I'm certain of nothing

 How y'all doing? 2020. The year of being sure you have absolutely no idea what's going on. While uncertainty rules our time, and it's hard to trust anyone or anything, faith keeps me going. Plus lots of coffee and limoncello la croix and extra toasty cheezits (as my friends know, off-brand cheezits will send you straight to hell so be careful out there). I'm also way thankful for a good bottle of red wine, yogi super antioxidant green tea, my doggies, and yoga. 

I've just completed my first week back to work after a summer break. I'm a school nurse at one school and my 5 (awesome) kids go to 4 different public schools. I've had countless zoom meetings and virtual open houses and too many schedules to try and coordinate, and I'm afraid next week is going to be a complete disaster but all I can really do is laugh. There is literally nothing we can do about this but just roll with it. Log on to your classes and get it done. I tell my kids every day- we cannot control our circumstances most of the time but we can control our attitudes and our responses. This might be the first bout of global or personal instability you've experienced in your life but it certainly will not be your last. My younger ones have already experienced personal upheaval that not even many adults have experienced. The key things I'm seeing in my kids are resilience and adaptability. I do believe that this generation of kids will change the world for the better. I've never seen such a huge collective attitude shift in my life. These kids are showing up and just DOING it, with very little complaining. I'm so proud of them. 

And the staff. The schools' STAFF!!! These are our modern day heroes. My coworkers- other nurses, social workers, counselors, teachers, administrators, secretaries, janitors, data managers, media coordinators, on and on and on... these people have risen to the challenge with virtually no warning (no one really knows when a whole entire pandemic will hit) and no extra funding. Zero. So your cute local senator is over there chillin on his boat continuing to shoot down funding for education, but my people are over here saying FINE we don't need your damn money (actually we do please send)- we can make magic happen out of thin effing AIR and support these students. We will have a great year despite our challenges and we will celebrate our successes and get through our failures. Together. 

Togetherness is really important here. I work at a school where I'm one of only a few white people. I say that shed light on the learning I've done over the past five years and beyond. My perspective shift has been life-changing and invaluable as I've worked alongside students and faculty from so many different races and cultures. There is not just one way to do life correctly. There are so many ways to live in a beautiful, productive, giving way. I'm so thankful for how my way has been decentered as I listen and learn. Our kids are so good at this. I'm thankful to be taught by so many wonderful souls. So as I sit here and reflect on the week, I soak in the emotion of gratitude for how my life has been deeply enriched by my own kids, my students, and my coworkers. In the midst of feeling hopeless about the horrors of racism, the damaging and far reaching destruction of a pandemic, and the uncertainty of our futures, we can cling to each other and the beauty that each relationship brings. And we can listen to old hymns and be uplifted and encouraged. Press on! We can do this.