Unknown

As I've said in previous blogs, these uncertain times about the unknown can cause anxiety, fear, worry....and the list goes on. For me, it's not necessarily anxiety or fear but I do worry. I worry about silly things. I worry about how I'm homeschooling- are the boys getting everything they need to be successful next year without getting stressed out? I worry about what to make for dinner because no one is going to be completely happy- P and I like meatless dinners; E likes chicken: Rob likes red meat. I worry about P missing out on his last year of elementary school festivities. I worry about my students- are they being loved on at home? Are they safe? Are they getting enough to eat?
But last night I had an eye opener with how much it's affecting the kids as well. E has mentioned that he misses his school friends and teachers, but his best friend lives a few houses down the street so he's happy. Last night, we found P outside in the dark, crying. When I asked him what was wrong he confided that he feels so lonely. His one neighborhood friend is staying at his dad's during this time so he really doesn't have anyone to play with. He doesn't really understand why he can't have his friends spend the night. We don't have family close by so the 4 of us have been spending A LOT of time together. P is also worried about family and friends contracting COVID-19. He hit his breaking point last night and just needed to talk and be loved on.
I spoke with a parent yesterday who broke down and begged me to tell them that school would resume at some point. This parent was overwhelmed with not only being a parent, but being their child's teacher as well. After I got off the phone with the parent, I thought about how hard it must be on parents who do not have a desire to be a teacher. They may in the medical profession or a salesman or a mechanic or a financial advisor. But they did not go to school to become a teacher because that was not their career choice. So, now all of a sudden their career is put on hold to become a teacher and they are stressed.
Just like the Flood of 2016, I'm sure that years down the road conversations will include "Before the Coronavirus pandemic", "During the Coronavirus pandemic" or "After the Coronavirus pandemic". And I think that conversations will go something like this, "Before the Coronavirus pandemic life was so busy. We hardly sat down to eat as a family because we had work commitments and baseball practice and guitar lessons." Then the conversation will change to "During the Coronavirus pandemic we worried about our jobs, about our family and friends. But we also went on family walks, ate homecooked meals every night as a family, and learned to slow down." I have yet to know what the "After the Coronavirus pandemic" conversations will be like because we're not there yet. I have no doubt that, just like after 9/11, life around the world will change. I just don't know to what extent because this is still an unknown time.
Right now, what I do know is that I can pray for peace- for my family, my friends, my co-workers, for myself. After praying last night, I slept peacefully for the first time in days. It was a blessing to wake up feeling refreshed this morning, ready to take on the day. So will continue to pray that my friends and family will have peace during this time, that they will sleep well at night, knowing God is bigger than this virus and He is in control.