The first full week of school has come and gone. It didn’t go as planned but we adapted. Elliott had a great week and he really seems to like high school. Emmett on the other hand ended up having almost the entire week off due to the excessive heat. The grade school doesn’t have AC and the heat index inside the school was over 100F. That’s obviously a problem, so they called things of with hopes of returning on Monday.

Elliott has AC in his building but it’s still hot.

Both boys have informed me about the mask policies in their respective buildings and I’m not feeling super comfortable with it. While they are sitting at their desk, they don’t have to wear a mask. This tweet from today is exactly why this is a problem.

An unvaccinated teacher who unmasked when reading aloud in class caught Covid and spread it to half of the students in the classroom, according to a new CDC study. Delta is doubly infectious, and we need to step up our game to keep kids in school safely.

— Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrTomFrieden) August 27, 2021

This is incredibly worrisome to me. I don’t understand why we never seem to learn our lesson. We can safely have our kids back at school but half measures and politicalization isn’t the answer.

I know masks are uncomfortable but you know what’s more uncomfortable? Being hooked up to a fucking ventilator. Yes, the boys are vaccinated but there are still breakthrough infections and they can spread it to other people. The other thing is that Gavin’s immunocompromised and the vaccine is less effective for people like him. There are people in my life that are too young to be vaccinated right now and I want to help keep them safe.

I really don’t feel like I’m overreacting. The delta strain is significantly more contagious and that’s a major problem. The point is that this is very much on my radar and I’m going to be weighing my options. If masks were mandated, I would feel more comfortable but they’re not.

All that aside, the boys are glad to be back in school. Emmett’s excited about returning on Monday and I’m really grateful that they have transitioned so well.

As for myself, I’m feeling better today. I’m still sore but that’s to be expected. I was able to remove the compression bandage for the first time today and everything looks really good. Emmett helped me to clean everything and rebandage it. He did a fantastic job and I’m so grateful. I mean, I can’t do it myself. I have a total of 16 stitches. There’s eight internal and eight external. I’ll probably have a slight scare but it will be a nice straight line.

I spent the day resting and working from my bed. It was a pretty good day as far as work is concerned and I even fixed the issues with my laptop. I made money, paid some bills, and gained some experience that will help me continue to improve.

I’m going a little stir-crazy because I haven’t been able to workout or really do anything active, and that’s been challenging. It’s only been a a couple of days but I’ve become so active that not doing anything is frustrating. The time is not being wasted though and I’m focusing on work, especially during school hours. I’m going to be really focusing on the podcast in the next week or so. I have to make some decisions about service providers so I can improve the quality of what I produce.

I feel incredibly fortunate to be able work from anywhere with an internet connection. While I’m recovering, I will be working on improving this part of my life. I believe in what I’m doing and I built a valuable platform. I’m going to put out so me feelers and see if I can get someone to provide me with some guidance in the areas I need more experience with. That shouldn’t be too hard because I have tons of connections and people are usually willing to help if I ask. I don’t like making it a habit of doing that but I’m always willing to do the same for everyone else, so I feel okay reaching out.

I want to get out of the house this weekend, even if it’s just for a little while. Walking sounds amazing right now and assuming the weather holds out, I think I can make that work.

On a side note, one of the more annoying problems I’ve been having is going to be resolved. Unfortunately, it’s going to take another month or so. My phone has been replaced three or four times in the last few weeks and it’s still not working correctly. Tmobile is sending me a brand new device but it’s on backorder until the end of September. I’ll have to make due for now but at least I know I can check that off my list. Sometimes it feels good to simply check things off a list. It feels like forward progress and I like that.

Anyway, I’m hoping to get a new episode of the podcast released this weekend. No promises but I’m halfway through post and I was able to get my laptop fixed. I want to try to get back to a new episode every Friday but that’s going to take some work. It’s worth it though because I’m signing several new sponsors and I’m looking forward to continued growth.

I hope your weekend gets off to a great start. Please remember to wear a mask whe you’re out, especially indoors or in crowed places. For the love of God, get vaccianted if your eligible. You could literally be saving lives by doing these simple things. ☺