蜜桃影视

Melody Glendell considers herself lucky.

Glendell, 42 and a single mother, had to work full time even after schools closed. But while co-workers panicked over child care, she had a backup plan to cover her two girls, Alexandra, 10, and Aleena, 8, known as Ally and Apple.

Her ex-mother-in-law, Flora Grant, the girls鈥� grandmother, was able to take Glendell鈥檚 daughters during school hours and even after school when the girls would normally go to a local Boys and Girls Club, which was also shuttered by COVID-19.

Now that COVID has also wiped out a YMCA day camp that was the core of the girls鈥� summer plan, Grant is stepping up again. Starting in late June, she鈥檚 taking Ally and Apple every weekday for the summer.

鈥淪he still kept my kids because she loves her grandkids and she wanted me to work,鈥� says Glendell, who divorced in 2016. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 really hard when you don鈥檛 have the child care. And, like, the Boys and Girls Club 鈥� I depend on that for my afterschool care, so when it closed, what do I do?鈥�

It was an easy decision for Grant, 81, since both parents are working. Ally and Apple, she says, 鈥渉ad to go somewhere.鈥�

How much child care has fallen to grandparents during the pandemic is unclear, particularly since many parents have also been working from home while schools and camps have been shut down. But census data have long shown that grandparents are the primary source of non-parent child care nationally, especially when mothers work.

Because senior citizens are at much greater risk of having serious COVID-19 cases, children like Ally and Apple will have to stay even more isolated than other children, even after being cut off from friends at school and the Boys and Girls Club the past three months.

鈥淪he is cautious about allowing them to go out on their own, because there are other kids on the street and it鈥檚 hard to tell kids to social distance when they want to play,鈥� says Glendell. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to explain to a child why you can鈥檛 play with your friend that you used to play with.鈥�

7:00 a.m.

Ally Grant races up the driveway of her grandmother鈥檚 house, pressing her ear against the garage door as she taps on it to get the attention of King, the dog sleeping inside.

鈥淗e鈥檚 a black Lab,鈥� she says. 鈥淗e loves me so much.鈥�

Glendell and the girls have arrived a few minutes early at Grant鈥檚 ranch home in the Cleveland suburb of Warrensville Heights, about a 10-minute drive from Glendell鈥檚 home in Cleveland, so the three wait on the porch a few moments for her to come out.

It鈥檚 their first summer day with Grant. Though they have been done with school for a few weeks, they have stayed with their father since May, only making quick stops to say hi to their grandmother.

Ally points to a house across the street and says she has friends who live there. Normally, they鈥檇 all play basketball together or jump on a trampoline. Not this year.

鈥淭hey can鈥檛 really play because of COVID,鈥� Glendell says.

鈥淪ometimes we see them when we鈥檙e playing in the yard,鈥� says Ally, by far the more outgoing of the two girls. Though she has less chance of being a carrier than adults, she鈥檒l just wave and say hi from across the street this summer.

鈥淪ince we鈥檙e with my grandma, we can鈥檛 get her sick,鈥� she says.

As she and her sister Apple start talking about things to do this summer 鈥� walking King, cooking, making puzzles, meeting friends at a distance (with parental supervision) 鈥� Ally starts mentioning how summer camp at the YMCA will probably have restrictions.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no YMCA camp,鈥� Glendell interrupts. 鈥淩emember, I told you it鈥檚 totally done.鈥�

Ally shrugs.

鈥淥K,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hen we鈥檒l just have more time with Grandma.鈥�

7:30 a.m.

鈥淪ee you guys later!鈥� Glendell calls out as she crosses the street to get back in her car. Grant and Ally wave to her from the front porch.

Glendell has half an hour to head downtown, where she works as an accountant for the Public Utilities Department of the City of Cleveland, which has its own electric power system along with water service. Though she considers herself 鈥渏ust a peon鈥� in the operation, she was considered essential when most businesses in Ohio were closed.

That led to a difficult few months when Metro Catholic, Ally and Apple鈥檚 elementary school, was closed. Normally the Boys and Girls Club would help all students at afterschool sessions with homework. But with school and the club both closed, more fell to Glendell. Though Grant could help with lessons, Glendell would have to pack in a full day鈥檚 learning for the girls after her 8-5 job.

It was too much, she says.

鈥淚 appreciate they were learning, but I feel like they should have closed everything or left everything open,鈥� she says, so parents would not be pulled in two directions. 鈥淎ll of my free time with the kids, we spent on doing schoolwork. I have new respect for the teachers.鈥�

For the first few weeks, she tried having her girls do lessons on their own during the day. But both Ally and Apple fell behind and their grades were suffering.

鈥淎nything where you needed adult help, it wasn鈥檛 going well,鈥� she says.

So Glendell took Thursdays off every week so she could spend the day catching the girls up on schoolwork.

鈥淚 was very tired. I didn’t have enough time, but I made it work.鈥�

10 a.m.

Flora Grant scratches and digs at the dirt in her garden with a hoe as Apple looks on. She doesn鈥檛 have to dig deep to dislodge the grass seedlings invading her rows of beans, tomatoes and cucumbers.

鈥淲hy are you making the dirt come up?鈥� Apple asks.

鈥淪ee the grass here?鈥� Grant asks. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 get this grass up now, it will grow real big.鈥�

Without COVID canceling summer camp, the girls would be downtown using their free time after breakfast to play board games, draw, build things with Legos or just visit with friends 鈥� “all that good stuff,” Ally says.

Today, weeding quickly turns into watering the young plants. Moments later, the girls have their hands on the hose and are spraying each other with water, squealing at a cold spray on a day that is growing hotter by the minute.

鈥淒on鈥檛 get all wet,鈥� Grant scolds, though she doesn鈥檛 persist or intervene. A hose in her backyard might be the closest thing the girls have to swimming this summer.

Local pools they have used other years are closed for the summer. The few that will be open threaten to have long lines. With the city limiting the number of people in pools and the time each person can spend in the water, it might not be worth the bother.

Ally is holding out home that the local YMCA branch will have its indoor pool open.

鈥淚 know that chlorine kills the coronavirus,鈥� she reasons. 鈥淭he problem is all the stuff on the decks and the doors.鈥�

Grant thinks there鈥檚 a chance 鈥� even for swimming lessons like the girls have taken there in the past. The branch was closed for weeks but has started offering some classes again while checking people鈥檚 temperatures at the door.

She was the only attendee of an aerobics class a day earlier that used to have 36 people at each class.

鈥淭he people just haven鈥檛 come back,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not like the young folks out in the bars and all that.鈥�

Even with coronavirus concerns, she鈥檇 consider the YMCA safe.

鈥淭here鈥檚 nobody there,鈥� she says with a laugh.

1:30 p.m.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to make at least one batch,鈥� Ally proclaims, as she starts reading off ingredients for sugar cookies.

Tuesday afternoons, like today, would be field trip days for the girls’ summer camp. Trips would include the zoo or the aquarium, or places with video games, go-karts or miniature golf.

Today, Grant has planned cookie baking for the girls, following giving King a walk and pulling out two bicycles for a ride around the neighborhood. The ride was cut short, though. Grant had fixed blown tires on one bike before today, but a tire on Ally鈥檚 bike sprung a leak after pedaling just a few houses away. It has to go back to the shop.

But as a regular baker 鈥� one with a reputation for great breads 鈥� Grant is prepared for cookies.

鈥淲e have everything,鈥� Ally says, showing off each ingredient as she measures. 鈥淪o, we have a fork and we鈥檙e going to beat the egg and the vanilla.鈥�

Grant lets Ally make the recipe herself as Apple watches. It鈥檚 a stealth lesson, says Grant, a retired elementary school teacher. Beyond cooking being a basic life skill, baking is practice using measurements and fractions of things like a cup or teaspoon.

A recipe is also a perfect example of the 鈥渋nformational text鈥� the Common Core learning standards started including in reading comprehension expectations a few years ago.

鈥淔ollow the directions,鈥� Grant reminds Ally.

鈥淭hey need to learn to read their directions,鈥� Grant says later. 鈥淚f they can do that, that would really be good.鈥�

She鈥檒l reinforce that skill later this summer when they sew masks for COVID safety. Grant made and donated many this spring and will have the girls help her make more over the summer. When they start, she鈥檒l just hand them a list of instructions.

鈥淭hey can read it to see if they can do it first,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd if they need help, I can give them a little help, a little push.鈥�

Ally holds up the bowl with the flour, sugar, butter and eggs all mixed.

鈥淭his is our dough,鈥� Ally says. 鈥淣ow we have to put this in the refrigerator for an hour.鈥�

4:30 p.m.

The cookies are a success. They even pass the test of veteran baker Grant, who tastes one from each girl 鈥渟o it鈥檚 even,鈥� Ally says.

鈥淭hey came out very good,鈥� Grant says, stressing that she just watched the baking from the side. 鈥淭hey did these cookies themselves.鈥�

Ally has begun decorating hers with tubes of icing while Apple staggers into the kitchen, barely awake after a nap. She has a little congestion and both girls are on short on sleep, so they have piled comforters and pillows on the living room rug to catch up. They were up until 2 a.m. the night before taking the braids out of each other鈥檚 hair so it can be more natural for part of the summer.

Ally holds up a pie tin filled with cookies, counting them off one through eight.

鈥淚 already did mine, but these are for the jar, once they dry,鈥� she says.

After putting an 鈥淎鈥� for Ally on an earlier cookie, she squeezes out blue icing on a fresh one.

Apple, now more awake, makes her own 鈥淎鈥� cookie and then mixes yellow, pink and blue icing on another.

鈥淚 think I鈥檒l just eat this one,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of messed up.鈥�

Ally spies the colors: 鈥淥h my gosh, Apple. What did you do?鈥�

鈥淚t looks like a brown,鈥� Apple says. “But it鈥檚 still really good.鈥�

8 p.m.

Glendell sits in a folding chair in her backyard while Ally and Apple burn off their last energy of the day.

鈥淚t was a busy day,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always a busy day when I work.鈥�

Since picking the girls up from Grant鈥檚 house, they have had dinner and headed outside for the evening. Silliness is winning the night. Ally has been showing off her cartwheel skills and the two have been recording themselves on TikTok dancing to songs like 鈥淩ockin鈥� Robin.鈥�

鈥淭hey鈥檙e always energetic,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think having the cookies gave them a little extra energy.鈥�

Some nights, they鈥檒l all read together or do crafts before she sends them to bed by 9 p.m. Tonight the weather鈥檚 good and they鈥檙e still taking a break from the school year. Glendell is still worn down from doing lessons after working full days.

鈥淛ust the couple months were completely exhausting,鈥� she says, hoping schools can return to a normal schedule. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 want to do that for the entire school year.鈥�

She and Grant have reading plans for the girls this summer 鈥� reading Jack London鈥檚 White Fang as a companion to having seen the Call of the Wild movie. They鈥檒l review some school lessons later in the summer. Glendell also wants the girls to read some of the dictionary.

鈥淚 know it sounds like a lot, but it鈥檚 really not,鈥� she insists. Reading a few words and definitions builds vocabulary.

But mostly, her goal for the girls for the summer is 鈥渏ust relax.鈥� That will include crafts like knitting and painting, but no stress.

鈥淛ust a good, healthy summer.鈥�

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