Corona Week and No Not the Beer...
The week started with the normal routine but by Wednesday morning I had a sick kid, limited running miles and the US was starting to worry about the COVID-19. By the end of the week people were panicked and buying as much toilet paper (still not sure about that one) as they could, schools were closing and the world seemed to be in the middle of hysteria...but let's back up.
Monday's miles were beautiful and felt great, Tuesday we had the first Girls on the Run practice of the season. The sun was shining and the girls were excited for their shoes and getting started! I was seriously excited for the season, although I'm usually working with Middle Schoolers this group seemed like it could be a lot of fun.
Then the child said she didn't feel good, in the middle of the night she woke up with a fever. By Wednesday morning it was up to 102.8 and I was concerned. Thankfully, it was "only" strep, something that can be treated and after picking up antibiotics she was on her way to recovery. Didn't get any miles in on Wednesday but got to spend some snuggle time with the child which is a win in my book.
Thursday morning, the child was feeling better, I was excited to go to work later in the day (gotta love parent/teacher conferences) then a local school district cancelled their conferences due to COVID-19. Then we had other closings start...an email from the school district cancelling Girls on the Run practices until April, sporting events cancelled, people talking about stocking up on toilet paper and cleaners. No one could find hand sanitizer...it just kept going throughout the evening as we met with parents and discussed what would happen to the schools. By the time I left conferences, Ohio and Maryland had shut down schools but Michigan had not...
I woke up Friday morning to a day of parent/teacher conferences. The child was healthy enough to go back to school and I was looking forward to some normalcy....then the news hit. At a press conference at 11 pm Michigan schools were closed until April 5th. My school had shut down as they wanted time to come up with a plan but my daughter's school was open. So I let her sleep in and I tried to process what was going on.
Honestly, I couldn't process it. To think that schools would shut down for no to little notice. I mean what was I going to do with the child for the next month? What would my friends and family do with theirs? What about my kids who come to school for the schedule, food, support and for their safe place? What were they going to do? Was anyone checking on our elders? Who would take care of the community? The local businesses? What did all of this mean?
As all of this went through my head, I realized it was too much and I couldn't process it. So I did the next best thing...I put out a message to go run the trails. So we went and ran 3 miles on the trails after I dropped B off. That wasn't enough so we had brunch and processed through it then. And when that wasn't enough we headed to do a longer run in the evening with a larger group. It was then that I realized there were so many other questions to be asked besides what I had started with.
What about the charities that are losing out with races being cancelled? What about the kids who need to eat? The parents who need to work? What about my friends who won't get paid with their businesses being closed?
And after 10 miles in a day I had no more answers. But I did realize I had friends to count on and a way to process. I could keep running and finding activities to do so that we could stay healthy. Although it seems that the world is currently cancelled there's still lots we can each do. Today the child and I tried boxing -- something we hadn't done before. We're going to try to do some different activities that we wouldn't normally do. I can still run and I will. I may need to adjust my miles but the races I'm planning on haven't been cancelled yet so I'll run. And I can learn. I can continue working towards my coding goals and move towards them faster with the time I've been given.
Each day is a gift and right now we're being given the gift of time at home. It may not be easy to start but we can take it and make it work. We all get this time to be the best person we can, so why not do it?
Monday's miles were beautiful and felt great, Tuesday we had the first Girls on the Run practice of the season. The sun was shining and the girls were excited for their shoes and getting started! I was seriously excited for the season, although I'm usually working with Middle Schoolers this group seemed like it could be a lot of fun.
Then the child said she didn't feel good, in the middle of the night she woke up with a fever. By Wednesday morning it was up to 102.8 and I was concerned. Thankfully, it was "only" strep, something that can be treated and after picking up antibiotics she was on her way to recovery. Didn't get any miles in on Wednesday but got to spend some snuggle time with the child which is a win in my book.
Thursday morning, the child was feeling better, I was excited to go to work later in the day (gotta love parent/teacher conferences) then a local school district cancelled their conferences due to COVID-19. Then we had other closings start...an email from the school district cancelling Girls on the Run practices until April, sporting events cancelled, people talking about stocking up on toilet paper and cleaners. No one could find hand sanitizer...it just kept going throughout the evening as we met with parents and discussed what would happen to the schools. By the time I left conferences, Ohio and Maryland had shut down schools but Michigan had not...
I woke up Friday morning to a day of parent/teacher conferences. The child was healthy enough to go back to school and I was looking forward to some normalcy....then the news hit. At a press conference at 11 pm Michigan schools were closed until April 5th. My school had shut down as they wanted time to come up with a plan but my daughter's school was open. So I let her sleep in and I tried to process what was going on.
Honestly, I couldn't process it. To think that schools would shut down for no to little notice. I mean what was I going to do with the child for the next month? What would my friends and family do with theirs? What about my kids who come to school for the schedule, food, support and for their safe place? What were they going to do? Was anyone checking on our elders? Who would take care of the community? The local businesses? What did all of this mean?
As all of this went through my head, I realized it was too much and I couldn't process it. So I did the next best thing...I put out a message to go run the trails. So we went and ran 3 miles on the trails after I dropped B off. That wasn't enough so we had brunch and processed through it then. And when that wasn't enough we headed to do a longer run in the evening with a larger group. It was then that I realized there were so many other questions to be asked besides what I had started with.
What about the charities that are losing out with races being cancelled? What about the kids who need to eat? The parents who need to work? What about my friends who won't get paid with their businesses being closed?
And after 10 miles in a day I had no more answers. But I did realize I had friends to count on and a way to process. I could keep running and finding activities to do so that we could stay healthy. Although it seems that the world is currently cancelled there's still lots we can each do. Today the child and I tried boxing -- something we hadn't done before. We're going to try to do some different activities that we wouldn't normally do. I can still run and I will. I may need to adjust my miles but the races I'm planning on haven't been cancelled yet so I'll run. And I can learn. I can continue working towards my coding goals and move towards them faster with the time I've been given.
Each day is a gift and right now we're being given the gift of time at home. It may not be easy to start but we can take it and make it work. We all get this time to be the best person we can, so why not do it?
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