Spread Cheer, Not Fear

It’s been awhile. Life. Life has been busy, hectic, and confusing.

I took a few weeks off from writing to prepare and enjoy our Disney trip and then boom, a national pandemic.

As someone who has anxiety, my mind and heart have been racing. As a teacher, I’ve been trying to be that comfort zone. That place of safety in a scary, unknown world. As a mom, I’ve tried to continue our day to day lives and shelter them from the fear of the unknown.

It’s scary out there. At first, I tried to downplay it all. This wasn’t a big deal, we will be fine. Then as more and more information comes out it really starts to make more sense and made me realize it is ok worry. I have quite a few family members above 60 years old. I fear for them. I fear for my son who already has respiratory issues.

When schools shut down for 2 weeks I didn’t know how to feel. Sad? Scared? Happy? What I do know is that I’m going to enjoy this 2 weeks (at least) with my children and husband. I’m going to make myself available to my students whether it’s to help with the work that was sent home or just to check in and talk. And guess what, I don’t really care if they do the work I sent home with them, I want them to be happy and safe.

There is a lot of uncertainty right now. We don’t know how long this will last. We don’t know how serious this pandemic will end up being. We don’t know what life will be like afterwards. So instead of worrying about what will happen, I’m working on focusing on the now. For now, I’m taking care of myself and my family. I’m checking in with my friends and far away family. I’m trying to spread cheer, not fear.

Stay safe. Stay happy.