We will miss these goobers

Tomorrow, we lose the boys.

I guess it’s something a lot of families with shared custody have to endure, but it’s still hard. Likely it was hard on their dad to do without them for 3 weeks, but it’s gonna be very tough on The-Prettiest-Girl-in-the-World.

I’ll explain why in a moment.

First up, outside our house, the grass grew, and the Premier of BC extended the state of emergency. Outside our house, 11% of the NY police force were sick, our high school sent us a message saying schools agonna be up and running, online, very soon. Outside our house, there were all sorts of things beyond our control.

At home, though, the boys had their last day with us and were looking forward to seeing their dad. Very understandable. By the end of the day, he came by to say a quick hello, and that he was super excited to spend time with them.

For the boys, they’ve lived in a pretty damn secure bubble for the last 3 weeks. Yes, 3 weeks, and now it’s time to change bubbles.

Here we could control what happened to them.

When they’re not here, we can’t.

I’m not saying their dad won’t take all the precautions that we did, but it’s like letting the boys go to school for the first time –  we lose that ability to ensure their safety with our own eyes.

So, knowing they would be outside our bubble, I made them watch a video on the coronavirus. It was well done, had a little bit of humor in it, but also had all the scientific fact thingees that they’d need to know.

From The-Oldest: Good information, yeah, but the soundtrack needed work, yo. (No idea why he’s added ‘yo’ to his sentences a lot these days.)

From The-Youngest: The animation was great, and they gave the coronavirus teeth, which made it kinda scary. (Yes, it is freaking scary.)

From The-Prettiest-Girl-in-the-World: If I hear you’re doing something silly, I’m heading over there and wrapping you in cellophane and duct tape.

It’s a hard choice to balance what to tell them. We’ve had family meetings every other day, (“Oh, Joe, not another meeting!!!), and we’ve tried to strike a balance between accurate, relevant information and scaring them so badly they don’t sleep.

With a bit of luck, everything will be fine. The boys will be safe. We’ll be safe. And the world will return to some sense of normal.

In the meantime, The-Prettiest-Girl-in-the-World will facetime or zoom with them daily (as much for her as for them), while I’ll work on a job list so huge that it can be seen from space.

Until tomorrow, be safe, be healthy, and respect this new world.