The New Normal

Like many people today, my world has been consumed by COVID19 and its effects on well, everything. At my school, when it started to hit the US, we were getting ready to go on Spring Break. This was a blessing and a curse.

We were already between our third and fourth quarters which created a natural break in academics. However, now teachers were faced with figuring out what comes next. What comes next in their personal life because travel plans were cancelled? What comes next in their school life? How many days will we be off? Will we go to remote learning? What does remote learning look like? And the much bigger issue of is my family prepared - do we have enough food, enough toilet paper (LOL), to last us at least fourteen days?

With so many unknowns out there, I am focusing on what I can control and can do. I can be there for my school family as we try to define remote learning and what it will look like for us. I can be there for my friends who need advice or an ear to listen as they deal with the stress of all of this. I can run errands and be a delivery service for my parents (while things remain open). And I can be there for my husband who is in sales, as he still goes to work everyday knowing that he won't make any money but is still required to go. I do what I can for those around me. That is part of what makes me an educator. We help others. All day. Every Day. Many people are learning that lesson now as they are home with their families and have to be everything to everyone all the time. Welcome to the word of education! 

We are all trying to figure it out. From extreme hand-washing to social-distancing to working from home, it is creating a new normal. The new normal is a lesson in flexibility. It is a lesson in patience. It is a lesson in humanity. We are all in this together.