Day 8: Settle in?

 It’s cold and rainy here in NJ.  But I guess I should be grateful it isn’t snow, although snow would be prettier.  The weather made it much harder to get started today.  As usual, my inbox was blown up with student emails this morning, and I’ll be honest, I hadn’t posted the lesson yet.  Still, it was important to help my own kid post something for a Twitter school spirit activity.   I posted a pic and a video asking my Ss to check back in 30 minutes.

Outside of our little house, the news feed blew up.  I took a moment to listen to Governor Cuomo, who has become a recent favorite.  He is calm in his approach to this calamity.  And the phrase of the day, which he posted on a slide, was SETTLE IN.  No birthday parties (my 50th is in May), no dinner guests, no movies, no games.  Sugar honey iced tea.  I turned off the TV. Social distancing is the new norm.

Maybe an hour later my phone chirped.  NJ’s governor slipped and indicated that schools could be closed for the rest of the year.  Then he backtracked just a bit.  NJ wouldn’t be the first state to close for the year.  Kansas has beaten us to it.

But the thought of not going back hurt. What about my son’s sixth grade trip? What about the music concert?  Or what about last year’s students’ graduation?  My heart started to beat faster. My palms got sweaty.  My stomach flipped. How much longer can this last?  Am I ready for two months of this?  Or longer?

And then I pictured all the images of people on the beaches in Florida.  Or those running around outside together at a park.  And then there was the Facebook post yelling about kids seen in a local empty parking lot.

Settling in is hard.

As my frustration grew, I moved from the kitchen island to our couch to work.  Then I grabbed my keys, and escaped to Dunkin’, who only does take out.  As I sat in line waiting for a couple of coffees and a doughnut for our son, I saw someone on the opposite side of the building banging on the door.

Mind you, there are bright green signs on every window and door stating that take out is the only option these days, but here was this idiot banging on the sign.

I couldn’t believe it.  Couldn’t he read?  Or was he ignoring the signs?

And maybe that’s the problem we have right now.  Covid 19 isn’t personal.  It’s about everyone.  And it doesn’t matter who you are or how wealthy you may be, banging on a door won’t make this go away.

So can’t we all just settle in?

Maybe. Just Maybe then, the high school graduates can have a celebration, we might be able to swim in our local pools in the summer, and maybe we can travel to go on vacations.

Namaste