covid – Peaceful Reader

Angst

Going through my mother’s boxes I located a folder of my college papers. Looking through the pages I was struck by the fact that they were all hand typed sometimes more than once as I edited. I thought about all the work I put into those papers, not just the typing but the thought process and the creativity. One of the papers was a typed final essay with 7 different questions about Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Maddening Crowd. I was struck by how easy having a computer makes all that writing a little bit different. A little easier to edit. And I thought…kids have it so easy these days.

And then I really thought about that statement and I quickly amended it in my head. We’ve created chaos for our children. Gaming and social media, screen time and streaming or binging series after series. We’ve let them grow up too fast. Kids have far less time for just being kids; playing outside until dark kind of time. Activities keep them busy like soccer and basketball but competition is different than just play. I’m not going to get all the way on top of this soap box but I worry about our youngest demographic.

Picking up my phone today I had an email concerning a new Iowa Senate bill being presented that would restrict schools from teaching social emotional learning. People in favor of the bill believe the ridiculous notion that we are trying to indoctrinate students into a specific LGBTQ lifestyle or critical race theory because we as educators want to help them manage their emotions. And don’t get me started on House File 8-removing any instruction about gender identity or all that Ron DeSantis is attempting in Florida. It’s beyond heartbreaking as a teacher. Because we want kids to be themselves. Promoting empathy and kindness or teaching real history as a teacher should not make us criminals.

I know the world is different than the 1970’s and 80’s when I did most of my growing up yet common human decency should still be prevalent. I fear in today’s Republicans a return to a world long ago, one where anything different was the enemy. I read a picture book to young students in the library about a young girl wearing a Hijab as she begins 6th grade-it doesn’t mean that I’m promoting the Muslim religion. So much to navigate in these waters. Our public schools are doing a great job everyday, taking care of all the students that we have and SEL has been a great help for all of us. With all that kids have to manage today helping them to understand themselves more shouldn’t be threatening.

Angst.

Puerto Rico Memories

We recently headed to Puerto Rico for our first major Spring Break trip with all three of our children. We’ve been planning the trip for half a year. It felt weird then because we were still in the throes of the pandemic. It seemed like a new normal and we very much wanted this trip to happen. And the war on the Ukrainian people weighed heavy on me as well. It’s hard to go on with your regular life, enjoying vacations, when there is a gross human rights crisis happening. All we can do is keep moving forward and be aware, as an empathetic person, helping when and where we can. We took off on our great adventure from O’Hare.

We enjoyed ourselves in Puerto Rico and are already making plans for future trips. Some of our highlights:

La Casita Blanca – I would fly back to San Juan just to eat here again. We waited about 15 minutes in a line outside the quaint restaurant and the line behind us kept growing. Luckily it was a beautiful day. We do not speak much Spanish which was an overall burden on the trip – I wish I was more fluent. We did a lot of guessing of ingredients and menu items. A few of us started off with a glass of delicious sangria served in a large wine glass. After we ordered little cups of green soup appeared at our table and we slurped it up with a fried appetizer that was amazing. We searched for the rest of the trip for this same dish to no avail. Most of us at the table had stuffed avocados for our main meal which were wonderful. The avocados in PR are huge and meaty. Our vegan son only had trouble at one restaurant through out the trip finding vegan options.

Eco Adventures Kayak trip through the bioluminescent lagoon in Farjado- we arrived at 7:30 for our 8pm trip after driving 35 minutes through winding roads. We had about 22 other adults beyond our party of 5 which seemed like a lot but it worked. It was a lovely paddle down a river with mangrove trees cascading around us. You could hear a cacophony of frogs as we rounded a curve and opened up to a very large lake. The moon was full which made the sky beautiful but did not give us a great glimpse of the bioluminescence in the water. The trip was still worth it. And we were back to our Airbnb by 11pm.

Mojito Lab- our first foray to the kiosks right outside of Luquillo and we discovered this little outdoor hot spot. We ordered smalls but with a variety of island flavors hand shaken by a handsome bartender. What could be better! Those were the best cocktails we had on the trip. Oh except for the rum drinks we created ourselves with fresh limeade, lots of limes, ice, and a local bottle of rum. Yum.

Beaches- Greg always goes for a run on vacation and he is good about finding cool spots. He found a secluded beach that was so serene. He dropped us off so we could meander our way down eventually meeting up at the public swim spot. What made this walk so special was the eco system undisturbed by people; sea grasses gently waving, soft sand, pieces of coral, miniature fossils and a stillness that was like a natural symphony.

We all thought we would go back again to Puerto Rico but I would choose a different area of the island to explore. Also Puerto Ricans are all wearing masks still as did we. And shopping at the local grocery store was fun! I bought and made yarrow root after a local man told me exactly how to cook them; they tasted like a turnip mixed with a potato and were a light purple in color.

We all made it home safely and returned to reality; Ukraine is fighting back, new boosters are available, and our legislators are making it difficult to happily teach in Iowa. Cheers.

We are all warriors

There is so much in the air, I fear we are all unwell and yet oddly looking at this time through new eyes many of us have a newfound gratitude for our health. My 83-yr-old mother has counted herself lucky to have avoided Covid for the last two years but tested positive last week after she coughed her way through the Super Bowl. I got a cold around the same time and really hoped it was just a cold but tested positive on Friday. This is my second go round and the vaccination and booster made a big difference in how I feel. My symptoms are more manageable this time. Last time I felt like I would never recover. I didn’t have to be hospitalized although I did end up in the emergency room with pneumonia months after recovering. This pandemic is complicated, confusing, and frustrating and we may never have all the answers. People around me have never had it, never even had reason to take a test and others fall deathly ill.

My children are warriors for making it through their various situations. Kaylee braved the streets of Brooklyn every day, working from home luckily but still trekking out to breathe and live in the city. Tristan worked through the entire pandemic as many have because his job is not something you can do from home. And Japhy braved her first year of school, both virtually and in-person, and and it has made her rethink everything about why she is going to school. We are all warriors, whether we’ve experienced symptoms or not, as we wind our way through this new reality.

In the midst of this pandemic we have people who feel the need to question books being read by children. As if we don’t already have enough to worry about right now. Russia’s possible invasion of Ukraine seems like something of great importance. But instead some are setting their sights on schools; how we are educating students to be world citizens, and libraries and books that might be too honest about world history or show a naked body. Art Spiegelman’s 1986 comic book biography, Maus, was recently banned by a Tennessee school district. After I read the article I checked our district online catalog, found a copy, and read it. It was a very-thought provoking read and a good way for older students to understand a Holocaust survivors story. And check out David Corn’s article in Mother Jones. Please go out an buy a copy or two.

Why does real history scare people? Why does reading about human relationships scare people? We didn’t conjure up the pandemic by reading a book but somehow reading a book about a gay character might make a teen choose that life style? This logic makes me question everything as well. How will we move past this puritanical state we are in? It could take a flood.