All I can say is, “Wow!”
2020 started off feeling like any normal year for me. I began the new year with one of my most favorite 2nd grade classes I have ever taught, and we were anxiously awaiting our March break to give all of us a little time to de-stress, relax, and rejuvenate.
I was especially looking forward to my 2 week break in March! My family and I typically fly somewhere warm for March break, but we bought a 30-foot travel trailer last year and decided to focus on building memories with that in 2020 instead. We were also planning the “Great American Road Trip” for the months of July and August and started booking our campsites for each of our destinations along the way.
The trip was planned to start in Seattle and take us all across the northern states, hitting Chicago, heading south to Texas, back west to Los Angeles, then north through San Francisco, and back home up the coast of Oregon. We had it all mapped out to take us 7 whole weeks!
I wasn’t the only one having fun traveling at this time last year! At the end of February 2020, my 82-year-old mother was traveling in Spain and Portugal with her cousin having the time of their lives.
We were also in great anticipation of my daughter’s 7th Grade Graduation. This is a major accomplishment where I come from since high school starts for students in 8th grade. We had already started dress shopping for her graduation – an experience every mother is overjoyed to be a part of!
And then… “Wow!”
We began hearing all about Covid-19 and how it had originated in Wuhan, China. At the time, one of my students had grandparents living in Wuhan. As any child would be, she was very scared and worried for them. She confided in me a lot about this and I continually reassured her that it wasn’t a big deal and they would of course, be fine. Looking back, I loved building that relationship with my student and getting to encourage her in the moment, but never did I imagine that Covid would turn into such a significant situation for all of us.
Around that same time, another student of mine came to school wearing a mask simply because she had the sniffles and felt as though she was catching a cold. I remember kindly asking her to remove her mask because I had a feeling she would just play with it, distract others with it, and be very difficult to understand when she spoke. Thinking about doing that now – “Wow,” right?!
Then little did we know, our world was about to be turned upside down and we were entering a time in our lives that no one knew exactly how to handle.
My mom came home from her European trip the second week in March. At that time, Spain was one of the Covid-19 hot spots and she unfortunately was very sick when she returned, along with 20 other people who were in her tour group. Out of those 20, 10 were hospitalized and 5 were placed on a ventilator.
We were scared and felt so helpless for my mom. She lives by herself in the house that I grew up in, so my brother, myself, and all of our neighbors made sure she had everything she needed and was well taken care of. We continued to worry and at one point decided to transport my mother by ambulance if she didn’t show any improvement overnight. Fortunately, I am so thankful that she began to improve and has now recovered.
Since testing wasn’t a major priority in the first part of March in the United States, she never actually got tested. Months later she tested positive with the Covid antibodies, so we are unbelievably thankful to know that she had it and was able to recover. Of course now she thinks she’s invincible! 🙂
I’m disappointed to tell you that our “Great American Road Trip” was postponed, but we are hoping to still make the adventure happen in 2022 if everything in our world allows us to do so. However, our kids will be 16 and 15 by then, so they may have their doubts about joining! On the bright side, we were very fortunate to safely take a few local trips last summer, but nothing as big as we typically love to do. We have such a passion for traveling!
After March ended, school did not return to in-person for my students and I. I began teaching remotely and (here I go again…), “Wow!” That was an incredibly challenging time – as I know it had to have been for all of you, as well!
I’m so disappointed that I lost 3 months of in-person contact with my amazing class. I still had so many memories to make with them and was overjoyed to see each one of them every day! However, I’m happy to say that my school has been back in in-person learning since September, so I do still get to see my past year’s students around the school and I’ve been blessed with another amazing group of students this year. I am so grateful!
As for my student whose grandparents live in Wuhan, she tells me they are doing well now and are so happy they have remained healthy. It brings me so much delight knowing that she shared something that was so heavy on her heart at that time. It makes me realize that this moment we’re all in is challenging for everyone – both kids and adults.
Even though my school has returned to in-person learning, everyone is asked to wear masks except when eating. We don’t have an official mask mandate where I’m from, but we are strongly encouraged to wear one. I am very lucky that each of my students come to school wearing a mask and their parents support me in having their children wear it all day at school. I want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to keep my students, and myself, safe and healthy.
So although my “2020 at-a-glance” had a few bumps in the road and postponed adventures, I am incredibly thankful to be where I am. I know Covid and the hardships it brought in 2020 have been challenging for many, and my heart goes out to you and your loved ones that have been impacted by Covid in any way.
I hope 2021 brings you nothing but love, peace, and happiness! Please feel free to share how you’ve been impacted by the virus in the comments below – whether it be your own health, school, family, or travels. I’m thinking of you, all! Let’s hope 2021 is a little less, “WOW!” Right? 🙂
