Feeling Resilient
The sun burst out of its two-week slumber and roused the beast within. I feel rejuvenated, excited to embrace this bold new reality, and eager to search out the unlimited opportunities afforded by this global awakening. I guess it took a complete shutdown of what we believed to be the truth. My mind cannot find another moment throughout human history than the one we are currently living in: When in human history has this ever occurred? Thinking about the far-reaching implications of these circumstances changes the optics and creates a paradigm shift of unparalleled proportions.
Week two of distance learning has commenced for the high school/junior high where I am teaching. Instructional responsibilities have transformed rapidly into checking and responding to emails, sending out class emails providing updated information, learning how to engage with digital platforms, corresponding with students via Google Classroom, trying to find ways to support students, and creating assignments or the new phrase “learning opportunities” that are functional and yet not difficult enough that a student can’t complete them on their own. What is fascinating to me is the fact time seems to be sucked into the vortex of all these new tasks. My days pass by in a flurry of activity which consumes more time than I would have previously thought. This has made me realize how excited I am to be participating in the next phase of our educational pedagogical development.
I spent time last night with a group of friends standing six feet apart in their driveway discussing the issues happening to each one of us while drinking alcoholic beverages. Surprisingly, there were highly educated persons who believed that civil unrest was imminent. Talk of buying guns coupled with having enough resources to “survive” this pandemic repeatedly surfaced and made me realize how fear has spun a tangled web of lies. Every once in a while, I would interject with stories I had been reading about other countries who were under stricter quarantines and there was no evidence they were experiencing social collapse. But they reminded me that this is America where people are much more inclined to riot or take by force things they deemed to be essential to their survival. I was hoping for a light hearted talk amongst friends but the pandemic was much too big of an issue to ignore and so, we wasted most of our time together squawking about the “boogey-man” who was coming to steal our way of life.
Fortunately, I drank enough beer to drown the negative thoughts into oblivion. When we arrived home, I prepared a belated birthday dinner for my oldest daughter and we feasted on BBQ’ed New York steak, bacon wrapped scallops, and mashed potatoes. It was a peaceful moment sitting around the dinner table enjoying each other’s company. In the midst of this turmoil, I have learned a valuable lesson that humanity is more resilient than I could have ever imagined.