Dear Scared Teacher,
A full moon, another hurricane, a global pandemic, Halloween, and a time change all in week.
It's too much, universe.
Please leave us alone. We've done our time.
Earlier this week when Zeta's winds were howling, I started thinking maybe our bent fence from Hurricane Sally might position itself right back in place if the strong wind pushed it in the opposite direction.
Sadly, it didn't, but I am not giving up hope that the full circle of daylight savings is enough to transport us back to the hour before the scariest day of last year.
For educators, Friday the 13th was our last day of normal. Back then, which was only seven months ago but feels like seven years, we never could have imagined school shutting down, fear gripping the hearts of so many, or our students wearing masks.
It still feels like a spooky, cruel trick.
The day before school shut down I remember hearing a boy joking in the hallway about wearing a hazmat suit on Monday. I laughed too. I never dreamed Monday would never come or that his hazmat suit would become a hot commodity.
I remember so many vivid details of that last day. I wonder if you remember too. I was feverishly grading essays without even realizing I would never return them.
I wish I had spent my last day with my students doing something that mattered like preparing them for the scary world ahead.
Being so blindsided makes me want to be much wiser about how I invest my time. I don't want to get tricked again.
This time I want to know and see what really matters without a global crisis waving a banner in my face to get my attention.
I never saw the hazmat suit boy again. I wonder if he is planning to wear that suit as a Halloween costume this year. Regardless, there's no costume that could possibly be scarier than the daily reality we are living.
This year it seems like we're all Charlie Brown getting a rock in our treat bag.
I am ready for a new hour, a new day, a new year. Surely after so many tricks, we're due for a treat, don't you think?
-CDB