Brady Bunch Zoom

#SOL20 Day 4

"As long as I'm with you and I know that you're taking the picture..." with eyebrows near her hairline, she's doubting any past trust she held in me because I'm being ornery.  Then she pastes on a smile, readying for the screenshot.

I get a sudden pang of guilt and decide against my sneak attack.  "Hey, girls, we look a little like we are in purgatory.  Can we brighten it up a bit in here?  I want to take a picture of the group.  Everyone say, 'Compliance' on 3...Ready..."  The participants all sit a bit taller and copy the pasted on smile of my screen mate.  We look like the Brady Bunch opening credits.

One of my (good friends and) colleagues and I are sitting in on a district Title I compliance meeting with other Title I paid teachers and coaches.  We need to check some boxes to be ready for the spring documentation upload.  The information is important, and our jobs depend on it.

Zoom meetings are always interesting in that we are each tuning in from our own locales, usually somewhere we are comfortable, and at the same time these meetings are awkward because we are manufacturing a collaborative setting...a virtual one.

Because I am a stinker sometimes, I have taken screen shots just for my own amusement, when we all look like death warmed over and have a bad case of glassy-eyes.  I care about my colleagues and won't share those photos on the internet, but did keep them for a day or two as motivation to spice it up a little when I'm hosting or facilitating meetings.  In addition, it reminds me that my face says lots that I may not be intending to say.

"That looks totally fake now," she smiles at me.  "Make sure we're on mute!" she's afraid she slipped up there, but all is well.  "What are you going to do with that anyway?" she wonders.  I know she is questioning my intentions and any further action I might take with this pic.

"I don't know.  Create an avatar for one of us or make a new wallpaper...probably nothing, actually," I'm talking quietly for no reason.  Our computer is muted.  My mouth barely moves while we talk because the other girls are probably also wanting to know what I'm up to.

Before we adjourn I say, "I'll share the pic in the drive."  Everyone smiles at my weirdness, wondering what in the world I'm thinking and why I feel the need to liven up our group.

Much of my time is taken up with meetings.  Today was a full day of meetings with different groups.  By the end of the day, I get a little slap-happy.  I can't help it.