Pieces of Then and Now

I grew up in a tiny town in Texas, then went to college, and rarely went back before my family eventually moved to Colorado. When I was a little girl, we lived in a house only a few blocks from my elementary school. I thought it was the greatest thing to have the freedom to walk to school. I met my friend, C, who lived basically next door to us, and we found a secret shortcut between two chain link fences to get to school. The fences were less than 2 feet apart, and I remember high weeds and grasses growing high inside each of them. One of them, I believe, surrounded the town’s water tower. The path shortened our walk by about three minutes – an eternity when you’re six years old – and made us feel like adventurers off on an expedition.

In 2012, I moved with my then-husband and our two small children to Okinawa, Japan. After a couple of years there, my kids were able to experience similar adventures. They were not able to walk to school, as their school was on a military base that had a checkpoint, but they were able to spend hours on their own, exploring and playing with neighborhood friends. They found paths to new places and made memories they hopefully will have forever. That they grew up in Okinawa’s safe environment is something I’m so grateful for. When they were out until dark, I was never worried. I expect that’s how my mom felt when I played outside in the neighborhood even when the fireflies were waking up.

Today we live in a mountain town. Our view is beautiful, surrounded by majestic Rocky Mountain peaks that are snow-capped for the majority of the year. Driving, the schools are about seven minutes from our house. Walking is not entirely out of the question, but it would take a decent amount of time. We have lovely parks and ponds in our community that are only a couple of minutes away on foot. My kids have walked and explored, but as they grow older they prefer the easier way to get places; they prefer the faster way. They are not as adventurous, perhaps, and neither am I. With age, maybe we lose some of that sense. Perhaps we grow lazy. Or, maybe we just feel more deeply the quickening passage of time and have the urgent need to get to our destinations so that we can spend more time there when we arrive.

Youngest in Okinawa, 2012.

I step away from the keyboard and look what happens… OMG, 2020!

Well, obviously there was nothing amazing to report in 2019. Life was good. Our summer in Colorado was fantastic and filled with a lot of family and only a little drama. We got back to our island and one daughter moved into 8th grade, one into 4th. They’ve both been on the A honor roll, mostly loving school. We had a blessed Thanksgiving and wonderful Christmas. Work started out a little rocky for the 2019-2020 school year, but became significantly better by Christmas break.

Then came January. The news was calm as reports of the Novel Coronavirus started rolling out. Within weeks, friends in nearby South Korea were really beginning to worry. School closures began in February there. Then friends in Italy were overwhelmed with virus cases and schools began closing there. Friends in the US started reported school closings in March. Here on our island, it was business as usual…until this week.

The next couple of weeks we will be providing virtual instruction, on a light scale at this time. While we’ve had only a handful of positive cases of coronavirus here, the increase in respiratory illnesses in the community have skyrocketed and tests for the virus have not been administered to many. Now we all hunker down while schools are being deep cleaned and we supposedly will head back in a few weeks.

On the one hand, I think it’s great that I live on a rather isolated island and, for the most part, there is no panic or hoarding of food or necessities. On the other, I think complacency could be our downfall. Everyone around the world right now should take drastic measures to slow the spread of this virus. We’ve already established that Americans (and others around the world) have difficulty learning from the past sometimes. It’s complete insanity, however, that people cannot learn from real-time events. When did people begin thinking they were invincible and become so narcissistic?

I’m staying home right now because I AM immunocompromised. Thanks, #crohnsdisease and #remicade. I’m keeping my kids home and want my students to stay home even if they are at low risk for complications because they are the perfect vessels to spread viruses, as educators everywhere are all already aware. I don’t know if a few weeks will be sufficient for what is happening globally at the moment, so I hope that the powers that be will re-evaluate the situation appropriately when the time comes to herd everybody back into crowded, enclosed spaces.

Time will tell, and I guess that’s something that most of us have a lot of right now.

It’s About Time

Everything we do revolves around time, it seems. It may not be the right time for something to happen. It may be too late or too early. You could be right on time. You could have a lot of time on your hands, or not. Time can heal all wounds (supposedly) and it can fly when you’re having fun. A stitch in time saves nine, or so I hear, but what does that even MEAN?

My time, recently (which is, of course, a time-relative word), has been spent taking care of my children at home. I cook and clean, play games and color, teach and listen, clean and cook… I get to relax, too. I read and watch television and crochet a little…and there’s always time to check Facebook, right? I also spend a lot of my time worrying and planning, or trying to plan. I have come to realize that, even though I am a mother, I have vastly underestimated the issues faced by stay-at-home-parents. Also, even though I am a teacher, I have even somewhat underestimated the value of a teacher’s job.

I absolutely know, and have known for a long time, the importance of education beyond academics, but I now appreciate it even more. As much as I love seeing my children learn and know that I am capable of teaching them things they should learn, I know that it will benefit them if I am not their only teacher. (Or, rather, that their father and I are not their only teachers.) I can see the moment when my 5 year old “turns off” and becomes unreceptive to what I’m trying to say. Oh, I know that this happens to teachers, as well. I’ve experienced that plenty of times. In a perfect world, we would have the combined efforts of parents and teachers creating the best learning experiences for every child. Maybe I won’t be able to ensure that for every student I teach in the future, but I can try, and I can definitely try to make that a reality for my children when they begin school. I may have to MAKE TIME to attend school functions and meetings, etc. It’s something I’m more than willing to do.

As for stay at home parents, where do I begin? This is not babysitting. This is not easy. No, obviously, it’s not rocket science. But what IS, other than rocket science? Being a stay at home parent is a challenge in many ways, for the average person. Budgeting can become an obsession. For a couple of teachers, with one currently unemployed, budgeting is more than a necessity. Planning becomes a priority in more areas than money, at least for people like me. If I were to wake up every day without some semblance of a plan, my house would be chaotic to say the least. I have to plan activities for my children – so they don’t get bored and I don’t go crazy. There are bills to pay, errands to run, meals to shop for and cook. For people that work all day, like I used to be, it’s the same but vastly different. It’s hard to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced both worlds, and I don’t really have the time to try…ha-ha!

What I have time for, beyond my daily challenges of parenthood, is thinking. I think myself sick sometimes, so I decided that it’s about time to get some of those thoughts out of my head, and at least out into the ether(net) if not into your head. So, when I have a minute, I’m sure I’ll be sharing something random again. I’ll try not to be too boring.