After traveling home from Missouri, I’ve been really struggling this week to find the motivation to write a blog post. It’s not that there isn’t anything to write. Quite the opposite. There is so much I want to say that I cannot pick one single topic that is more important than the others.
If you live in America, you know that politics dominate the media world right now. I find the topic so entirely overwhelming, I choose not to watch television at all. Instead, I’m indulging in re-watching Halloween baking shows and playing video games. I’ve already chosen who I will be voting for, I don’t need to know anything further, and catastrophic information will be filtered into me through my husband.
Enrolling my children in K12 this year has been both a blessing and a nightmare. After a month of classes, it’s more than clear that our children have been cheated by our local public school system. They are years behind classmates elsewhere in the state. Because of this, they struggle every day and we have to find creative ways for them to overcome the obstacles public school put in their way. The blessing lies in knowing that once they are caught up, they are getting a quality education that is setting them up for success rather than failure.
Depression in the time of Coronavirus is real and heavy. I’m an introvert by nature, so being separated from people isn’t really a problem for me. In fact, it’s made the few outings I take more pleasant because of strict crowd control. The problem is that my children are extroverts, like their father. It’s very hard to tell a nine-year-old he cannot play with his friends because of an illness he cannot see.
And now, as Halloween approaches, I find myself more depressed than normal because of the world around me. We did not buy costumes this year, we will not be passing out candy, we didn’t attend any Trunk Or Treat events. Our normal Halloween activities have been cancelled in our area. I’m watching all the festive movies and television shows and baking treats for the kiddos. But there will be no face paint or treat bags this year. Even going to the pumpkin patch was limited for us this year. We only made one trip instead of our usual three or four.
The hard truth right now is that life has changed quite a bit this year. We are all struggling to adjust and stay safe. This adventure is nowhere near over and I fear it will still get worse before it gets better. Every day I just wake up thankful that my family and friends are safe, healthy, and surviving.
Cathy Marie Bown 