"Dear Children of the Universe-Part Two"

 

Dear Children of the Universe,     

When I was younger, I dreaded New Year's Eve.  I did.  My world was an endless series of "un-events."  Nothing seemed memorable.  A sense of relief would then overcome me as the sun rose on a new year but for a very long time, every year seemed liked the last.  I wanted to be prettier, popular, TALLER.  Nothing sustained personal joy.  What I did not realize then was all of those emotions were more than normal.  In fact, if I could be a teenager again, I would change my focus from my own angst to being more courageous, fearless.  I would be more courageous.  I wouldn't talk myself out of doing the things, I knew I was destined to do.  

A new year is ahead and we all have a clean slate.  We can go further but only with a sense of bravery and of course, remembering to do the right thing by our health and those we love.  2020 has been the antithesis of what any of us have been accustomed to experiencing.  Your youth will be precious to you some day. Remember that. You were probably at times, wanting to feel isolated, and in 2020 you were given no choice but to isolate.  Isolation was a "call to action."  No one believed that the level of the pandemic would graduate to where it is.  The news was almost surreal.  You were asked to become more courageous and put other people first. You were asked to be masked in public.  You were asked to cover up the one true indicator of your emotions...your face.  The face tells all.  We can hide our emotions at will but in 2020 we hid as a matter of obligation.  I can not imagine being a teenager in 2020.  

I am here to tell you that if you can simply appreciate the efforts of your family, your guardians, then you can look forward to the world you will create as you age. Aging takes guts.  You may want to turn your back on your obligations.  You may want to escape your educational responsibiities.  Nothing makes sense to you right now and I am here to tell you, that there will be plenty that does not make sense as an adult either.  Yet you reach a point where you stop worrying about what other people thinks and find a way to build a life you can live with and if you are not happy, find the courage to change.  

Here's something else to ponder...not all of our plans work out the way we hope.   We need to be prepared for challenges.  Not every problem can be solved but most certainly can if you adhere to the idea of being patient and above all, communicate.  You may be wearing a mask but you still have a voice.  In fact, I have to remind myself of this on too many occasions.  We all have lapses in judgement.  We all try and fail and try again.  We must revel in the small successes as much as in the larger ones.  There are no "give backs."  There are no "half ways."  You are either committed or you are not.  It is all right either way but accept the decisions you make now and in the future.  

2021 is the time to reflect on the lessons you learned in 2020.  You can either be part of the progress in a new year or stay in the muck and mire of self-pity.   You can not live behind the mask forever.  Eventually you will breathe fresh air think of all of the ways 2020 has changed you,  I hope, or am hoping it will be for the better.  We desperately need your fresh energy, your creativity, and your compassion.  We are counting on you.

Happy New Year!

"Shades of Gray"

 

"But today there is no day or night
Today there is no dark or light
Today there is no black or white
Only shades of gray" 

-  The Monkees,  Songwriters -Barry Mann / Cynthia Weil

     A new year is fast approaching and the course of the current events continues to occupy my well-being and my day to day activities. I can not help but wonder about how this will continue to change our behaviors and our politics.  As I was walking today, it suddenly occured to me that the best defense any of us have is to be as honest with ourselves and others as we possibly can be.  The ties that bind us will be defined soon enough when the honesty takes precedence over fear.  We can not live in a world of black and white.  The gray areas are becoming more important than they ever have for our piece of mind.

     The gray areas can be defined as neither being right or wrong.  They simply are.  The gray areas require no judgement.  They can be discussed.  They can surface when we least expect them.  For instance...

• Agreeing with or disagreeing with someone's politics - "Gray area folks."  Although someone can change their political view, they rarely will unless the policies affect them personally .  We either accept someone's politics because we love them, or ignore their politics entirely and love them anyway.
•  Marriage - "Gray area."   I was a bridesmaid at least ten or more times by the time I met King.  Everyone I knew got married.  More than half of those marriages ended in divorce.  The others persevered and found the gray area in which to accept the differences that were blatantly apparent.  Either way, marriage or divorce is never easy on either party.  The gray area is often the key catalyst for survival.  Again, if we think the other party will change, they do not.  We shouldn't want them to either.  Change should be organic.  It happens because the person wants to change on their own. Whether a marriage survives or not, there will always be gray areas.  There will always be an area of gray.
• Regarding our health, I have found through the years that there are many gray areas and only through relentless questioning and second, third or even fourth opinions was a viable action and a reasonable conclusion about a health matter reached.  We also have to be very careful ionsabout what we do NOT feel.  Many health issues can be life-threatening and we won't feel a thing.  It is also true that we can not control everything that happens to us.  The passage of time makes us realize that the inevitable will happen, gray as it may be.  The gray area is different for each one of us and it depends on our shade of gray...the one we cultivate.
• Aging is an entirely gray matter.  Those trips to the hair dresser every eight to ten weeks remind me of the choices I make as I age.  I can only cover or hide so much.  My age is catching up with me and there is a comfort in understanding that I have the privilege of tolerating less, speaking out more and finding the patience to decide who deseves either one.
  

     Reflecting on all of the color that has been brought into my life, I can still appreciate the immensity and the vibrace of the colors I thankfully continue to witness. The stage lights of a theater, Christmas lights, the colors of the sky at sunset, the vibrance of a sun that rises each day are not neutral.  Gray is neutral and sometimes, neutrality is the one thing that can offer peace. What an honor it is to appreciate all the colors of the spectrum and yet, at the same time, find the comfort and the warmth of the gray.  

For My Teacher Friends..."Old "Angst" Syne"

 

This afternoon, every teacher that I know, let the school year come to a pause and wished their kids a happy new year and some probably went further to offer, "peace."  Peace.  I can safely say that teachers have felt anything BUT peaceful and although we have persevered and chased after the success we know our students are capable of, some, will remain unsuccessful.  So the old year ends with our heads shaking and our minds reeling about the future of our students during this pandemic.  

What people fail to understand is that teachers have had no peace either.  I can not begin to describe to you the feeling one gets when a student goes missing in action for days, weeks, and no one responds to phone calls or emails or any attempt at the multiple acts of caring displayed by teachers, guidance counselors, adminstration and any one else involved in the educational process.

Christmas is almost here and the one thing that stays with me is, "Please, let these kids enjoy their holiday.  Let them eat, and spend time with family and share whatever attention they can get from their families."  Let them understand the importance of their education and their responsibility to themselves to succeed.  "Getting by" is not good enough.  Skating through was never good enough for your teachers and it should not be good enough for you either.

What the pandemic has taught our children is that communication is not necessary.  They are so wrong about that.  Teachers are NOT mind readers and it is absolutely impossible to help any of our "kids" if they do not acknowledge that they need help. And...they do most certainly do.  The majority are rising to the challenge but teachers are definitely worried about those who are MIA.  We are left feeling powerless and unable to do the job for those kids that remain helpless. "Kids, your teachers are there for you.  We signed up for the help and the love you need but do not know you need."  How we all wish you would recognize this.

Since March of 2020, along with every front line worker in this country, teachers have been trying to manuver their way through the politics of common sense and health mandates that do in fact save lives.  They plan, they execute their lessons with every advantage they can give to each student, only to find the lessons not being done or for that matter, acknowledged.  We will NOT give up on you.  We will NOT accept giving up. That is not what we were trained to do.  You will have to accept that.  

With the winter break now here, I hope you will take the break you need...that we all need and reflect on the care and love that your teachers have for you.  Your world has been turned upside down and so has ours.  Perhaps we can find a common ground in that fact and rise.  Rise to be better.  Rise to be a contribution to the world you now live.  It is all there waiting for you.  BUT...you have to see it and you have to make it your own.  

None of us were prepared for the isolation and the anxiety of this period in our history.  It is those things however, that make us sustain our moral and ethical codes.  We will heal.  We will never look at the world or each other same and hopefully, we become better. 

"The Gifts That Keep On Giving"

 

“It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

     I have to admit that I am not necessarily putting a great deal of importance of Christmas this year but as I look out at the snow and birds feasting from the bird feeder outside, I am much more grateful than I have ever been.  We have to be careful when we say things like, "Thank God 2020 is almost behind us."  Given what the year has shown us, I am less inclined to wish away my days on earth.  They are going by fast enough and although this year has been incredibly difficult on so many levels, I will not wish my days away.  

     But Christmas is almost here and there are gifts that "keep on giving."  I am taking a slight pause to mention a few here:

• A dishwasher -  I am grateful for our dishwasher.  Being home each and every day since last March has made me REALLY grateful for the increasing number of dishes we go through because, well, we are cooking more!

• A washer and dryer - Yep, I have not worn out my sweats and sweatshirts...yet.  The rest of my clothes stay tucked in our closet waiting to be freed for the social activity that they once called for on a daily basis.  They still fit too!  

• The oven - There is nothing sexier than a man and a woman who can cook.  When neither King nor I feel like cooking and when that happens we are grateful for a fridge of leftovers or the take out from our favortie restaurants.  

• The bath tub - Let me just say for the record, that I can pretty much do without a great deal but the tub is clearly the single most essential therapy avaiable to us during this pandemic.  Epsom salt, baking soda and a loofah are essential to keeping our sanity...that,  and People magazine and hot water.  I am grateful for heat and hot water.  An occasional snack doesn't hurt either!  The company of our two "feline domesticuses" while bathing is also a much appreciated addition.  What can I say?  They like water.

     I am incredibly grateful for all of these things but more importantly, I am grateful for the company I keep.  My husband, my family, my friends, colleagues all have made an incredible impact on my life.  I let them in and they have proven more so each and every day, their courage, their strength and their love.  Without support, without our willingness to lean on each other and support each other we have very little hope.  An act of kindness, a thoughtful word and reaching out to those who pehaps can no longer fend for themselves is the single most important thing we can do for them and for our own salvation.  Every time we give of ourselves, we grow.  

     I have written many times about the gratitude of good health.  Most of us live, but do we pay attention to our bodies?  I recognize that for myself, awareness will be life-long process, pandemic or no pandemic.  Do we take the time to recognize the humor that comes with living with the good and the bad?  The saddest moments of my life have been perpetuated by my inability to accept the ulitmate finality of certain relationships, jobs.  Any life change can not be stopped.  Most change is inevitable.  I believe this is where most of us get into the crisis mode because we are not living in the moment.  When you live in the moment, you are able to problem solve.  You are capable of helping those in need in much more effective way.  I have learned that the hard way.  I can also accept the anger and frustration many carry when their lives are in turmoil or are suffering great pain or loss. Some will harbor the anger and frustration for their entire life. You will not behelpful during those times, if you are not living in the present. 

     The true gifts are the gifts that give us our sight and our ability to listen; that ability to think before we act and when we do, act with kindness. We are unable to prevent time from stopping or from going back to the past.  The trajectory of the past year has made an indelible mark on all of us. If we can let go of the past, then we are left with living one day, one moment at a time.   2021 will be hear soon enough.  

"Old School"

 

For the past fve years, on each and every parent night held at my school, I have told my parents that, "I am old school." When those words first came out of my mouth, I was not exactly sure why I even mentioned that.  In fact, I was actually stunned later, driving home.  "Why would I say that?"

The ride home was indeed a reflective one.  Why the hell would I consider myself "old school?"  I listen to all kinds of music.  I know who "Cardi B" is.  I have rapped in my classroom to my students.  I have even done a physical split on to the floor if one of my kids got the right answer.   "Old school?  Nah....not this woman."  As I kept my relentless questioning, it suddenly came to me like a bolt of electricity.  I was raised "old school."  The definition is as follows:

• Old school means that you have respect for adults in positions of authority and for colleagues.
• Old school means kindness and that you embrace those who may not want your help but you give it anyway.
• Old school means you have respect for a difference in opinion.  That does NOT mean you lose your own trajectory.  It simply means that no matter what another person thinks or believes, you must respect their right to have it. As long as...no harm is being done.  If there is harm. then that is entirely another outcome.  "Do no harm."  That is what being "old school" means to me.
• Old school means that you are willing to listen.  Listening or a lack there of can ruin any relationship.  It can ruin a friendship, a marriage, or a relationship with a colleague.
• Old school means when you leave the house every day, you are cognizant of the name you carry.   Your last name means everything.  Your first name means everything too. But it is your last name that people will remember...the good, the bad, and the ridiculous.
• Old school means that you adopted the rules and the morality of your parents. "Old schoolers" know what the expectations are.  They were spelled out from the time you could walk. "Old school" means integrity. 

If being "old school" means I am getting elderly and persnickety then so be it.  My heart is in the right place, even when I question where other people's hearts are.  I can live with that now.  I used to question every outcome, every behavior of the people around me.  It would make me feel a very real anxiety that was hard to overcome.  Now, I force myself, my "old school" self to let the initial reactions go.  The real truth surfaces with time.  This is where you find peace.  If I am in fact "old school" now, then I am definitely resigned to the fact that although there are always family indescrepancies, I am "old school" for all of the right reasons.  Embrace being "old school."  It works for most of us or at least it would be wonderful if it did.  Some of us have a long way to go and it is my hope that the idea of "old school" becomes fashionable again because it works for the betterment of a civilized society, one that is based on respect and fairness.  Being "old school" promotes progress.  

"The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway...A theater love story"

 “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” - Henry David Thoreau, Walden

I have a true, true love of theater.  This does not mean that I know every Broadway showtune by heart but, I am always working on that.  In fact, I have been working on that since I was old enough to talk.  As the lights of Broadway and most theaters across the country have dimmed because of COVID, I am hear to express my deepest longing for the return of all the arts. Theater being so unbelievable criticial to our emotional and spiritual well-being, is missed.  We all miss it; even those who have never witnessed a theater production miss it.  Why? Because our desire to sing, create, pretend, is within all of us.  In a sense, we are all so very dramatic.  Perhaps some are more dramatic than others but still, the drama lives within each of us.

I was five or six years old the first time I walked on a stage.  It was in elementary school and I played the tooth fairy.  My mother took one look and knew she was in very deep troube and had to keep her daughter's feet on the ground. At nine years old, my first big break at theater came...playing "Winne the Pooh." I gave up ballet lessons after that because I had the power to make people laugh and I did.

At 14, I was invited to tour with a New York City acting troup to do Shakespeare.  I would have had to start my seventh grade year late. (I learned the hard way that one better not miss an entrance.  NEVER.)  Mom said, "Over my dead body."  She need not have worried.  I was for most of my life from too afraid. The chance of a career in theater was in fact ,just a chance.  I auditioned at 18 for the theater program at the New York State University at Purchase.  I was horrible.  I gave up, went to college and became "sensible."

I spent two years at Northern Arizona University studying theater and journalism.  I performed at the clubs in a comedy troup of my theater buddies.  The club experiences taught me how to be tough.  We were a very good improversational group and the joy of laughter was not nor has it ever been lost on me.

It took roughly six years of 'sensible" to graduate with a Bachelor's degree in English and journalism.  I was lucky enough to write for few local newspapers but it did not take long for me to realize that there was hole in my soul that needed to be filled.  I discovered local, community theater.  I started out playing in the chorus of the spring musicals.  I loved every minute and I do NOT remember laughing as much as I did because you see, I was just beyond happy to be on a stage, I forgot to be disciplined.  I was so not disciplined.  It took me a few chorus parts to realize that I needed to become serious because a cast of very hard working individuals were depending on every one of us.  No part too small.  No part too inconsequential.  Everything,everyone did mattered.  Community theater forced me to mature.  I learned how important volunteerism is.  I learned that no one is an island and that the spirit of cooperation lives in the theater.

As I have aged, some wonderful roles have been given to me.  I was ready.  I worked hard and the love of entertaining me became even richer.  I never minded the conditions of the acting environment.  I have performed in overwhelming heat and cold.  I have performed outside and of course inside theaters large and small and the conditions never bothered me because for every performer, theater means home...with your acting buddies.  When you are working on a theater project, everyone becomes family.  Everyone celebrates the end of a run and rightfully so. You celebrate the beginning, the middle and the end and another project hopefully surfaces with new family and new audiences to cheer you on to a victory unlike any other.

The last show my mother ever saw me perform was the most memorable.  She arrived in a wheelchair with her compadres from her assisted living home.  As the end of the show, I rushed to get dressed and ran downstairs to her.  She looked at me and said, "Now, now I understand why you do this..."  I waited decades to hear those words and my heart has been full ever since.  In fact, whenever I am teaching students, whenever I am presented with the opportunity to reach out to an audience of any kind, it fills my heart and that is what theater is supposed to do for us.

I miss the theater.  The ghost light remains on until we can safely convene to entertain those who are in desperate need of a laugh, a good cry and a release from their personal reality.  The arts are for everyone.  The arts promote those emotions we keep bottled up, aching to be released. Theater heals.  Theater promotes community.  I pray for a recovery of theater more than anything else.  Theater creates a legacy that for most us, contributes to the greater good. I am proud to be part of that legacy.

"For Thee We Are Thankful..."

 

I do not need one thing these days...NOT one single solitary thing.  Scratch that...I do need one thing.  Here's what I need:

• I need to know that my husband and my family are  healthy.  I can understand the perils of aging.  I appreciate each year.  What is terribly hard is when I see someone not living their best life.  Perhaps, I am being judgemental.  Who is to say what someone's "Best life" really is? Gratitude has to be more than reaching another birthday.  Gratitude is living that year the way you were meant to live it.
  
  
• I need to know that I have not lost the respect of my colleagues.  I see how terribly  hard they are working. I need them to know that although I am working equally as hard, that nothing replaces being with them each and every day.  The isolation although protective and rightly justified is difficult. 
  
  
• I need the hugs and the commraderie of my friends..  I miss my theater community.  I miss the friends that I have had for over 40 years.  I miss the friends who can NOT be replaced.  They know who they are.
  
  
• I need to remind myself that as I listen to the news and hear of the terrible situation many are facing with respect to not having enough to eat, King and I will have more than enough and I count my blessings each and every day that we are together and have an abundance.  I am more than grateful actually and give to the local food banks.  No one should go hungry in this country.  NO ONE.
  
  
• I need to remind myself that I have MORE than enough shoes.  Ok, this is a tough one...but I do...Sigh...I also have more clothes than anyone has a right to have 
• but I will say this...I can NOT wait to replace my sweats!"
  
  
• I need to remember all of the memories I have of my youth.  The good and the bad and the ugly have built quite a different person these days.  I am grateful to be approaching 60.  I am grateful I can remember the warmth and the love I have experienced with my family.  The difficult events or memories are there as well, but not one of us is immune from difficulty.  I am grateful for that these days.
  
  
• I need to remember each and every kiss and hug that King and I have shared, particularly over the holidays. The first Thanksgiving I shared with King was joyous, lovely and warm.  As we celebrated with my family, we later laid in each other's arms in my sister's family room beyond content.  It felt right.  I was right.  So many are alone and we need to reach out to those who are alone and simply check on them.  We will all eventually find ourselves the recipient of "a helpful hand."  Be a helpful hand.
  
  
• I need to remember that during my lowest moments,  our lowest moments, there is more to experience.  There is more love to receive, and there is more gratitude to show.
  
  

I no longer have an ounce of predicition as to what my future holds and I have spent many hours, days, worrying about what my future would look like.  Now I can honestly forgive myself for wasting those hours, days.  I no longer chase happiness.  I take deep breaths and I see what I have been given.  Perhaps, as we celebrate our holidays, our Thanksgivings, apart physically, but not emotionally from our families, our friends,  we relish in the love we have been given.  I hope your bellies will be full this Thanksgiving as well as your hearts.

"In Defense of Me"

"We are becoming able to see the pursuit of external power for what it is and the futility of trying to escape the pain of powerlessness by changing the world. When we look inward, not outward, we can dismantle the parts of our personalities that have controlled us for so long - such as anger, jealousy, vindictiveness, superiority, inferiority."  - Gary Zukav

Eight months ago, I believe we were all forced to take a "breather" from the whirlwind rountines we created for ourselves.  The transformation I believe we are all going through will lead to a greater understanding that the world is not perfect and we do not have to spend endless amount of time, making it so.  What we can do, is look inward and that is exactly what I have been doing. Patience and even more importantly, love have become a greater importance to me.  I also must add, the love I am referring to is the love I find within myself.  That has been the most difficult process.  We put ourselves first and no one seems quite prepared for that but it must happen if we are to find peace.

Putting yourself first appears selfish but it is a process where we let go of what will not change or can not change and let our day evolve.  It is extremely difficult for many to prioritize their needs.  My priorities have changed but not because any one forced me to change.  The process of my change or changes, have happened because they were necessary for my physical health and emotional well-being and...the process continues, particularly now.

Our world is in a constant state of flux as we are all aware.  Now, I realize, this is the way it has always been.  The world is constantly changing.  We should always be mindful that although our personal day to day routines seem trivial and/or overwhelming, we are exactly where we need to be, at that exact moment where we feel challenged.

This is never easy.  This will never be easy but the fact is, what shoud be easy is kindness towards each other. Love matters, even when we do not feel we can bring ourselves to do so.

We have to look within first.  I have been guilty many times of expressing a negative attitude and it is a funny thing because I realized, to express it has never made me feel better.  This occurred to me recently and I felt as though I had taken a step backwards only to realize that I did not have to feel that negativity at all.  I simply had to live in the present moment.  Again, none of this is easy but it is a wonderful and courageous feeling to do so.

I have spent a great deal of time worrying and taking care of others and the result was forgetting about my health and confronting my fears.  It is easier to live vicariously through others than face your own fears and push yourself forward on your own path.  It is at those times when we lose our breath.  We can not breathe and we lose our focus.  When this happens, we have gone too far and have to step back from the "what ifs."  We are exhausted and we are in an emotional abyss.  If we are strong enough, we find our way back and hopefully have learned a few things.  The only person who can unequivocally appreciate the journey and the experience is "me" or "you" or "I."  We can express the journey to others, but we are the ones who are living it.  Trying to make anyone else understand, is a futile endeavor. We do not need to explain ourselves if we were pure in intention.

This is NOT meant to be a mean-spirited or selfish plea.  This change, (or perhaps the better word is evolution) occurs when we have given so much of ourselves that we start to see we are failing at our own happiness, not pursuing what we need to pursue for our own growth  and that effects those we love as well.

 When we realize that we have to put ourselves first. the fog clears and we are capable of moving forward to the life we are meant to have.  If the situation we find ourselves, does not enhance or make one's life more rewarding, then we need to let the negativity run its course because it will.  It always does.  I have ranted and raved on about so many things to those I trust more than anyone.  I am surprised and grateful that these people are still in my life.  The sharing of relentless anger or frustration has never made me feel any more content or relieved. It has taken close to sixty years to figure this out...better late than never...or EVER.

My closing defense is really not a defense at all but a self-realization...a self-acutalization, that the world does not revolve around us, we revolve around ourselves.  Patterns of behavior are cyclical, just like our planet's seasons.  When we are descending from fall into a winter of discontent, we surely have to remind ourselves that the next season will be spring.

"Dear Parents "Of The Universe,"

 

“Children are educated by what the grown-up is and not by his talk.” –Carl Jung

Dear Parents,

In 2007, I entered into my first position as a teacher.  I created curriculum for your kids because there was not any.  I created a classroom environment that your kids could depend upon whether they believed in their education or not.  This mind you, was all before our pandemic.  Covid 19 has changed everything for educators and the students who now are being endangered.  Yes, I said endangered.  But, you may have already guessed that and forgive me for stating the obvious.  BUT, why is the "obvious" not sinking in with the public at large.  

Here's what I know for sure parents.  I know that your children are in the most excellent hands of people who are courageously, systematically trying to educate the youth of today and being given no support to do so.  It's somewhat like sending a "lamb to the slaughter" only the difference is, we just do not know at what point the slaughter will take place.  Trust me though, it is happening in districts across this country, teachers are getting sick and some are dying for their professionalism and their duty to the young of America. 

Putting politics and money aside, what teachers do not quite understand is the idea that we, like doctors, nurses, EMTs, firefighters, police officers are expendable.  Why are we expendable?  Why is it all right for anyone working for the public to be at risk without the appropriate safety measures in place? I do not understand the harshness.  Even more importantly, I do not understand putting your children at risk for an ideal. Teachers are service oriented but not like the armed forces.  We did not sign up to teach knowing we could die.  The new found bravery, ingenuity, tenacity and courage of American teachers is coming at a price.  A price no one brought to our attention.  A price the public was not prepared to discuss or acknowledge, at least not without a great of political rhetoric and of course money plays a huge role in this movement to "get back to normal."    We have heard this many times since last March, that "children need socialization."  That may be true but they need parental support and guidance even more. Do not forget that often the socialization you refer to is circumspect to so many factors. Again, everyone's circumstances are different, but hopefully you understand the point.  Health and well-being are more important than leaving the house in the morning on a school bus, during a pandemic.  A hybrid schedule, then a remote schedule when COVID surfaces, then hybrid, then remote and back again, does nothing for the stability of the education of our students, our kids.  They are all of our kids.

I was never blessed with the ability to have children but I can tell you this...In the event of a pandemic, in the event of a life-threatening situation, I would be teaching my kids what it means to be a good citizen, a responsible citizen.  I would stop everything, to protect them.  This, this was my mother's mantra, and although, no one's family life is perfect, we all understood that. 

With every argument for sending our kids to school, one must realize that someone, someone where is going to get sick from this virus.  We will get a vaccine soon.  We will get the vaccine and we will get to work with our heads in the right place and our training to teach our kids, our future, with the appropriate safety measures in place.  This is NOT about politics, it is about common sense and about what is safe.

LIke every profession, there are issues.  Some will do their jobs better than others but here's the thing...the majority of teachers are throwing themselves into the fire and they are succeeding in an environment where there is no "win."  

I am a hero of parents and family.  I have seen first hand the active parenting and love of my family, and I am completely in awe, even now, of how my sisters have parented their children, whom, although adult, are loved.  I would hate to see anything happen to them or their children.  I respect what I have been given and I am indeed grateful.  Let us be grateful for the health and well-being of our kids, their families and their teachers. Let us use common sense and display common consideration for our community.  Social distancing does NOT mean ignoring what we blatantly see is true..."Health matters. Our kids matter,  You matter. Saftey is a non-negoitable.  

That is all.  

"Covid Mindfulness"

 

We were all sent home from our classrooms in the middle of March.  I can not begin to fixate on what I was feeling at that time.  Perhaps some relief, I suppose.  I was not necessarily concerned about teaching the kids because I had my plan to carry out and I was determined to do so.  But then came June.  The exhaustion, the stress never really dwindled.  It never lessened.  Little did I realize that the real issue was that I had been "mindful."  As the school days ended, I would close down my laptop and go for walks.  Long, long, long walks.  Before I knew it, I was walking three to five miles each and every day.  I discovered that the exercise was quickly becoming my therapy and my salvation.  

When you are a very, VERY sociable human being and all of your activities are suddenly curtailed, the pain is unbearable.  You long for your family, your friends, and your colleagues.  By July, though, I realized that I was becoming a new version of myself.  At the end of the work day, I would put my sweats and t-shirt on, the sneakers, and kiss King before leaving for the park.  Then, I would walk.  I would walk for however long I could.  I would breathe in the fresh air, notice the trees, the birds, the woodchucks, squirrels and chipmunks.  

Spring would pass.  Summer passed and I realized that it was the very first time, in a very long time, that I had visibly observed and relished the seasons.  I embraced nature's change and it occurred to me that years have gone by and I had not experienced or noticed the peace I was feeling now, in the moment, in the woods, by myself.  

Prior to Covid 19, my enjoyment was largely spent shopping and spending a great deal of money on shoes, clothes, handbags.  I spent my extra money on lottery tickets hoping to "win for life."  My mindfulness into realizing that none of that mattered.  It was becoming tiresome and irrelevant.  

My walks were quiet.  The only noise I heard were the birds. I noticed geese, swans, and robins looking for worms after the rain.  Each and every day, I kissed King and ventured out to observe what I had not taken the time to observe and quickly felt ashamed.  In my minfulness, I realized how many years I had wasted worrying about things I could never change.  The world was going to continue to revolve around the sun. With each morning, I realized that I was just an observer, and if I participated, it was to only to embrace the beauty in my own backyard. I did not want to miss a single minute.

My students are up early as usual.  We get on our Google meets and we wish each other a "Good Morning" and we are all ready to get busy.  I am working tirelessly but as long as I get to walk, the world makes sense...most of the time.

Fall is here.   I am still walking and the leaves are changing color in glorious fashion.  The air is is cooler and I am a much quieter person.   I am realizing that I love being quiet.  I love being involved in my own thoughts and the view in front of me, well...it has been refreshing if not educational.  I do however, miss my social life.  I miss the hugs, kisses and I reassure myself that all of this is temporary. Yet, I still remind all of those in my life that I love them.  I do...with all my heart and soul. My quietness is no reflection on anyone but my own.

Mindfulness means everything to me now.  The quiet used to disturb me in the past.  I was used to noise.  Noise meant, I did not have to bother listening.  Today, I listen more.  I talk less and I listen more to people, the wind, and the birds.  I am up early, and I watch the day begin with sun rising and my little Luna and Leo start to lobby for their food and when I am sad about how much everything has changed, I find my gratitude.  Mindfulness has been a long time in coming to me.  It never occurred to me that I would be changing for the better, on my own behalf.  Or perhaps it is just the onset of becoming stronger.  You can not fake strength.  Strength comes with time.  Strength comes from love too.  

I am hopeful that these pandemic times will cease soon.  It depends on our intelligence and our respect for each other to be sure.  Once the normalcy returns, perhaps I will buy another pair of shoes that I do not need.  But...I will appreciate  nature's fortune even more. 

"Mental Agility"

 

• “Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it isn't so.” 
• – Lemony Snicket, The Blank Book

I can not remember a time where I was not worrying about someone or something.  I mean that seriously.  If I had to reflect on my adult life, I would say the onel thing I had wished I had more of is...Courage.  I wished I had had more courage.

From the day I was aware of my surroundings,  I worried about many situations that I had no control over and of course, I was too young to understand what anxiety and worry really meant but I knew I was experiencing it.   I worried about my father, my mother, my grandmother and my sisters. It was not until recently that I realized that worrying has caused me so many issues and has impacted so many of my decisions, it would make your head spin.  I have felt the pain that has manifested from those who are close to me and as upsetting as that has been, I would not and could not change a thing.  

I've realized that change only occurs when someone absolutely, unequivocably knows they have to change. They have legitmiate fear of loss.  This can be health related or perhaps they are fearful of losing a relationship or anything else they hold dear.  This is when change occurs, not before, not after...fear manifests change.  I know this to be very true.

Throughout June, July and August, King and I have been watching out our backyard a number of families...two turkey families, two deer families and many, many rabbits.  Each morning as I woke, with the help of our beasite kitties, Leo and Luna, I witnessed that strength and that resolve of the animals raising their young.  Through the summer, I witnessed the protective behavior and then the detachment and I realized that the detachment was the most important thing the mothers of the deer and the turkeys would do for their young.  Now in September, they all have gone their way and I have learned more about living having observed them.

I believe that from this juncture, we need to pause, almost on a daily basis and live in our present moment.  No one situation lasts.  Everything passes and resurfaces and passes again.  If change is necessary, then we will know sure enough of when we need to proceed.  LIke the seasons, people experience their own personal seasons and the trick is to enjoy the transition. If that is not possible, then we need to accept the changes regardless of how we feel. That is the secret to finding more peace.

And so, as the sun is setting on King's Mountain, and the wildlife has decided to begin an alternate journey, I believe that we all have begun our own, individual new journey.  For that, we can be grateful and for that, we can look at the world with a more compassionate lens.

For My Teacher Friends: "Another opening, another show..."

And so teacher friends, the year of 2020 keeps on giving now doesn't it?  Let's not mistake our situation.  Public education is going to change permanently as a result of this pandemic. As children are asked to stay home "temporarily, " parents are already looking for alternatives to sending their children into a public school system.  We watch the news and witness the many new alternatives that are surfacing and it is not just the pandemic that has caused these alternatives to become available.  In short, it has been a long time coming...

Public schools have not been "safe" for a long time.  The bullying, the abuse of social media, vaping, the active shooters that cause us each year to perform "lock down drills" where the rules and procedures change each year as more violence occurs.  Schools are not "immune" much as we all would like to think that they are.   Why are we pretending and vilifying the idea that they are? 

 As soon as the structure of the traditional family changed, so did raising our children.  It became acceptable to have both parents work.  It became acceptable to send our children to day care, followed by pre-school, followed by public schools.  We found out we could indeed have our children and still claim a level of worthiness by earning a paycheck.  It was our modern day evolution of the family that made this acceptable and now, because of a pandemic we are scrambling to adjust to these unprecedented changes.  Some absoutely refuse to do so.  Some are definitely suffering, reaching levels of anxiety that they were not prepared to handle.  

We may be tired of wearing masks and we may be saddened by social distancing.  For me, that has been heart-breaking.  But more importantly, for teachers, they can no longer do what they longed to do.  They can not get in front of their students the way they want to and the way they were trained. I am going out on a limb here to say that that is quite all right. Those teachers will thrive in spite of this situation that has no true appropriate solution,  will teach to the very best of their ability and re-step out of their comfort zones to reach their kids.  This is what we have always done.  The difference now...is parents have to be more actively vigilant and support the educational cause and teachers have to support their parents with patience,  perseverance, and a gentle honesty about following up on their children's progress and behavior.  Education of our young people succeeds when parents and teachers are on the same page.

The quagmire of the single parent becomes equally difficult.  Those parents must talk openly with their children and let them know that "failure is not an option."  Their behavior dictates everyone's else's behavior that their last name counts for something greater than they know...They represent their family, pandemic or no pandemic.  We all have a "last name" and that name should be honored by being responsible.  

In a matter days, "our kids" will sign on and look to us to communicate, to talk, to reach out and tell them that everything will be ok.  "We've got this."  "We know this."  Trust has never been more important.  I wish my teacher friends a fabulous year.  September brings cool air and a reprieve from the heat.  "We've got this.  We know this." 

"The Perfect Imperfection"

 "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." - Lao Tzu

Most of us know the very first time that we met someone and fell in love.  It was an instant, undeniably, powerful experience.  The moment when we met our future and knew that there was absolutely nothing we could do except follow our intuition and know to trust that intuition.  You can not ignore those moments of clarity.  The clarity disappears with wedding vows and sheer terror sets in until the rings are placed on our fingers.  Amazingly, the fear disappears and we suddenly know that love makes us brave.

Before 2003, I had my life pretty much figured out and was complacent.  There was my family, my friends, the gym, work and community theater.  I had things pretty much figured out and was content.  Life was intentionally quiet.  I ate what I wanted to eat.  I did whatever I felt like doing and the only one I had to think about was myself.  I was passive.  I let the world drift by and accepted that whatever anyone wanted to say or do was fine.  I was non-confrontational.  I avoided all confrontation.  I found out that when you get married, confrontation can not be avoided and you can not turn your back on it.  You have to look at it, face to face, and let the tension play itself out until a resolution or peace is found.  Marriage changed all of that.

The first thing I learned those first years of marriage is that it will not be perfect.  Never, ever, ever be perfect.  It will be peaceful and loving and cooperative and then you wake up one morning and the challenges start.  They begin and they manifest and grow.  The only thing you can do is accept the idea that nothing lasts forever.  Nothing is promised but love, love is the one variable that keeps us looking at the present...and the future.  The past, well, it defines our future behavior but it doesn't take away our resolve.  At least it shouldn't.

I have watched so many couples survive and thrive in my 59 years. I've watched couples break apart and say their goodbyes.  It all boils down to choice and frankly, whatever choice is made, cannot be wrong.  It can not be wrong because the need for partnership is just as important as independence and the freedom to pursue our dreams.  The courage to commit is equally as courageous as it is to leave.  The courage to be oneself in a relationship is equally as courageous and the occasional white lie often crops up to prevent us from hurting our partner.  Eventually though, trust becomes the deal breaker or the savior.  We do not always have to be honest but we do have to behave with an honest heart. 

My sis told me when I got married that a marriage does not have to be perfect.  It just has to work.  There are stretches where it is imperfect and the true test of whether the relationship will last.  When we give up, we give up the relationship.  When one stops trying, there is no rebound.  So then, why try?  

We try because if we do not, we have lied to ourselves.  We drank the "Kool-Aid" and clearly, we did not want to see the ramifications.  In most relationships, there is a sense of clear that occurs and both parties realize how much, or how little each means to the other.  Marriage is not for the lazy or the weak.  It is for those who believe that love is the only sustainable virtue.  It is not about money, or whether your husband picks up his dirty socks off of the bathroom floor.  Love means, staying by each other's side during the many pandemics that surface along the way.   In any relationship, becoming one's own advocate is the singularly most important thing that transpires between two people.  Even more importantly, we need to be advocates for our partners too.  

When we recognize the stupidity in arguing about inconsequential things, when we realize the that the most important thing we have is each other.  If that is not possible, then there is the alternative, painful as it can be.   There is a deep rooted love that I share with my husband.  I will never have that attachment with anyone else.  Having said that,  strength comes from not taking every single thing personally.  The trick is to always, ALWAYS, be personal.  The pandemic will end.  Love endures.  All of us should look forward to moving forward to another day.

"Living in a pandemical world and I am a pandemical...girl..."

 “You have to find a way to respect these new boundaries [related to coronavirus], but still live the version of life you’re used to. That’s what life is, regardless of circumstance.” - Caroline Wright

It's no surprise that we are witnessing so much turmoil on our streets.  In our pandemical world, even the most civilized are losing control because we are learning that nothing is guaranteed.  Nothing ever is.  But here is the comedy, in a time where we should be banding together and working together as past generations have during a crisis, few are wanting to make the sacrifices the rest of us are and it's these few that are causing our lack of community and our jeopardizing our health.  I do not understand their logic and I wish I did.  We all hate to feel as though we are losing control of the world around us but as I'm learning, we do not have control and never did.

We can put a great deal of importance of money and of course politics.  But those two anolmalies do not make for a great society.  Religion does not make a great society.  Understanding, kindness and a sense of community do.  I wish we were hearing more about that from our leaders instead of the usual rhetoric. 

In a pandemical world, everything from the past, at least to me, is just too damn superficial.  As long as appearances were made and everything looked peachy-keen on the outside, no one gave anyone a second thought.  Now, of course we must and should read between the lines because we simply do not know what someone else is experiencing or carrying with them. We are wearing physical and emotional masks. The anxiety that most Americans are feeling because of all of the uncertainity does not help our society make the appropriate decisions to move progress beyond the pandemical circumstances.  If we are doing everything we are supposed to be doing during this life-changing time, there are still no guarantess that our health will not be compromised.  But here's the thing...that's no excuse.  The education has to continue.  The science has to advance.

In this pandemical world, there has never been more of a need for creativity and ingenuity.  We need the tenacity and the brillance that put a man on the moon and developed the polio vaccine.  We need the bravery and the hard work of science to continue the hard core work necessary to get us to the other side.  Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine.  Edward Jenner developed the Small pox and Cow Pox vaccination.  Maurice Hilleman is credited for developing over 40 vaccinations including measles, mumps, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningitis, pneumonia, Haemophilus influenzae bacteria, and rubella.  This is why the words of Dr. Anthony Fauci become so critical.  We need expertise.  We need to respect the knowledge coming forth from the science.  This is not politics.  This is for the common good of mankind and it is smart.

We need to take care of each other and we need to look past what "used to be" and focus on the "now."  If we can not apply basic common sense and care for the welfare of others, then we can not move forward and we can not find the peace of mind we are all so desperately looking for in this pandemical world.  We are losing our patience, our civility and in short, we are becoming stuck on stupid.  I happen to think we are so much better than that and I keep my hope alive that we will behave in the appropriate way.   We are seeing signs of compassion and we are seeing more signs of violence.  This is the result of fear, frustration and the acceptance that it is acceptable to do more harm than good.  We need to save ourselves.

In this pandemical world, I will continue to do the civilized thing and I will continue to do the right thing by those I love more than anything. I will not compromise and I will not be selfish.  Those mantras are the only mantras I can or will live with now...How about you?

"Speechless"

I take great pride in watching the news and other informational programs to keep abreast of the current conditions happening within our country.  There are less than 100 days left before our next presidential election and all I can do is pause, in fact..." I am speechless."  Now, those who know me well, will not be shocked by this admission or find it hard to believe, but I truly am.  I am speechless because if you read social media, everyone and their mother has something to say about the state our country.  Many have definitive answers or remedies for the the multiple issues that are obvious. What is also blatantly obvious to me is that this the single most important time to use common sense, rely on science and make decisions for the greater good.  We need to make our personal contributions and we need to participate in the most civilized way we can.  Anyone doing otherwise...leaves me speechless.

Fights over wearing masks during a pandemic? Speechless.  Watching major league sports open, then close, then open, then...Speechless. The challenge of opening schools at the risk of everyone's health...Speechless. Our cities under siege with violence and protest, both peaceful and not so peaceful, speechless and extremely scary.  The celebration and the significance of the burial of Congressman John Robert Lewis, moving, historical and even though speechless, should hopefully have made everyone pause and find their compassion and their kindness.  There is a huge significance to his story, his courage, his unrelentless strength to do the right thing.  He also insured the power of his last words to all of us.  Speechless and smart.  Very, very smart.  This is politics at its best. 

Watching parts of the country literally surging with Covid 19 each and every day...Yes, speechless.  What is even more remarkable? There is a push towards a vaccine and yet there is no guarantee that public education can take place the way it should. How?  Teachers are not being given any guarantees for their safety and well-being. Students are not being given any guarantees either.  Our kids should be warned in a very direct, succinct way that they are to abide by the safety parameters dictated by their schools and if they do not, they need to stay home.  I know, I know, but...Let the message be received.  This is not a joke.  This is not "fake."  It is real and you must treat the safety and the health of others as the single most important community action you will ever perform.  

The opposite action, is to NOT be speechless.  The opposite activisim is to speak out on any socially appauling injustice. We can protest, support the efforts that support the greater good.  When we are hurting others, we are hurting ourselves in the process.  History tells many stories where we witness many acts of courage and bravery which pushed our society forward into greater awareness.  There are countless examples throughout history.  Pick any one of them and emulate their character, their tenacity and their bravery.   

As 2020 progresses, it is difficult for me to be complacent.  It is becoming more and more difficult for me to accept that THIS is the best we can be. I am only one voice.  I am only one person and a teacher at that...my voice may be indeed minimized but I will forever remain NOT speechless.  Activism, social awareness and vigilence make for a civilized society. Collect your thoughts.  Write, walk in the streets, make your presence known in the way you feel is YOUR way.  VOTE in November. Look after yourself, your loved ones and have that social awareness that protects others.  

When I see common sense and civility become part of our routine, I will be officially speechless.

 

"August"

“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.”
― Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

    When I was a child, I cannot say I was a huge fan of summer.  loved swimming and time at the lake or the beach but for myself, a slight chill in the air has always been refreshing.  The cooler air allowed me to feel more energetic and I could wear all of the wonderful sweaters my mother knitted for me as the fall season came and I waited patiently for the school bus to come each mornnig.  How I loved feeliing the briskness of the air.  August in our year of 2020 means that the precious few weeks left of summer are upon us and here I am, in 2020 wanting to feel "brisk" again.  But this August has a particular significance.  It is the August where we will all be forced again to reevaluate our behavior and our children's behavior as we face going back to  school.  

    The majority of students look forward to going back to school for so many reasons.  The social aspects, their teachers (hopefully) and for quite a few, it's a daily escape from their home situation.  This has all been written about many, many times.  However, this August has an anticipatory, feeling of dread, where so many factors are beyond our control and left to the common sense judgement, hopefully of parents, their children and of course, their teachers.  Unprecedented common sense and compassionate judgement towards others are needed.  It is a matter of life or death.  That very fact alone makes me feel unsettled and fearful.  See, I have much, much more that I want to do with my life and to put my hopes, my loved ones, and my world in peril seems just plain ridiculous when the solutions are so easy to do with the proper education and support.  I know for a fact that I am not alone in this.  Although, sometimes, it seems like it when we see so much happening in our immediate vicinity.

August.  I think about my grandmother, and my mother planting and harvesting their gardens.  There was always, ALWAYS, tremendous food on the table each night with plenty of discussion.  There were clambakes at the Whortekill Rod and Gun Club,  and picnics with my aunts, uncles and cousins.  No one felt isolated.  No one had to feel isolated unless they wanted to be.  In the midst of the heat, there was the anticipation of fall and in the fall, our world picked up its pace.  We knew what was expected and were reminded that our last names carried a certain responsibility once leaving the house.  There was a level of social awareness and the world changed due to the bravery and the courage of our communities.  The violence and the outrage we see today is a reminder that our society needs an adjustment in our treatment of others.  The world is changing and we cannot turn our backs to the very realities in front of us.  We must be better.  We must insist on "better." 

As August begins, September will surely follow and we must make the most of what we have.  There will be those in need of our help and we must teach, I say TEACH, our children the value of looking out for others.  We must remind them that their behavior effects their families and their communities.  They need to be told that positive behavior is what cures pandemics, not arrogance.  That a loving and social consciousness cures the social ills we witness, not ignorance.  I look forward to the cleansing chill in the air.

"Educational Triage"

"I will get my education - if it is in home, school, or any place." - Malala Yousafzai

In a matter of weeks, educators will be looking at their professions through an entirely different lens.  Parents, children, all of us will be waiting for fall out of decision-making made

by those who have never stepped into a classroom.  The cavalier attitude shown by our government officials is even more concerning. I listen to the news because I want to be informed and be able to make the intelligent decisions. I need to in order to go safely back to my job...AS AN EDUCATOR.  What I am listening to and seeing is not very encouraging. 

The questions I have for anyone who is planning our fate, are the following: "When did teachers become expendable? Has it always been this way and I did not notice? When did education become an afterthought? " If I have learned anything these past few months is that it took a pandemic to get me to look at teaching without the rose-colored glasses.  The altruism I had 15 years ago when I began teaching has clearly dissipated as decisions about my profession are continually being made by those who think they understand my profession better than I do or my colleagues do.  The educational triage that teachers have been asked to perform has forced them to go beyond their skillset and our children were educated regardless.  Teachers did their best.  Kids can learn anywhere provided they are monitored and held accountable and guess what?  Success has always started at home with the vigilance and care of parents and guardians.  Whatever public education looks like in September, it has to be a family affair for it to succeed.

Teachers have been at risk ever since the shootings at Columbine High School, Sandy Hook, and countless other incidents and no one is saying a thing.  Now we have a crippling health crisis, and everyone has plenty to say and none of it looks respectful of teachers, administrators, and their endless job responsibilities.  It is about time that the country awakens to not only this pandemic but to working together to try and educate our young people.  Politically, spiritually, and emotionally, teaching needs to be respected again. For those wonderful kids and their parents of school years past, you are in my heart and I know that you understand this quagmire.  Why then do not our political leaders?  

I fully understand that I have been fortunate with my decisions and my profession. Although immensely difficult from year to year, teaching has given my life such meaning.  A teacher's life should be as meaningful and as valued as any other profession.  It also true that my life in public service is not any more valuable than anyone else's.  There has to be a value placed on the education and the life skills that public education offers.  There has to be a conscious effort on all of our parts to give our kids a healthy world in which to live.  To live in denial that nothing can happen to them at school is a travesty.

Teachers need to plan.  They are planners.  They are organized and they understand the severity of taking care of their students.  They engage with every ounce of their physical energy and their emotional energy. You cannot play "Russian Roulette" hoping that everyone will be happy with forcing teachers back into an unsafe working environment.  Politicians may believe it is the right decision but the rest of us with any common sense know otherwise. Teachers are now in the category doctors, nurses, police officers, emergency medical technicians find themselves.  Endangered species.  We are endangered species. Now we get to witness first-hand what our beliefs really are.  Do we care about each other regardless of political viewpoints?  Do we care about each other in spite of others who clearly do not?  As a nation, we have to be on the same page when it comes to education. What public education will look like has got to take into consideration our students' well-being and their teachers. We are not sacrificial lambs.

Public education has been failing for quite a long time.  It has failed in that not every student needs can be accomodated. There is not as much differentiation to accommodate the passions and talents of our youth. It has failed because if we would just let teachers find their confidence again, our students would thrive and not be bored out of their minds.  Not every student will want what the government says they should want or for that fact, big business.  We need to get our kids to communicate appropriately and we need them to function without an Xbox.  Individualizing education means finding the appropriate way for kids to problem solve and yes...they must be allowed to fail. Let kids fail and they will learn a whole lot more than if we pat them on the back and send them on their way thinking they have succeeded when they really have not.  To lie to them is a terrible mistake.  Ignorance is infectious too.

The reason education is being so mitigated at this point is because many people feel threatened by what they do not know or understand.   I know how that feels because I have felt very fearful about things I do not understand. It is easy to give up and walk away from difficulty. Ask my "math teacher guru."  This is a natural reaction for many.  The trick is to embrace the idea that the world is an interesting, more compelling place because of our differences not in spite of them.

We have roughly eight weeks before school starts in September.  September has the most important meaning for teachers.  It is our beginning. It is our immediate challenge for the year ahead.  Keep politics out of education.  Let common sense prevail and let respect for learning take precedence over political rhetoric.  It is time to grow up and understand that we are in this together. Until the respect is in place, we are in a total, complete mess.  The only way to handle the mess is if we all collaborate and tell our kids that pandemic or not, you will do your best to learn and behave appropriately.  This may be a democracy, but a parent's last word is non-negotiable.  At this present juncture, the guilt that is being transferred on both the backs of parents and teachers is so incredibly sad and unfortunate.  No one should be made guilty for wanting to protect their health or their family's health.

There are alternatives that appear to be working in other parts of the world.  Denmark seems to have found a reasonable way of scheduling their children, with small class sizes, the safety of PPE and making sure everyone gets outside in the sunshine.  They started with scheduling younger children and then rotated bringing in the older students.  Students wash their hands every hour and desks and chairs are sanitized twice daily. Surprisingly, their plans seem to be phenomenally successful because of strategic scheduling and preparation and that makes one pause...Are we really looking at whatever countries are doing to find resolutions to this pandemic?  At this juncture, it appears we are not. We are not in control of this virus yet.  We are choosing pride and political rhetoric over common sense.  We are legitimizing ignorance.  We are risking everything for an intangible.  The only thing any of us know for sure is that masks and social distancing work.  To think otherwise is a huge disservice.   To mitigate the importance of public education is also a disservice.   If we do not care about each other, particularly now, everyone loses.