Life during a Pandemic........uncharted territory

P*A*N*D*E*M*I*C*............a word I only knew of through history books and movies.  This is a time that we never imagined living through but yet here it is. Like so many other crisis situations in life, they are unexpected but yet you rise to the occasion and dig deep to cope with these uncharted waters.  There are 2 ways to handle the situation; 1. glass half empty (anxiety, panic, fear) or 2. glass half full (the gift of time).  Those days of hamster wheel activities, the fast pace of daily life and responsibilities have come to a screeching halt.  I can say that just a week ago I would have loved to be able to be with my immediate family and my dogs at home all day, and yet here I am doing just that.  No sports, no gym, no shopping, no parties, no ability to go anywhere or do anything except life's simplest things.  We have dinner together every night, Dave is not on a plane, we get outside daily for exercise and fresh air and my dogs spend minimal time in their crates.  I already had an idea, but I am experiencing first hand just how hard teachers work all day throughout the school year.  No I do not know how to teach algebra or the history of early civilization but I can teach my children other things.  Learning can happen in so many different ways.  A classroom does not have to include a desk and a pencil.  We are exploring outside, watching educational you tube videos, participating in chores and working together.  I can teach them how to balance a checkbook or how to write a formal letter.  I can teach them life skills like how to do laundry and budget your groceries.  I can also teach them about compassion, humanity, and lending a hand to elderly who need it and how to stay well.  I do not know what the future holds for us but I know my husband and I will stay the course, continue to provide stability and routine for our children in these uncertain times.  I am thankful for technology that gives us the ability to learn, and stay connected with loved ones.  I will also continue to pray and be ever grateful for the first responders who are on the front lines battling this illness and caring for the sick.
                                                                                                                             

Let's become the true definition of humanity, let's share the knowledge, share the supplies, help your neighbor.  Live in the moment and when you have lost your patience take your children outside. This too shall pass.       

Pandemic

What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is.
Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.

And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.

Promise this world your love–
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.

–Lynn Ungar 3/11/20