March 1 feels like so long ago.
I was consumed in placing new slicers with Welcome Wagon volunteers, finishing up the preparations for the PARP committee I was co-leading, and planning my daughter's 7th birthday parties. I knew report cards were approaching too. March is always a fast-paced, super-packed month where I feel like I am running a marathon. Suddenly, everything has come to a grinding halt. With PARP mostly over, my daughter's 7th birthday celebrated, report cards still remain....but suddenly I have a lot of time to finish them. School is closed here for 2 weeks, with many suspecting it will be longer. All our activities have stopped- no sports, no clubs, no religion, no ice skating lessons, no parties. Long days of being home stretch ahead. The marathon is over and I am left feeling breathless anyway. I don't know what to expect. I don't know who will get sick. I am scared for all of us. I am sad not to see my students. I am relieved to not be surrounded by germs. I am glad for the time with my children but sad they will miss their regular life, their teachers, their friends, their activities. I guess we take this one day at a time and do our part to stop the spread of this frightening illness.
5 Comments
Sally
3/16/2020 06:14:38 am
Your busy list at the beginning and then a "grinding halt" describes this week so well. Also, I want to thank you for teaching/encouraging me to use Kidblog years ago. I've given my current students lessons to follow while they are at home and to post their reflections on Kidblog. I am so glad you taught me so I was set to use this platform when schools closed so suddenly. I also plan to take a walk every day...got to make exercise a habit like I do writing! Know my weight has plateaued but with this time off, I hope to use some time for my personal health.
Reply
We have not quite reached that stage yet, since our spring break is just now starting...though I can see it coming. I'm with you--not happy about all the learning and teaching and community that will be missed, but happy to help keep as many of us as healthy as possible. My advice? Take a breath, look at your calendar, and make a list of what CAN be done--be sure to include lots of enjoyable activities!
Reply
3/16/2020 07:49:08 am
It's a time of year when things are always gearing up fast - it's utterly strange to find oneself in such alien territory. I have enjoyed more writing time and responding to more slicers ... a thing that is so much more meaningful with more reflection time. How well you capture the conflicting feelings of fear and relief. I can barely take the news any more but dare not turn it off altogether. A day at a time - that is all we can do - live one day at a time.
Reply
I absolutely HATE March. So this respite from it is welcome in a guilty way. March unearths longstanding relationship schisms. It hacks at your immune system with its sunny yet oddly blustery days. It lasts FAR too long, It has just left the haven of good holidays like Valentine's Day and Black History Month to offer St. Patrick's Day . . . Women's History Month is good, but like women's rights often feels antiquated and too much at the same time--more evidence of misogyny.
Reply
3/16/2020 11:47:57 am
One day at a time with faith that all will be well! It is a scary time, but I think it is also a time for this fast-paced world to slow down and return to the basics of life-love, family, and time together. That is hard for those of us with busy careers and even busier families. However, I believe we will all get through it together.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorKathleen Neagle Sokolowski Archives
February 2024
Categories |