me cry. How do you tell a ten year old that there are bad people in the world who thwart the plans of good people and make good people look like criminals. He is scared that we won't be allowed outside. I understand his f