2020 Was a Unique Leap Year: 29 Days in February, 300 Days in March, and 10 Years in April

They say that in each generation, some major life event occurs like World War I, World War II, The Great Depression, assassinations of JFK, Robert Kennedy, and MLK, etc.  Sadly, Memaw went through  all of the events I just mentioned.  In my generation, I had two major events.  The first was 9/11.

I was a mom to my two young girls when 9/11 happened in 2001.  We lived very near to one airport–I always said we were so close to the runway that you could stand on our back porch, throw a rock, and you would hit a plane!  But I also worked near another airport in Chicago.  When 9/11 hit, everyone’s world turned upside down.  It was on a Tuesday morning and I was teaching at the high school.  Going home that day was weird…I had to drive past the 4th largest airport in the world (O’Hare) with no plane traffic at all.  It was eerie, like a zombie movie.  No traffic on the expressways, no traffic at the airport.  I drove home to the other airport, with the same stillness.  Just nothing.  

My family was extremely lucky.  We were one of the few people who didn’t know anyone who died tragically that day.  We were so scared and we grieved with people, but we didn’t know anyone personally.

The second major event in my life happened 5 years ago–Covid 19 Pandemic.  Again, our world was turned upside down in a manner of days.  I remember teaching at the same high school and, even though it was in the news, I still had no idea how serious this pandemic would be.  I had some girls in my class showing me pictures on their phones of their prom dresses and freaking out that there would be no prom.  Now, I’m used to teenage drama, so of course I was trying to calm them down with “Girls!  It’s March!  Of course you will go to your prom in May!”  Yeah, I was wayyyy off!!

As we acknowledge the anniversary of our world shut down, many news outlets, organizations, and individuals will discuss their memories and lessons learned from this major event.  I’m not one who keeps journals (actually, I am horrible about writing down things that happen everyday!  I used to write on calendars all of our family events and I have kept those calendars as “journals of our busy lives”.  It works:)  However, when the shutdown occurred, I decided to write everyday what was happening in the world and with our family.  I even included pictures and memes.  I am very glad I did–it is a piece of history that has never occurred before and hopefully, never will again.  

Technology

Very quickly, we all became technology experts.  We had at least 5 computers (desktop and laptops) in our house for 3 adults and they were all needed.  Thankfully, for the past 3 years I had been converting all my lesson plans, activities, worksheets, tests, etc. onto the computer so they would all be electronic.  We had to take a crash course on what Zoom was and how it worked.  Our daughter came home from college and had to do her courses online.  Things were a little more difficult for Joe and I.  Joe is a PE teacher and I taught culinary!!  So, we had to get creative fast!  Thankfully, Joe was able to find many activities he could do with the kids through Zoom and I had a team of culinary teachers to collaborate with and figure out how to do our classes.  We also learned a lot about our Wifi and bandwidth so we all could be on the computers at the same time.  There was a lot of scrambling but we eventually figured it all out.  I know a lot about technology now and I don’t think I would be at the same level of expertise I am without that shutdown.

Home Life

Because we all had to stay home (and our youngest had to come home from college), our home life changed.  Time was on our side for the first time in our lives.  We had time to cook; we had time to clean the house, then rearrange furniture; we had time to talk, to play games, to enjoy our pets.  Looking at my Covid journal, I read a book and we rode our bikes almost every day.  We had time to do some home improvements, like painting and redoing our yard.  We played games.  Our extended family started a book club on Zoom so we could see each other and talk.  We slept better.  Stress was at a minimum because everyone was in the same situation.  We had lots and lots of time–there was nowhere to go, no one to see, nothing else to do.  It felt like we could finally exhale that breath we had been holding all these years with work, family, activities, and events.  Now, we just had each other and we could reconnect.

Unfortunately, this was not the case for all families.  Spouse and child abuse went up.  Dysfunctional families became even more dysfunctional, now with serious consequences.  Children who went to school to get their one or two meals a day (because there was no food at home), now were starving.  Thankfully, two things materialized.  First, therapy became normal on Zoom.  People who needed help with their mental health were able to get that help via the computer.  Insurance paid for this because people needed help and they didn’t want people to leave their house.  Did this solve all the problems?  No but we have telehealth today because of the pandemic.  Not just for your mental health but also for your physical health.  The second thing happened at schools.  Most of the schools started obtaining food and making food lunches every day for those that needed it.  Families would drive up in their cars and get the package.  Packaging the food and handing them out really brought the community together.  Food pantries and other non-profit organizations still do this system–a system that came from the pandemic.  

We Don’t Know

Another thing that came from the pandemic was the phrase “We don’t know”.  These words caused many of us to anxiety and panic but actually, they were reassuring words.  Our world leaders, our work bosses, parents in families all were saying the same thing.  “We have never encountered something like this before.  We can’t answer most of your questions right now.  But we will find the answers.  Until then, we all will do the best we can to get through this together.”  We are a people where most of us have someone always telling us what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.  Finally, we were told to do it our way the best we can until we figure out some of the answers.  Yes, this caused stress and anxiety but it also instilled some independence in us.  Trust our own instincts, do what we think is right, and above all, just keep swimming!  This taught us some valuable life lessons.

1. It’s ok not to have all the answers.

2. We will be ok until we can figure it out.

3. We have some good instincts and common sense–trust them.

4. We are problem solvers.  We don’t just whine and complain; we actually search out answers to things we don’t understand.

For some of us, this was the first time in our lives we had to trust ourselves.  It was hard.  It was stressful.  But look how much stronger we are because of it.

The Covid-19 pandemic and shutdown taught all of us many things.  Some good, some bad, but they were valuable lessons nonetheless.  Next week I’ll talk a little more about other things we saw and learned.  This pandemic was a major life event.  I read in the newspaper today that some people are starting to forget the seriousness of the pandemic.  Make sure you don’t forget history and what it taught us.