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One day at a time

OkotoksToday and Western Wheel reporter Krista Conrad's daily update on working from home and raising five kids suddenly out of school amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Day 23: Disappointments can’t get us down

Tuesday was off to a great start – school work was getting done and kids were being insanely productive with their studies and generally in a good mood overall.

My time was split between reading and writing stories and helping a five-year-old with her numbers and education apps – a typical morning these days.

The sun was shining and there was no ice to speak of outside the front of our house, which is south-facing and always bids farewell to spring snow in short order. So Christian took to the driveway to shoot a few hoops while Hannah rode her scooter around him (I’m sure that wasn’t at all annoying, and if it was they were smart enough to make sure I didn’t hear about it).

Meanwhile, shovel-in-hand, Brooke took on the back deck, where we tend to get no sun at all during this time of year and the ice collects for weeks. This is where she envisions doing her homework in the (hopefully) near future, so she’s made it her personal project to chip away at the remnants of winter and make it a usable space. I'll take the free labour.

They came back when the alarm sounded at 10:30 and did their music classes. This schedule is still working like a dream.

But that’s when disappointment struck.

We received an email notification that the Calgary Minor Softball Association has been forced to cancel its season as the parks and sports fields in Calgary will be closed until at least June 30.

This was devastating for Alyssa, who has been eager to hit the shale for another season, pumped after weeks of winter ball training and pitching clinics in January and February. This sport is her passion and as a high school student she doesn’t have much longer in the league.

I’m honestly just as bummed, because there’s nothing I enjoy more than watching my kids do what they love, whether that’s sports or music, you name it. We both feel like we’ve been robbed.

Within half an hour, Brooke received a phone call from Winners, where she’s been employed part-time since September. She has been temporarily laid off.

Their attitudes are what impressed me.

Brooke got off the phone and told me how grateful she was they had actually kept all staff, both part-time and full-time, on payroll for as long as they did. It might take longer to save up for that first car, but she’ll be okay. Especially since Mom will foot the phone bill.

Anyone who knows Alyssa knows there are two things she doesn’t handle gracefully: change and disappointment. She exhaled, her big eyes got bigger and welled up just a bit, but she swallowed it all and said she was half expecting that news. Here’s hoping for a late summer or fall season, or winter camps at the very least, to keep this girl engaged.

Now I’m waiting for the other shoes to drop. Christian is currently registered with Foothills Minor Baseball and Hannah with Okotoks United Soccer, and we haven’t heard anything definitive from either of those clubs yet.

As we’ve marched into April with no immediate end of the pandemic in sight, I’ve been mentally preparing for these conversations and helping the kids deal with cancelled extra-curriculars they’ve been looking forward to for months. There’s no doubt about it and no need to mince words – it sucks.

But they all seem to know it’s for the greater good, and I guess that’s because we’re doing something right. Disappointment is being met with strength of character, tact and great understanding – even optimism – and I’m a very proud mom.

In Hannah’s words: “When all this virus is gone then we’re going to get to do all our fun things again.”

You bet, kiddo. Until then…

Krista Conrad, OkotoksToday.ca

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