Nose for News by Sarah Stultz

 

“Where are we going tomorrow?” my son, Landon, asked me last night.

It was a question I was dreading, but one I knew was coming.

It’s a question Landon asks me no less than 10 times a day as he tries to understand what our plans are for the next day.

He loves when I respond and say that he will be going to school — he loves school — and then he usually moves on to figuring out how he will be getting to and from school and who will be picking him up or taking him. 

Running through that list of questions keeps him satisfied for a minute or two, but undoubtedly he will ask the same questions a few minutes later, and we’ll run through the conversation again and again.

The questioning is something that happens literally every day of our lives and gets worse as routines are changed.

Landon likes routine, and he likes stability.

Landon, 8, is in one of the functional skills classrooms at Halverson Elementary School. He has a developmental delay but has been making great gains this year in his classroom setting at school.

As information about the coronavirus has unfolded, I knew it was only a matter of time until schools were affected.

When the announcement came Sunday afternoon that Albert Lea schools were going to be closed until the end of March and then would move forward with E-learning after that, I have to admit my heart sank.

Even though I understand why the changes are being made and I support the decision, that doesn’t mean things are going to be easy.

How can he continue making such great gains academically amid all these changes when my husband and I will both still be working outside of the home?

It’s a question I will be struggling with this week as all of the changes go into effect and this virus continues to spread.

Thankfully, Landon has a caregiver who is flexible in watching him increased hours and who makes learning a priority while he is there.

As we see how everything plays out, I guess all we can do is take one day at a time.

In the meantime, we will continue going through Landon’s series of questions each day as he tries to wrap his head around what’s going on.

Don’t worry, Landon, we are all still trying to wrap our head around what’s going on, too.

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Tuesday.