It is technically Day 2 of online school, but Rerun’s birthday was more important to catch up on.  This was the scene on Monday morning.

Each of the three older kids had logged in – we have borrowed Chromebooks for Tad and Rerun – and were either attending a morning meeting over Zoom with their class, or checking in with whichever teacher they needed to talk to first.  This was a very strange situation.  And notice that Thumper is nowhere to be found.  That’s because he ran off with an iPad to play Angry Birds.  Because his class is run differently, he did some work with me later.

He looks so grown-up, sitting at his desk, writing.  So cute!

And then Thumper had a double session – four hours, with a one-hour break in-between! – of ABA at home.  I have to keep him busy somehow!

By this morning, we at least knew how this was supposed to work, but we are still trying to find our groove.

If we find a groove, I’ll be sure to let everyone know.

With all that is going on with coronavirus (more on that tomorrow), we opted to stay home from church on Sunday – which was Rerun’s birthday – in the morning and watch online.  Well, the boys and I did – the Webmaster was running sound (without his help, no online service) and Ane was in one of the few nursery rooms that were open.

Plus it was the first morning of Daylight Savings, so sleeping in a little was a good idea.

So, once everyone was home, we piled into the car and met Auntie, JW, Grandma, and Gichan at our traditional birthday place, Red Robin!  Where Rerun got a couple of gifts – one from Auntie and JW:

And one from Mom and Dad:

The kids ate their weight in fries, and Thumper, with no shame at all, stole JW’s campfire sauce from right in front of him.  Thumper is a campfire sauce addict.  But Rerun was one happy camper.

And then it was time for the birthday sundae and to sing!

And then Rerun promptly handed the sundae to Tad to eat, because Rerun very rarely eats ice cream, and Auntie had promised him the cookie of his choice at the Barnes & Noble Cafe just across the parking lot.  Once we were all done eating, we wandered over to the bookstore, where Rerun picked out a book for himself, ate his cookie, and enjoyed his birthday – even though school is closed down and online school was going to be starting the next day.

Dear Rerun,

Today you are a whole whopping ten years old.  That you have survived to this moment is a testament to modern medicine, copious amounts of grace, and your very hard skull.

First of all, you are very loved.  Disciplining you doesn’t mean we don’t love you, buddy, but that is the hardest thing to convince you of at the moment.  Apparently, if we loved you, we would let you play unlimited amounts of Xbox, spend all your time on the iPad, and buy you all the Plants vs. Zombies plushies and Minecraft LEGO sets there are.  That’s not love, that’s bribery.  Mama don’t play that game.  Because we love you, we make you do things like read, do your homework, and eat green vegetables.  Some of that must be working, since you have grown a whole inch since November, which is a good thing!

Second, you are a highly capable and bright young man.  You often try to bail out on doing things because “it’s too hard” and then attempt to impersonate a pile of Jello.  Too bad for you, I know that you are smarter than you let on.  You just don’t like how you have to do things at school (sometimes I don’t like the way the school does things either, but we still have to do them), and you seem to think that if you hide things from me, you won’t have to do them.

Oh, how mistaken you have been.  It’s always going to be easier to do it right away, instead of hiding it and then having to do MORE later.  You are incredibly bright, but you don’t want to apply yourself unless you are interested enough to do so.  Sometimes we get lucky and you do apply yourself.  Sometimes, not so much.  I am hoping that at ten, and with meds, you will continue to plug onward.  Just imagine if you spent all that time and mental energy that you use to try to get OUT of doing something on actually getting your work done!  You would be a genius!

Finally, I have loved seeing you blossom as “big brother” and as the top bunk in your new room.  Though you do try and boss Thumper around a little too much (and he’s too non-confrontational to take you on… yet), it is nice to see you take ownership of your shared space and enjoy all the benefits of being the big brother in a new room that was clearly designed for the two of you.

Now, if we could just work on being kinder to your peers, and more considerate of other people’s feelings, you would be unstoppable.

But we love you so fiercely, Rerun.  You are hilariously funny (often unintentionally), you love as hard as you fight, and you have grown to love cheeseburgers (no pickles or onions).  You have a soft spot for babies – human and animal and Baby Yoda – and love a good slapstick comedy video.  My favorite times with you often come when you ask for a cup of tea – and there are few baked goods you turn your nose up at.  You couldn’t lie convincingly if your life depended on it, and if you have a goal in mind, you will move heaven and earth to acheive it.  You are Dr. Bruce Banner/the Hulk in kid form.  And we love you so very much, you fluffy goofball.

Happy 10th birthday, Rerun.  Now stop chewing your nails, stop arguing with me, and give me the world’s biggest hug.

Love,
Mom

There really isn’t a comparable situation from our past for this current moment.  This is such a strange, strange moment.  It’s like we are living in a low-budget no-special-effects-available remake of “The Andromeda Strain.”

But there is spring training baseball games to watch right now, and that helps.  So have some cute baseball babies.

I would like a baby to cuddle and a baseball game to go to right about now, please.