Life As We Know It

As I work on completing this post, I am sitting with the window cracked and listening to the birds sing. The sunlight is trying to break through the clouds and my coffee is hot and creamy. My boys are cozy in their beds and their breathing is steady. It is a pretty perfect moment.

Reality: We are living in a Pandemic.

We have all been thrown through the ringer these past couple of weeks. Day to day our normal seems to shift. It can be scary and overwhelming … but moments of peace are still here to be found. Moments of kindness and community are rising up and changing the darkness in these current days.

People are sewing masks, car companies are creating ventilators, people are writing messages on the sidewalks and putting hearts in their windows for others to stumble on. We are proving that we are resilient, we are a community, and we are all in this together.

I am a community builder.  In the chaos of current events, my role was adapted for our new reality and I will now be running a district emergency care program for parents and kids in the medical and emergency fields.

What does being a community builder mean to me? I always provide a warm welcome. I make things seem ok when they are not. I smile when it is hard. I reassure others. I find ways to pull together and serve others. As best I can, I create joy in each day for those in my community.

This is what I do, even when it is hard or forced. And really, doesn’t it come down to one thing? Showing kindness? Maybe showing love?

On the last day that I had students, I had this encounter. Simple and non-significant really … but it broke my heart:

One kindergartner I truly adore said “Have a good weekend! I will miss you! See you next week.”.  And then he tackled me with a hug. I was stunned for a moment that he hugged me as we have been stressing keeping distance … but I hugged him back, I smiled back at his shiny brown ideas and said ” I will see you soon. I will miss you too.”. I looked at mom and said “Be safe. Be well”. I walked to my office, disinfected my skin,  and the tears hit.

I am reassuring, Kind. Patient. Positive.

I serve others, even when I am not able to serve my own family or protect my own family as well as I wish I could. I maintain the sense of community. I create the warm welcome and provide that safe space.

The other day, in a random encounter with a stranger, I was thanked for my service when he heard what I had been charged with. I paused and thought I am just doing what I always do.I am not a soldier, not worthy of thanks. I am in the education field. I serve the children. I serve my community and my state every single day. And during these scary times, I will continue to do so.

You know who else I serve? My team. My employees. Some with a sudden loss of income and a few who will serve along with me. And it breaks me… this is my team, my community, and we create a space for these kids to feel safe and loved every single day. And poof … we don’t get to do that for now.

How do I make this ok? How do I balance normal? By letting them know we are all in this together. By showing gratitude. By maintaining community.

It will take a community mind set to beat this.

Also?

We beat it by chasing rainbows. Seeking the sunshine. Having family dinners and game nights … focusing on my most immediate people and moments of peace amidst the crazy and the scary.

I never thought I would live to see an event like this … that the national guard could police the streets, that an illness could wipe out our normal, that schools would close and markets would crash … but here it is all the same. Happening right in front of us.

I think there is good here too … a refocus on family. Reduced pollution. Clear waterways…

Maybe as a community it is time to come together and hit the reset button. Life as we know it is changing .