“Mietek had finished cataloging his stamp collection. He was tired. Alone in his room, he stared out his window at the forbidden outdoors. He would give anything to be back in school, sitting behind the wooden desk next to Alex. How many math tests had he missed? How many history lessons?
Witness for My Father, Page 34
But he mustn’t feel sorry for himself. He had it better than most. As his father had said, “If you can’t go to school, then school must come to you!”
We are in crisis. We’re battling an invisible virus and losing our ability to move freely, facing restrictions of unthinkable measure, and these claustrophobic changes are beginning to weigh heavily on us.
We’re closing schools and now children can’t see their teachers, their friends, many can’t continue their education or have routines each day…how is this possible? Millions can’t go to work, and many aren’t getting paid. You can’t go to the library, watch a sports game, go to restaurants or pubs…anything deemed non-essential. Will curfews be next?
When restrictions start coming into play, one-by-one we begin feeling the suffocating transformations, the isolation. We are not used to this. And even though adjusting to change is one of the most admirable skills we humans possess, we still don’t like change in our comfort zones, but understand the necessity of it in times of crisis.
Those who adapt to change and make the best of it, will find a silver lining.
Of course, I’m reminded of how living through WWII, experiencing the loss of rights, food rationing, and staying close to home created a resiliency in those who survived. So how did my father and his family pull through one of history’s worst atrocities and not come out of it bitter and crazed?
One step at a time.
They adjusted little by little, improvised, and learned not to take the simple things for granted; food, work, education, friends…freedom. Children grew up faster and learned to invent and to be creative.
We are so fortunate to live in a time where we have the internet, podcasts, and ZOOM to stay connected. People are stepping up and utilizing their skills: an instructor created a Facebook workout program, my neighbor is making face-masks, our daughter traveled to our son’s house to take care of the kids, insisting that my husband and I stay home…Kindness Abounds!
Yes, this is hard and may seem out of control, but you CAN control how you act, you CAN make someone feel better and feel like they matter. That person will likely do it in kind when you or someone else most needs it.
We are in this together. Never forget – You are amazing!