Today I was working on my computer when I kept getting constant notifications from my work group chat. I didn't allow myself to get interrupted completely but I took a quick glance at my notifications and saw a lot of comments that have the same theme: that it's "so sad." I had a hunch it had something to do with the State lockdown because of the Coronavirus - and boy was I right!
Apparently, the Washington Governor announced that the school closure is in effect until the end of the school year. A rush of sadness came over me as I went in search for the link to this news. I realized why a lot of my colleagues we're expressing such sadness over the news. The fact that we cannot see our students, especially those moving on to Kindergarten, and bid them goodbye is heart breaking. We were all eager to come back to school and provide our kiddos with more education, nurturing and play as we get them ready to move on for the next school year and now it's not even going to happen. It's as if every teacher in this group chat were mourning for this loss of opportunity. I feel their sadness. We all feel sad, and yet we know and understand that is necessary to wait awhile and sacrifice for a few more months before going back to the state of normalcy in our lives.
It was odd that I couldn't even reply to that thread of group chat because I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to respond when I am so used to responding with positivity and encouragement. I felt like crying. I felt the need to hug each and every para-educator who was mourning the loss of opportunity to work and see our students go back to school and see the usual hustle and bustle that our preschool was so accustomed to. It is so sad that we can't greet their precious smiles and hold their little hands as we guide them into their classrooms. It's sad that we can't bring out our inner child so we can play with these lovely souls as we teach them social and academic skills, and remind them how to be safe, and be friendly and be a worker.
Empathy is how I feel towards all my co-workers, the parents, and my special kiddos. We all feel so sad and yet we have no choice but to comply to these strict rules that are meant to keep us healthy and save our lives. I feel heartbroken for all those who are feeling the financial, emotional, physical, and mental hardships that come from this pandemic; the change of routine and expectations, the anxieties and fears of the unknown that this plague has brought us all.
These are tough times, yes, but it is healthy to acknowledge how you feel, then breathe in deep and breathe out deeper. We try to cope as much as we can, but let's not lose hope and faith that this too shall pass. We will get over this global pandemic and pick up the pieces, dust ourselves up and move on with much hope for the future. When all of this is over, we will have better appreciation of ourselves, our work, our lives, the people, the planet…We are on a re-set, we will be better humans after all of this chaos, but we must keep faith.
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