A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

I have finally accepted the fact that masks are part of my daily uniform. I even put a clip on my name badge cord to hold my mask while I eat lunch.

What has been a harder adjustment is the additional equipment that wearing a mask requires.  For example, my ears are not quite big enough to hold a mask and my glasses securely.  I have a glasses cord that I wear when doing yoga so I’ve started wearing it to work.  Now I can beat the students at “who can sing head, shoulders, knees and toes faster” without my glasses flying across the room.

The other challenge came with talking and singing through the mask all day.  The singing happens outside so I found myself getting a sore throat every day.  Beekeeper Brian ordered a headset with a speaker that I can attach to my belt or wear around my neck.  It is wonderful.  The students can hear me and I don’t strain my voice. One of my students thought I looked like I was working in a fast food drive through window and tried to order French fries.  That was a middle school student – pretty clever actually.

So now every morning after I put on my eye make-up I secure my glasses with the cord.  When I get to work I put on my name badge and mask.  Then, just before my first class, I put on my head set and put the speaker around my neck.

Then at the end of the day, I reverse the process.

When I feed the chickens, however, I do not have to wear a mask, or a cord for my glasses, or a head set.  And for a few minutes each day, things seem “normal.”