Crazy Cat Lady Chapter 4 - The Aftermath

Baileys_Babe

Lovely to hear from you @crazy_cat_lady

tjp70

Missing you CCL. Hope all is well x

Buffythedebtslayer

Hey CCL, how are you ? XX 

crazy_cat_lady

Hey all
Apologies... Life working in a secondary school during a worse second wave of a pandemic with a completely incompetent government is really hard going.
In summary... ds got sent home from school to isolate the day after I last wrote on here, then we lost another two members of the department, one of the SLT came back, another one went off. Then all of my form class got sent home to isolate, then all of the boys in Years 9-11, plus the male PE staff. And I got a supply teacher booted because he complained to me about kids not wearing their masks (it is a DFE directive that we can't force kids to wear masks) and then started moaning about the school. So I told him I would make sure I told the Head what he had said, and I watched him leaving (permanently) less than 15 minutes later. And we had classes with less than 5 kids in and had to do online lessons, and we couldn't double up classes for fear of mixing bubbles etc. I think most of the last week of term went in a complete blur - I can barely remember getting home from work on Friday afternoon... I went straight into an exam related meeting and then had more than a couple of drinks to celebrate making it to the end of the hardest term I can remember in 15 years of teaching.
Woke up Saturday with a stinking hangover and was dragged out for a 6 mile walk with the deputy head around the posh castle estate that she lives in. Felt better afterwards apart from shattered, then found I couldn't sleep Saturday night. By Sunday morning I felt dreadful in terms of aches and pains and my head was still banging. Then the sneezing and snotting started... I slept most of Sunday and Monday with an absolutely stinking cold, and sneezing so much that I was peeing myself. Gutted. By Monday I couldn't smell or taste anything but had a COVID test on Sunday that was all clear, plus the runny nose and blocked sinuses. Plus I can't remember the last time that I didn't get sick around Christmas time. Last year kidney infection, year before chest infection. A cold seems like a small price to pay for surviving the term and 2020 in general.
So I've been ill. And burned out. And run down. And SO tired. And trying to get the house ready for Christmas (thank god my kids are not teeny tinies any more). I was still pretty rubbish Tuesday, but had gotten my washing machine repaired on Monday and was still working through the washing pile that would have challenged Everest, and managed to get presents wrapped.
Then yesterday I spent the whole day doing exam related stuff. I shouldn't be surprised that the government guidance there is unbelievably shoddy because it is everywhere else. Schools, test, track and trace, tiers etc etc. But they are expecting us to do an awful lot in an awful short amount of time, with very little guidance. Plus there's still a part of me wondering whether or not exams will still happen next year. I still really hope they do in the name of fairness, but if they don't we need a better system than that in place in 2020...
And suddenly today is Christmas Eve. I'm almost a week into my hols already, and goodness knows what I'll be going back to on the 4th. An inset day so far, but I have no doubt that the government will also change their minds about that at least another dozen times. I'm still sneezing, but can now retain full control of my bladder, and still snotty but I am starting to be able to taste and smell things again - just a bit but it's definitely coming back. 
I know I haven't been on here posting much but I just can't make anything balance with the number of hours in a day. I'm really hoping that I can switch off properly without being ill over the next week, and I promise/threaten that I will come on here and catch up with you all properly. I just want to get better first.

dawnybabes

You need to take care of yourself x

ladyholly

You take care and try to relax a little. 

Tescodealqueen

Sorry you have had such a rough time. Have a safe Happy Christmas with the kids and take care of yourself well for the rest of the Christmas holidays. Hope that you are feeling better soon xx

crazy_cat_lady

Good morning all, and a belated Merry Christmas to all of you.
I am pleased to report that the cold is finally retreating and that I could taste my Christmas Dinner on the day itself, so an excellent victory.
Anyway, I hope that you all had a fantastic day - regardless of tiers and the coronavirus trying to put a dampener on everything. I knew that I was onto a winner on Christmas Day because I woke up naturally at half past seven - before either of the kids!!! Winner Thankfully both kids seemed more than happy with their smaller Christmas this year, and the only issue I had was that the brilliant trainers I'd bought for ds on eB*y didn't fit him. Bit of a false economy then because they weren't reduced in the sale, and he's gone from kids to adult sizes, so all of his Christmas money and most of mine went on ordering him a £120 pair of trainers on Christmas Day. Meh. He was happy though with all of his new clothes, smellies and chocolate, and dd was very happy with her new things - again mostly clothes and expensive undies (that she had chosen for herself), and a fluffy teddy bed set. I was spoilt rotten with cat stuff, books and notebooks, and charms for my nomination bracelet and chocolate and vodka. 
Being in tier 3 I was lucky enough to be allowed 'out' for the day and I went over to see my mam for the first time since we met up for a coffee in October half term. It was brilliant - she'd gone all out with M&S Christmas Dinner for us - smoked salmon starter and dinner with all of the trimmings. It was so lovely to see her and my stepdad for a while - although I am going to confess to being a bit worried about both of them in terms of their health. My stepdad has COPD and has been shielding most of the year, and his breathing seems much worse than I have ever known. Plus my mam has a tremor which has worsened significantly since I last saw her. Also popped over to see my dad, from a distance, and to drop off Christmas presents - his health has deteriorated as well. He is undergoing a load of tests to try and diagnose what's the matter, but it's going very slowly. His next appointment is at the beginning of next month. The pandemic has not been good to the health of my parents that's for sure... 
Then as the allowed 3 household bubble - I went over to my sister's house for a couple of hours with the kids, and to meet my lockdown kitten's brother for the first time ever. He is MASSIVE - at least double the size of my baby. We got quite drunk and played cards against humanity, and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting people I love for one day after such a long time without seeing them.
Needless to say Boxing Day was a write off I could barely move. All I managed to do was get up and put a curry on in the slow cooker, and do a load of washing. And nag the kids to put their new stuff away. Felt a bit better by yesterday but still haven't done much. I found an old 80s TV series I watched as a kid on demand (V if any of you remember) and spent the day watching that and crocheting. The house is still a tip but I've spent no money, which is always a good thing - unlike the kids who have spent all of their money (DS unsurprisingly on Xbox stuff, and DD unsurprisingly on more clothes and undies in the sale). I will need to go out over the next day or two though as I am running out of cat litter and milk. 
Today's plan involves more TV and crochet, avoiding the news and making roast gammon and potatoes for dinner. Sounds like a good one. At least I'm not hungover or sleep deprived today - although my nose is still quite stuffy. 
And before any of that I'm going to catch up on here... hope that you're all well.

Honeysucklelou2

Glad that you were able to meet up with your family members for Christmas Day. Avoiding the news seems a good plan of action...I’ve  been reading  news online every night which hasn’t helped my sleeping habits!

Enjoy your relaxing day of TV and crochet.

juliejim

Pleased you had a good Christmas and are starting to feel better x