There’s a fine line between sticking your head in the sand and just stepping away a little bit. Admittedly, I’ve been more invested in the news lately than what I am necessarily comfortable with. I write about stepping away. I write about the merits of news fasts from time to time. And, like most people, I don’t always practice what I preach.
I woke up yesterday morning and did my usual…I greeted Mr. FixIt with the usual “Good Morning” and “How did you sleep?” We chat a few moments, wake up a little bit, then reach for our phones. I read my devotionals in the evenings, so my morning routine is typically news, weather, social media, blog. Not necessarily in that order.
The first thing I saw on Facebook yesterday was this editorial cartoon on Daughter #1’s page. She is a teacher. There was a story with it about teachers protecting their students. It made me cry. Ugly cry. I haven’t ugly cried in a long time, but this one has been building up. Daughter #1 is a teacher. Her daughters are teenagers. They are preparing to go back to school…and it scares me to death.
I’ve been a trooper through this whole pandemic. I’ve held it together and sacrificed my time with my kids and camping on my own and with my husband. Never cried. But this reduced me to a quivering mass of mom mess. It came out of the blue. Like the early waves of grief. Hard and unexpected. At the same moment, Hubby #2 sent me and our girls an article from the New York Times.
Since I had them all in one place, so to speak, I took the opportunity to tell them I am worried about school resuming. I told them how much I love them. The response was predictable. Daughter #2…my “mini me”…responded with emotion. Daughter #1 and their dad were much more pragmatic. Take precautions. Be smart. Stay home if you can. My daughter agreed it was scary, but they’d be fine. The “love you” from both girls was most appreciated.
It’s so hard to be away from my girls right now. It’s been too long since I’ve seen them, and my brother. I really am going to have to go on a little news fast, though. It’s just overwhelming after a while. I did make a big batch of pepperoni rolls yesterday. They are West Virginia’s State Food. Here’s the recipe I used and they turned out pretty good. Still not the perfect ones yet, but I’ll keep trying.
❤️
“After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.”
Matthew 4:2 NIV
I saw this cartoon yesterday as well. My daughter teaches special ed students. I am terrified for her safety! She is a very hands on teacher (as you often need to be with special ed students) and loves her students as if they were her own children. I will pray for her and her students. This is the only way I can help.
My daughter also teaches special ed. Prayers for all teacher…and their mamas. ?
As I mentioned before, we have several points in common, one of them being daughters of the same age. And here is another; my daughter is also a teacher. Her 2 boys are nearly all grown up, the oldest is 20, the youngest just graduated from High School this year. This pandemic has been so hard on her as a teacher, and she was brought to tears on many occasions where she could not physically be with her students and care for them. She teaches Kindergarten, and she absolutely loves it. It has been SO hard on teachers this year. I hope your daughter is well & stays well, just as I hope the same for mine.
Prayers for all the teachers and their mamas. ?