Part of my purpose in
writing, other than I have a few more moments to do so, is to capture this time where life
is no longer familiar.
We have spent one week out
of school now, and life has found a rhythm. Very intentionally, I have chosen
to focus on gratitude. Honestly, I am
feeling a little guilty for how much I have enjoyed the new pace of life.
But let me clarify, I feel
absolutely terrible that people are getting sick and dying. My heart hurts for those in the medical field
working ridiculous hours under difficult circumstances to bring this situation
under control. My days are still busy
with meetings (now virtual), emails, meal distribution, and helping others sort
through the unknown.
In all of this,
there was a moment last night that struck me.
I had worked, gone for a walk, read a little, and while both of my
children were both on one of the online resources for continued learning, I cooked
dinner. The bigger deal, I enjoyed it To
most, this may not seem like a big deal.
Cooking is fun, creative and you get to eat at the end. (I do LOVE to
eat) There was a time I really enjoyed
cooking, and then I had children.
Cooking became a mess, took my focus away from toddlers getting into all
the things, and I was lucky if anyone ate it. (bonus points if they ate it
without any tears) In this moment, I was enjoying the peace of cooking for my
family. I will continue to capture those moments over the next unknown period of
time-however long this lasts.
On the flip side of that, I
am acutely aware of the privileges I have that afford me the luxury of those
moments. Many are in situations that are
not as peaceful, predictable, or certain as what I am fortunate to
experience. My 97 year old grandma who
really can’t have visitors and doesn’t understand what is happening. The
family of six with one on the way who doesn’t have food and is hesitant to
leave the house for fear of infecting
pregnant mom at home. These are two specific situations on my heart, but
the ones I know about aren’t the ones I’m worried about.
How can we, as a community,
wrap our arms around each other? How can
I seek out people who may need some extra love during this time in the form of
food, TP, phone calls, or whatever it may be?
This
is what I am carrying into this second week.
See, I know that the best in humanity can come out when we come together for each
other. That is what I want to take away
from this situation. Not the emptied
shelves, or general sense of fear, but hope. Hope that this will be ok, that we
can do this, and that we can be there for each other in the process.
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