The COVID-19 pandemic is very serious, and if we take it seriously it will change everything about how we live and interact with each other. And if we are taking the recommendations of the medical professionals seriously, then after repeated days at home we will probably start to feel uncomfortable because we are out of our normal routines.
Social distancing is something I still don't think we all understand clearly 100% here in North America yet, but it is starting to make more sense as things get more restricted around us and affect our ability to live as we did before. Going to the grocery store has become a more complicated and important part of our daily lives. The stories that are being shared by people who have become affected by this first hand or who have had loved ones affected, help to bring us more meaning about how serious this disease really is.
I will admit that I'm trying my best to stay positive, but being isolated and staying home is putting me through all kinds of emotions everyday. There are highs and there are lows. Some days it depends on how much I watch the news and fill my eyes with my social media feeds. I want to be well informed, but I reach a point of saturation and then more is not necessarily more helpful.
My day today started with an online meeting with an important update from my district leadership about the next steps in a very challenging time for all of us. I appreciate how hard they are working and navigating an uncertain time. I thought about my staff and my school community who are all looking for direction from me. I know that the range of emotions they are experiencing are vast, and I can relate because I feel them too. I tried to distance myself from the news, and I tried to focus on the important messaging and communicate to my staff what they needed to hear from me.
I also continued with my reading and some personal writing that I am working on, until that just didn't do it and I had to get out. So, I decided to go out for a run on the local trail - a place that has been a refuge for me. Recently though I started limiting this to certain hours or days when I felt there would be less people I would have to navigate. I have had to let go of my marathon training and have tried to just focus on enjoying my moments when I am fortunate to get them. But over the past few days I have even felt guilty for going out, and I even removed a twitter post of one of my recent runs. Why? Because I am conflicted in how I am feeling, my emotions are all over the place. I realized that we may all be going through this range of emotions every day. And of course I started to think about my school community and the kids at my school. I started to think about how important a healthy routine is right now, and how a healthy routine is going to be so important in the days to come as long as it is also safe. So I ran.
For me the concept of social distancing today meant actually removing myself from my social media because I was starting to feel down and a bit overwhelmed. (Can you feel a bit overwhelmed, or is it like being slightly pregnant? Maybe you just are or you aren't?!) Interestingly, being connected via social media is supposed to be a way for us to be more connected, but today I needed some alone time and put my phone down for awhile, and it was the best thing I did today!
The day has ended with finishing Brian Aspinall's (@mraspinall) latest book "Risk Taker". In one of the last chapters titled 'Tenacity', he writes, "When nothing is sure, everything is possible." This gave me hope today and inspired this writing, late before bed, to realize that although the current situation with COVID-19 seems very overwhelming and desperate, that we WILL find new ways to move forward if we keep hope alive. The challenge before for all of us is great, not just in education but in every aspect of our society! I do remain positive, and I believe that it is important to imagine a better future and in the idea that when nothing is sure, everything is possible!
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