The coronavirus pandemic has drastically altered our regular lives, habits, freedom of movement and norms for socializing. Remote working, distance learning, virtual gatherings, online shopping, increased screen time, in-shelter confinement, is the new way of life, no one knows for how long. Sadness, a sense of loss, frustration, anger, distrust, xenophobia creeps beneath the eerily in-control and calm social upper crust, waiting for a crack to erupt at anyone anytime.
The focus on protecting lives of the elderly, individuals with conditions, or easily susceptible unfortunate people who simply can not escape the deathly grab of this mysterious, powerful, unpredictable virus, has lead to shoving all the children and young indoors, taking away their schools, playgrounds, extra curricular activities, simple pleasures and freedom, from them. They are now the silent carriers of the deathly virus that mysteriously spares them, but does not spare the people who love them the most. As a result of this confinement, parents are in charge of their education, entertainment and all forms of learning within their homes.
A failing public school system that has been unable to provide quality distance education due to lack of preparedness, funding or technological support, is not the priority now, due to a overburdened, unprepared medical care system. The unpredictable nature of this pandemic, sudden surge in death rates and hospitalizations in communities is something no one has know or seen before. The compulsory stay-at-home curfew-like situation has hit hardest and negatively impacted the local small businesses, daily wager earners, contractors, who cannot work remotely and rely primarily on human to human interactions, the most. The surge in individuals filing for unemployment benefits is in millions. Impossible for any country to sustain through temporary monetary relief. The utter chaos over adequate basis medical supplies is just too great, so let’s not even get into the chaos over a vaccine.
Parents we are currently juggling too many important things in their lives with very little to no help. Personal and family health, remote work, children at home, each demanding 100% of their attention. It is simply exhausting. Even though I had not planned or imagined how I would tackle homeschooling, I find myself these days crisis schooling with very little mental or physical preparedness. We are all coping. Trying to find the way out of a dark forest. Seeking a little light to show us the way to normalcy.
I feel sorry for all children who are locked down in their houses all day missing school, friends, extra curricular activities etc. Especially the ones in tight homes, apartments with little to no space to run around. Like adults, kids are also feeling disconnected and tremendous loss. I have managed so far by planning ahead, and following a schedule for my kids, similar to their life before COVID19, with art activities, science projects, presentations, school-work, music, indoor games, reading, listening to audio books, etc. to keep my children busy.
While social distancing and spending more hours that ever before sitting inside my house, going round and round through a self imposed routine everyday, I wish this and that, wonder what if’s, and when this is over. Not all thoughts are despair or frustration, there is a lot of reflection and gratefulness flowing too in my mind. And feeling of thankfulness for having what I have, doing what I do and living through this experience. Stories circulating in media that I read or see reminds me to stay grateful.
I read about a recovering elderly COVID19 patient who is isolated from dear ones in a hospital in Italy says - “I started asking nurses for their names and about their family. I needed to humanize this about this experience.”
While she is doing her exercise with a breathing machine once an hour to strengthen her lungs, she says - “I turned a corner and I’m grateful to be alive and see trees and birds and rain,” “I don’t think there is a more grateful person on this earth than me.”