Thoughts...before school

I am starting to cry again, just from the thought of leaving my loved ones behind… if I ever get the Covid-19, and because I have underlying conditions – Asthma, I might not survive it…

I am a teacher here in Gwinnett County, suburb of Atlanta, Georgia.  We are expected to go back to school (report in the actual school building) whether we get assigned to teach online or face-to-face instructions.  We still have to report back to work.  I understand the need to go back to work, I actually am looking forward to getting back to the groove, and working again…but let’s face it, we have to do this safely & strategically.

I mean, I really believe that some students do not do well with online-only learning, like my special needs students; but at the same time, if I was a parent of a K-12 public school student, I will not send them physically back to school with all the rest of the kids; with the danger of exposing them to this novel Coronavirus.  Regardless of whether they are special needs or regular education students. It is too much of a risk for a deadly virus that we are still learning about. The scientists & doctors do not know yet the full effects and long term dangers of this virus on the human body & the different organs it attacks.  But what they do know as of the present, is enough for me to decide it is too risky to take any risks, including sending kids to a crowded school, crowded buses, with crowded classrooms that cannot afford to social distance, and especially with little guidance from the government.

I was telling my daughter that next week, my husband & I have an appointment to see a lawyer to write up our Living Wills, Health Directives & Powers of Attorney.  We should’ve done this a long time ago, but now is the best time.  Just in case, to prepare for any eventuality that could happen because of this pandemic.

 I bet most families are thinking on the same line.  We have never faced such questions of our own mortality as this time…

Morbid as it may sound, death is just ever present in this world we are in right now… Our new reality is so unpredictable that you never know who will get it next.  It was my brother in law last April (thank God he survived the ordeal)….and it could be your next door neighbor, or cousin, or grandparents, next…who will be next?

I feel for all the essential workers… the healthcare heroes, my brothers - Dr. Jonathan & Dr. Rocky... who face this reality daily and squarely.  They are truly brave & deserve all our respect.  The everyday jobs by grocery store workers, post office workers, mailman, sanitation workers, construction workers, farmers, Amazon workers and deliverers… they are all essential.

Now it’s my turn to face the music.  July 29^th, two weeks to be exact - teachers here in Gwinnett county Georgia are going back for two weeks of Pre-Planning & lots of meetings & trainings to ensure everybody’s safe return to school.

We may all eventually get it – this damned Coronavirus, but hopefully when we do, there will already be a vaccine for it…

Or maybe it will only affect us like a mild case of the flu….but you never know, when your luck runs out.

I pray to God, help us ALL, especially here in America where it is spreading like wildfire again... &  may God help us all over the world.  God bless y'all! 

Love & Light.

 

The Metaphor of my Broken Arm

When I fell upon our stairs

Our house just caught on fire

Everything seemed to have broken

Even my right arm broke,

I had a radial bone fracture….

This to me was a symbol of

What needed to be destroyed

What realities needed to be shattered

This was the starting point

The dawning of a new age for me, my family…

And strange as it may seem…

January of 2020, seemed to be a dawning of a new Age globally.

Personally, I needed to get rid of old misconceptions,

Of what used to give me comfort,

I had to step outside the box of my comfort zone…

We all have material things, possessions that we can’t let go of,

Now, these circumstances in my life

Forced me to let go, Let God, as they say…

Let the Universe unfold as it should ….

So they took away all our possessions inside that house…

Symbol of Non-attachment…

I learned to not long for those material things,

I learned not to miss certain comforts of Home…

Then we, as a family, had to move from place to place

From a hotel to an apartment,

The physical move as well as the spiritual, mental challenges it presented

Was a bit overwhelming at first…

We were tired, it was exhausting physically,

Mentally, we had to adapt to new surroundings, new ways of being,

Spiritually, we had to find ourselves amidst chaos.

This was a temporary existence,

It was even more apparent as everything around us was changing too.

There was a Coronavirus pandemic affecting our country & the World.

It was starting to get worse here,

Mortality rates in our communities were on the rise exponentially….

January, there were about 35 deaths due to Covid 19,

Now, 5 months later, 109,000 deaths in the United States of America alone,

1.89 Million confirmed cases…

So, I think to myself…

Everything in this world is Temporary…

Change is the only Constant.

Now, winter is over,

Spring is done,

Summer is here…it is June of 2020,

We are slowly returning to our old Home,

People are wearing masks to be safe,

People are social distancing,

Businesses are slowly opening up...

Some parts of the United States are seeing a slow decline of Coronavirus cases

And deaths are leveling & tapering off,

There are still certain states that are on the rise,

And possible resurgence due to another Crisis…

The racial divide because of police brutality

In our nation…is a systemic problem…

Racism is showing its ugly head once more…

There is much political unrest,

protests on the streets of major cities,

some anarchists looting & rioting,

The National Guard & local police

At times have been ordered to use tear gas & rubber bullets on peaceful protesters….

Truly, this cannot go on….

We are at a crossroads once again in our History,

A fork in the road wherein… we are at the Tipping Point…

If we do not choose wisely and with wisdom in our hearts,

Our nation might be further divided.

Now, my fractured arm is almost healing….

We are going Home soon…

Now comes the healing of our country…I hope,

The fractures in our society symbolizes as a collective,

False ideologies of racism & anarchy…

Of being too right wing, versus, too left-leaning,

Of Us versus Them.

Maybe Healing will occur,

Maybe this is our year of Transformation,

Maybe 2020 will represent a clear vision of the Future?

And what it holds for all of us…

We are stronger, together, United.

I am healing now…

I pray fervently, that You all are too…

Deep inside, let’s forgive each other….

Let’s continue to pray for each other….

Let’s learn Respect for every one’s basic rights

As a free person….equal not apart from us.

If there is one thing that this Coronavirus is teaching us…

It Is that we are mere specks of dust in this Universe,

& if we don’t see each other as ourselves,

If we don’t care for one another as we care for ourselves…

Capable of getting & transmitting this contagion,

If we cannot see each other as Equals

All worthy of basic human rights…

Then I don’t really know what else to say….

I am HEALING my wounds….

Are you???