9 Years Later: Family in the Time of COVID19

Again I turn to writing to help me confront, manage, and transform existence into organized words, crafted sentences. Right now, the only thing I can control is what I type into this post.

Last week, the W.H.O. declared the coronavirus a pandemic. This has highlighted the reality of our global existence. Though we are divided by country borders, we are united by the threat of this disease. We are united by our mortality and the delicate line between life and death. We are united by the restrictions and dangers that govern every day.

The mundane is no longer mundane. The daily annoyances of highway traffic, missed trains, and children fighting over the fairness of chocolate chips. The accidents of shattered picture frames, overcooked chickpeas, lost keys. These all seem so slight in the zoomed out point of view of this pandemic. 

Just last Wednesday, it was business as usual at the middle school where I teach. Kids discussing in groups the themes of poems. Kids doing pacer tests in the gym. Kids making Tik Toks at dismissal. That day, this disease was declared a pandemic. Student attendance dropped for the rest of the week. Parents panicked. Teachers worried. Regardless, Mayor Di Blasio and Governor Cuomo chose not to close schools. Over the weekend, teachers and parents petitioned, urged our leaders to protect students, their families, and school staff. Finally, Sunday afternoon, the mayor announced the decision to shut down public schools. That was the prologue.Now, we are in the rising action of this frightening plot mountain. 

It has only been four days since the official mandate of social distancing. Only four days of working from home and homeschooling the kids through Google Classroom and i-Ready. Each day goes by slowly. Going to bed at night always feels like a welcome reward for getting through the day, healthy and alive. In the morning, I wake up with hope that we will get through another day.

This post marks a new beginning. I began writing this blog about ten years ago when my son was newly born, and I was on unpaid family leave from work for 6 months. Now, I am grateful for being home again; this time, it will be with my husband of 17 years, my 10-year old son, my daughter who will turn 13 in 3 weeks, and our 3-year-old dog, Sirius.

I am excited about the renaissance of this blog and look forward to future posts, typing away at this computer, reflecting on mundane, joyful, and troublesome times. Uniting my family's lives with others who read these lines.