Valentine's Day 2021, The COVID One

Valentine's Day 2021, The COVID One, is in the books. Fortunately, my husband, Dan, and I have avoided COVID thus far. In fact, I am currently recovering from my booster shot. (More on that next time.) I just refer to everything these past eleven months as "The COVID One" because I'm clever like that.

 

Our Valentine's Day didn't look much different from years past. It consisted of dinner, chocolate, and movies.

 

However, I cooked dinner this year since Dan and I are not eating out at restaurants. And we watched our movies from the comfort of our living room couch.

"I was going to offer to cook for us, so you didn't have to," Dan said as I leafed through recipes.

"I don’t want Chicken Voila." 

Dan grinned, "I knew you would say that."

 

When Dan and I were first dating, and I would go to his place for dinner, he would make Chicken Voila, a frozen dinner, with a side of corn. It's become a running joke whenever he offers to cook. (He also makes a mean cheese quesadilla, accompanied by one of us quoting Napoleon Dynamite.)

 

In addition to our typical Valentine's fare, Dan surprised me with our church's Wine to Water virtual event, the proceeds of which went to clean water wells in Ghana.

 

It ended up being a fortunate surprise, considering my roses were delayed due to winter storms. Faithful readers may recall The Valentine That Almost Wasn’t. This was not the first time my flowers did not show up on Valentine's Day.

 

"Your gift can be my gift too," I offered. 

His gift was a box of gourmet chocolate covered cherries, and I was perfectly willing to help him partake.

 

We thought the flower order was canceled, but my roses did end up arriving on Wednesday, three days after Valentine's Day.

 

 

Did I mention we went cross country skiing on Valentine's Day? This has become a bit of a tradition as well. We took a Valentine selfie, but you wouldn't know one way or the other. We always wear same thing when skiing.

 

 

As we drove home from the mountains, I said, "It's Valentine's Day. We should probably talk about something romantic." 

 

We sat in silence for a moment. Then we both laughed.

 

I heard on the news that one way to celebrate Valentine's Day during COVID times was to dress up. In other words, no sweats even if you're staying home. We had just returned from skiing, and I didn't feel like dressing up to the nines.

"Does a band shirt count?" I asked Dan. "And can I at least wear loose jeans since I can't wear sweats?

 

 

"As long as I can wear a band shirt too," Dan said.

 

In case you're curious, Promising Young Woman and A Star is Born were our "romantic" movie choices that weekend. Romantic in quotes because neither one of those would be called feel-good Valentine's comedies. 

 

But, you know, it's the COVID year. Nothing is conventional these days.

 

For the latest blog updates, visit and "like" Rebecca Turner-Duggan.

This Week in Mrs. Duggan's Room

I realize this is publishing on Valentine's Day, but I haven't had my COVID Era Valentine's yet since I am writing this post the day before. I might get around to writing a Valentine's Day post if I am feeling up to it next weekend. Next Saturday, I am also getting my second shot in the arm!

 

I decided to focus on a snapshot of my week at school. It has come to my attention that we have a few people in our state (including a lawmaker or two) who think we teachers are just sitting around at home, not working.

I thought now would be a good time to bury that misconception and give my faithful readers a look inside my classroom again. (By the way, the reality is that, although the school district is following a hybrid model, I am coming into contact with 400+ students and people at work while not being fully vaccinated . . . at least not for a few more weeks.)

 

INTERESTING CONVERSATIONS

"What are all of those clothes over there?" one of my 2nd graders asked, gesturing toward the mermaid costumes on the rack.

 

"Those are costumes for our spring musicals. Last year, it got canceled," I explained. "By the time you are in 6th grade, we should be able to do musicals again, and you can audition." 

 

"I will be auditioning for Ariel," she said. 

"When you are in 6th grade and shy and worried about what your friends think, I will remind you of that," I said.

"I definitely want to be the star. Now, who is going to be my love interest?"

 

Due to social distancing protocols in the music room, students have been sitting on spaced out dots rather than our old risers. They have been entering through my outside door and exiting through my hallway door, and during these winter months, it can get chilly.

 

One of my 5th graders asked me, "Mrs. Duggan, why did you put me, your favorite student, closest to the door?" 

"When you think about it, you're probably the safest one! You're closest to the fresh air!" I said.

 

 

GAME DAY

 

Several of my classes earned a game day this week after filling up the "Rock Star Board."

 

The first game the younger grades chose was a Freeze Dance Party. I played the Kids Bop version of "Uptown Funk," which changes the questionable lyrics to "Hot yeah!" 

 

Of course, that didn't stop one of my second graders, apparently familiar with the Bruno Mars version, from yelling, “Hot damn!” throughout the song. Thank goodness, she was somewhat muffled behind her mask.

 

In 5th grade, we played a Tic Tac Toe game where they had to recite a song lyric with a given word in order to "win" a box on the Tic Tac Toe board for their team.

"I know a song with the word 'love,' but I have to change a word to make it school appropriate," one of the 5th graders said. 

 

Before I could stop her she recited, "I guess what I'm sayin' is, I freakin' love you . . ."

 

I wonder what the original word was . . . 

PLAYING INSTRUMENTS

The kids have been playing a lot of easy-to-sanitize instruments lately. The 1st graders played floor drums (small tubanos and djembes) for the first time this week. 

 

One of the little boys, who is still learning English, called out “Whoa! Cool!” when we finished our first drum rhythm. During the rest of class, he kept circling the top of his head and pointing at me every time we finished a drumming pattern. I assume that meant he liked it?

 

The upper grade instrument piece included cowbell, and I just couldn't resist.

 

"I gotta have more COWBELL!" I shouted at the 5th and 6th graders as I banged on the instrument vigorously, only to be met by their blank looks.

 

The teachers got it though.

 

"I've got a FEVER!" one of the 5th grade teachers exclaimed when he picked up his class. He paused, "Maybe we can't say that anymore," he said in aside to me. Then he said to the kids, "We're going to 'Christopher Walken' out the door . . .

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVsQLlk-T0s 

 

For the latest blog updates, visit and "like" Rebecca Turner-Duggan.