So this week started out with a text from Anna’s one-on-one nurse, Rebecca.  She let me know they had a “Soft lockdown.”  I responded with what does that mean?  I know what a lockdown means, but there are levels now?  What soft, medium and hard?  New terms, new concerns.  She responded that they have to stay in their rooms and cannot leave but they don’t have to run and hide and take cover under desks.  Okay. . . concerning.  But what can I do to stop this . . or anyone?  Then later I got a text that the buses were not loaded yet.  Then the buses are loaded but cannot leave the lot.  

This affects my husband and not me because I’m at work and he waits for the bus not me.  He will usually wait in the front room.  He misses it more than me.  But I try to just work and let him make his own day work or not work.  I sent him the messages.   

Tuesday night we get a message from the school and Rebecca that the school will be closed on Wednesday December 4, 2024, due to a potential threat.  Great.  This is where we scramble a bit.  

Paul does work and most of the time it is fine to make his schedule around Anna as we have a Warrior life.  There is nobody that I can ask to come get Anna or come sit with her because her caretakers work other jobs too.  There is no neighbor that has ever taken to Anna to say, “Hey if you ever need me to get her off the bus or take care of her if you need to do something let me know.”  Do they do that more with typical kids, or is this a thing of the past?  I know that in Anna’s life it does not happen.  We have to figure it out.  Come up with alternatives, a plan B, maybe C, and move schedules around.  

I am lucky to have a workplace with a supervisor that “Gets it.”  She had a son that has died that was much like Anna.  But also, her and another staff member also have times their kids have to come sit at work.  I thought of my options.  Anna is a kid of mine that can come to work if the day is right.  Paul had to go paint a tailgate and had to do it before my mom’s group potluck at night (sometimes he can go into work at night) and I could not take Anna with me.  

I asked my supervisor who is also a friend in the morning, “I can work from home from 1:30 to 4:30 or Paul can bring Anna to work and she can sit here with me while I do my work.”  (I was lucky we had no families or services that day) so this worked out well.  Anna came to work with me.  

Overall the day was very sweet and cozy.   In the morning she was able to sleep until she wanted to, which was nice on a very cold snowy morning.  Her room looked inviting and sometimes I just stare at her and what a great addition she is to this world.  That does not mean she’s not a handful, but she is a sweet girl and looking at her sleeping does not happen often.  We are rushed as Warrior moms and we stop less than most moms.  

Anna was a good companion at work.  She sat by me while I made up programs, answered emails, took care of putting some holiday decorations up,  and I even introduced her to a family that came in for an appointment.  It was a good day out of an unexpected event.  We prevailed.

The mom’s group was glorious. Moms talking and eating.  A room full of hard working moms that share such great stories.  We saw moms that had not been able to come for a while, had some new moms, and just enjoyed being social and eating alone without the demands of home.  

“Peace of mind for five minutes, that’s what I crave.” —Alanis Morissette