This isn’t a post about baking so much as a post about why I have time to bake so much.

For various reasons, I’m at higher risk of having a more serious case of COVID-19 if I should catch it. When school started in early September 2020, it was remote and I started the year teaching remotely. But, my school is considered “high needs” because its student body is 100% English Language Learners. There was significant public and governmental pressure for high-needs schools to get students back for in-person learning as soon as possible, so that meant my school was among the first to open.

Though about half of the students opted to continue learning remotely, there were enough that teachers needed to report for in-person (“hybrid”) classes in October. My medical history made it unsafe for me to go back, so I took a pandemic-related unpaid leave.

It has been incredibly painful and weird to not be teaching. For eight years, teaching is what I do and who I am. Even chamber music has had to take a knee for now. One bright light has been the baking. And now, back to that…