One Year later – Many of us are coming up on the one year anniversary of the beginning of lockdown. That is
an odd sentence. Isn’t it?
I was sitting in my classroom, after making Clara’s annual vet appointment and setting up my tax appointment, when the “One year ago” thoughts started to sprout. You see, Clara’s vet visit was the last mostly normal appointment I had prior to lockdown, and I was sitting with my tax consultant when the
lockdown announcement came. The feelings I had as I thought about those last days of teaching in a full classroom, of the students arguing over a balloon, of the student who made me cry when he came back to apologize, were mournful. I don’t mean that lightly. The feelings were very much those of mourning, those felt on the anniversary of someone’s passing.
I want to take a moment to acknowledge and reflect on this One Year Later and the feelings that accompany it.
For the past year, I have said and written very little on my blog or in my videos about the state of the pandemic itself. I know my Community Cast was a retreat for many; a short time to step away from the weight of the world, from the pain, confusion, loss. My initial reason for starting the Community Cast was to stay connected with people. It quickly became a much needed norm for me and from what I understand my
watchers. It became part of my mental health practice.
A year later, I want to check in with everyone. Some of us are coming up on the year later, some are already passed it. How are you doing? I invite you to comment in the blog comments or in the YouTube comments.
Or, send me a message. I want to know if you are okay or if you are not okay.
Having reached this one year, there are so many feelings. This has been a year of loss, great loss, for so many.
We have lost loved ones, friends, coworkers, acquaintances.
We have lost ways of life, careers, jobs, homes.
We have lost connections, friendships, relationships.
How are we taking time to recognize, remember, and honor these losses?
Some of us have accomplished amazing things this past year.
We have dynamically shifted nearly every aspect of our daily life.
We have reworked and rewritten our livelihoods, what we are passionate about.
We have created new ways to do what we love, or to simply survive.
We have reinvented ourselves.
How are we taking time to recognize these accomplishments?
We could …… Light a candle? ….. Plant a flower? …… Hang a memorial?
In the Town of Vo, a town in northeastern Italy, the community planted a tree in memory of a retired roofer
who loved to play cards; the first known person to die of covid in Italy on February 21, 2020.
Don't Paint the Cat 