CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

I started thinking, I’m documenting my journey here and although I’ve been staying at home and really haven’t traveled much of anywhere, this is a part of my journey I feel is worthy of some sort of documentation. So here goes nothing….

The great virus of 2020. Is that what this will be known as in fifty years?! We know this is something that will go down in the history books but what are gonna be the things they highlight and teach our youth of the future. What are the titles gonna be and the names that this global pandemic is given? Corona Virus Apocalypse? China virus that decimated the human population? The summer-long virus? The year-long virus? The most deadly global pandemic? The man-made virus? Don’t we have some crazy theories out there blaming certain political parties or certain countries for doing this on purpose? It’s crazy the stuff people come up with and believe. And I think it’s safe to say this is one weird time in our history. But I’m sure that’s exactly what the people of Hooverville also thought during the Great Depression. This is something human populations go through and we are just here during this time. And Thank goodness it’s not something so bad as slavery or the reign of Hitler. It’s a rough time indeed, but we humans have experienced and endured much more dire times. Precautions can actually be made in this situation that keeps us safe. The decision is ours.

But still, I find my self seeing different experiences of grocery shopping goings, teachers, healthcare workers, and many more and can’t help but to ask myself, what will kids be reading in their textbooks from years to come? Maybe some teachers will use videos, pictures (all those thousands of mask ones we’ve all seen), and blogs/posts to tell the story, much like we’ve learned about the Holocaust through Anne Frank and her writings. She definitely tells the story better than the news did.

What do we want kids to know about this time that the news isn’t covering?

Here’s my meaningless take on things.

To be quite honest, selfishly, I was happy when they said school would be postponed. Haven’t we all wish and prayed Monday would come and we didn’t have to wake up to an alarm? Isn’t that always our dreaded day of the week?! Well, we got what we’ve always asked for. And we got it a lot longer than we ever wanted it.

It only took a week for me. In one week I’m pretty sure I caught up on all the sleep I’d missed out on in the last three years, I began gaining weight, I completely ruined my sleeping routine and in that one week, I realized my job is what keeps my life together. I was not being nearly as productive as I had previously thought I would be if I didn’t have to wake up and go into work every day. You would think my house would have become spotless right away, but that actually took two weeks for me to get around to do. Cleaning has never been my favorite thing to do and I’m not always the best at it but eventually, after a few weeks, I finally got my will power together and made it a better environment for me to spend so much time in.

That first week I was LAZY. I did nothing to be too proud of that week. I was lazy, watched Netflix, and did the nothing that I had always wished I could do. But by the time week two rolled around we had an idea about online learning, I got my house cleaned up and I began getting in a new at-home routine, although my days were like nights and my nights were like days, at least I was getting stuff done. Quite frankly, I’m still being pretty lazy and my days and nights are still quite confused but at least I’m being a bit more productive than I was that first week.

I’ve grown to really enjoy the online teaching aspect of it. I don’t really enjoy the online grading aspect of it though. I don’t have my students in my classroom where I can make sure they are staying on task and completing their assignments so my participation level is down quite a bit and there are times I let it get to me. We are all allowed to get discouraged every now and again as long as we don’t stay that way. We have to focus on the things we can control and control them the best we can. The only real thing I can control in the world is me so it’s my job to just keep holding up my end of this online learning ordeal so that’s what I’ve done. Today was actually our last day of new instruction. So like all things, we made it through it…..together!

I sure hope that’s something we are all learning right now. Teamwork makes the dream work. We really have to come together. That’s what any disaster teachers us. We see in when tsunamis hit, we saw it in Florida with Hurricane Michael, and we saw it here in Texas with all the flooding. When people are in need, people come. And that’s what life is about. Being there for each other and helping each other out. We are all just trying to get by.

In this time I have learned how important human interaction is for me. I’ve learned how important it is that I have a reason to get out of bed because when I don’t, I tend to stay in it way more than I should.
We have gone up to the school a few times to pack up our classrooms and clean lockers. Why? Because our school is getting new electricity, new piping, new paint, new sinks, new countertops, new almost everything. It was awesome seeing co-workers but it felt weird there too. Not all the teachers were allowed to go on the same days. No kids were there. The ceilings had holes all throughout and workers were everywhere getting things done. It was just another reminder that the world we are living in right now is so different than it was just a few months ago.

Going out in public seems like you are taking a risk every single time. It’s weird because you have some people covered with gloves and masks while others don’t seem to have a care in the world. You feel weird if you are standing, sitting, or walking too close to people. Who are you offending if you step (or roll) in their 6-foot bubble by accident? It’s like there are lingering questions everywhere when you go out now and a feeling of uncertainty.

But what has changed that has been a good change? People are having family meals again. Kids are going outside to play. Parents are getting time that they can cherish forever with their young children that grow up to fast. And I think parents all over the world may have a little bit more respect for teachers now. 🙂

I sure hope people are realizing how important schools are. Schools all over our nation have packed meal after meal for students. Teachers are zooming, emailing, and messaging kids to remind them about work and be there to assist them the best we can. Students are missing their teachers and hopefully realizing how helpful we really are to them when they are in our classrooms.

I know some families that are truly embracing this time with their loved ones. Kids are home from college, parents are getting to see their babies take their first steps, and that real quality time is finally getting to happen. I know if I was in Florida mom and I would be in her little pool in her back yard soaking up the sunshine and enjoying the days go by and grilling food by night. I hope parks open back up and we can go on our adventure we were planning on. We can only pray for the world to go back to normal sometime soon.

With all the frustrations people are feeling I think we are all handling it pretty well. As for me, I’m a bit more thankful for my job and the people at it. I’m a bit more thankful for having to wake up early and be somewhere. I’m a bit more thankful for having the means and the time off to load up and go play in the woods here and there. I am also, thankful that toilet paper and meat and all the other out of stock things are normally easier to get.

I did decide a week or so ago I needed to start digging deep and looking for inspiration to write my book. This is the most time I’ve ever had to spend time writing, but with the weirdness of the world, I just haven’t been very motivated. However, I think I wrapping my head around things and making a turn around with my mental state. My roommate and I have started working out. We were already on a pretty healthy eating dieting but we are getting a bit more serious about it now, with fewer cheating days!

As weird as these times are, we have to keep going and get through them. This will be one of those times we look back on and be thankful we lived to tell the tale. I know how that feels and I promise you, you’ll feel more like a badass when you tell the story years down the road.

Keep those hands clean and stay safe folks!