One of the best things I bought in quarantine

Me every morning: "I have no idea what day it is."

Since we started the quarantine at the beginning of March, the days and now even months have bled into each other. Most days of the week, I have no idea what day it is.  There are no classes, appointments and few meetings that divide the day or make it notable.  Is it Tuesday? Saturday? April? May? It doesn't really matter.

I joked to L that I needed something that would just tell me what day it was, just for my own sanity. At the same time, we have been having a challenge with Waverly (2 1/2) when we ask her to stop a fun activity to do something else. It often results in a frustrating battle of wits.

A few weeks ago,  I was browsing "day of the week clock" and I found this digital clock by Robin. While it's marketed as a tool for seniors with memory issues, it's turned out to be exactly what we need. Here are highlights:

 The 8-inch high clean design clock features the time with morning/night, day of the week and date. 

Press a button and it will announce this information as well as birthdays, holidays, anniversaries and any other dates you program as highlights. This is the first thing Waverly does when we come downstairs in the morning. She runs to her desk and hits the button to hear the day's information. 

There are custom alarms which have turned out to be HIGHLY useful. I began by setting the alarms to 8:30, 12:30 and 5:30 (with the same alarm tone), We've taught Waverly that the tone (we chose a chicken crowing) means that it is meal time. Before, she would sometimes throw a tantrum if we had to stop an activity she was enjoying.  Now, instead of trying to pry her away from her activities, when she hears the chicken, she excitedly announces "Heihei says it's time to eat!" and she runs to put the placemats on the table. It's so awesome. 

(*Heihei is the chicken from "Moana," Waverly's favorite Disney film.)

I also set alarms for myself throughout the day. I give myself a block of time to work and I set Waverly at her desk (next to mine) with Magna Tiles or books. We both know that we have a certain amount of time to work on a project. Waverly is very schedule-driven and I have seen a big change in her, since she knows that there is a beginning and an end to a project.

This clock has been invaluable to both of us as we stay hunkered down. While we could just use my phone or the wall clock in the kitchen, I find that she and I both look at this clock often throughout the day and it's become a big part of our quarantine kit. 

The Robin 2020 version clock is available on Amazon for $59.95 and is available in white or black.