A Shout-Out to Humanity

This is a shout-out.  During this COVID-19 pandemic, nearly all humans have been affected in one way or many.  It’s a strange time, probably the strangest time in most of our lives.  Today I want to shout out to each and every one of you who have had to adjust, without any warning at all.  And, you are doing it so gracefully.  This is a shout-out to all of you; a little encouragement to help you keep going.  I see you, and I love you and appreciate you.

To the Healthcare Workers

To the tireless healthcare workers, who are seeing so much suffering.  I cannot imagine the life you are living each day working so hard to save people who are moms and dads, siblings, grandparents, friends and children.  You are spending hours and hours working to ease the pain and suffering in patients and watching many of them die after weeks of fighting.  Many of you are spending weeks and months apart from your loved ones because you are risking your own life in the hopes of helping others recover and go home to their loved ones.  I cannot imagine the life you are currently living, but I want you to know I see you.  I think about you, and I pray for you.  Thank you for every ounce of effort and energy you are putting in for the sake of others.  You are heroes.

To the Teachers

To the creative teachers, who have pivoted quickly to learn a new way of teaching virtually.  I commend you for getting out of your comfort zone to continue to help our children learn and grow.  I see the videos you make, the zooms you host and the technology for assignments you have had to learn and utilize quickly.   Thank you for the emails checking in to make sure our children are doing alright away from their normal school lives.  I see you; I see that you truly care for the wellbeing of your students.  I appreciate every ounce of effort you give. 

To the Grocery/Delivery Employees

To the dedicated grocery and delivery employees, who are working overtime to get all of us our basic needs.  Without you, we would not be surviving.  I hear stories of all the hours you put in barely able to keep items stocked before they are wiped out clean yet again.  I know you are delivering record numbers of packages (I know this because my husband is a mail carrier), many of them filled with life-sustaining prescriptions.  I see you; I see that you expose yourself to a horrible disease in order to keep families going.  I have read about some horrible behavior in shoppers that you are enduring, and yet, you show up every day to serve.  Thank you for keeping our families functioning at home.

To the Parents

To the adaptive parents, who have stepped up to the challenge of playing teacher at home.  You have risen to the challenge of several new roles all at once.  I have personally witnessed (with my own husband), that you have had to be the IT department helping our kids navigate their new formats for learning online.  You have become tutors, learning the way kids are taught math in these times, so that you can help your children continue their education without missing a beat.  You have become time management experts, keeping our kids on their scheduled Zoom calls with their classes, as well as coaches, working to encourage our kiddos when they have had enough.  I see you; I see your persistence and patience.  I thank you for all the hours you are putting in to make sure our children have as much of a normal life as possible while yours has flipped on a dime.

To the children

To our resilient kids, who have rebounded from being taken from your normalcy of school and friends.  You have embraced your new daily lives like champs, only complaining a little (right?).  I have watched as you have overcome shyness speaking on Zoom calls with your teacher and fellow classmates.  You have taken recess outside your own homes, with only siblings or yourselves to play with and your creativity has astounded me.  From chalk-drawing mosaics on the sidewalks, field trips via car rides to look for bears in windows and drawing beautiful cards and posters to encourage others.  Your lives are nothing like how they were a couple months ago, and yet you show up everyday to keep learning and growing.  I see you dear children; I think how you have pivoted so easily is an example to us all. 

To the Graduates

To the class of 2020, who has had your hard-earned right of passage of a graduation ceremony ripped out of your hands.    You have shown up day after day for so many years.  You put in the time, you did the work, you faced all the challenges and won.  Your time has come to be celebrated.  You deserve to wear that cap and gown proudly, to walk across that stage and receive your diploma while the audience cheers.  While you won’t get that opportunity for a while, you still carry a positive attitude.  I pray that you feel just as celebrated and even more so by the signs in your yards and the drive-by parades.  I see you, and you amaze me.  Whether high school or college, you have earned the right to the biggest party on the planet.  However, you accept with grace the quaint and quiet congratulations in your own homes.  I believe your class will be more capable and determined than ever before to go on and crush it in this big, wide world.  So, go ahead and move that tassel over.

To Humanity

To all citizens of this great Earth, you have all faced a great obstacle that none of you were equipped or trained to face.  Some of you have been in isolation completely alone for months and you keep going.  Others of you have not had a single break to get a little alone time to refuel.  Many of you have lost your jobs which were your identities or your livelihoods.  Others have worked overtime non-stop and powered through exhaustion and fear.  Some of you are in nursing homes or hospitals aching for visitors, while others are being forced to stay away from their pregnant wives or elderly parents or children fighting for their lives. 

It isn’t fair to any of you, but I see you.  I see some of what you are enduring, and I know I do not see most of what you endure.  And yet, you keep going.  You get up every single day and you keep going.  This is a shout-out to all of you.  Keep doing what you are doing.  Keep enduring, keep surviving and keep overcoming.  This great world needs all of you, you are right where you are supposed to be.  I love you, and I appreciate you.  You.Got.This.