Like my snowdrops returning for the spring, unfurling after patiently waiting under a foot of snow layered with the solid sheets of three ice storms, I have returned to my blog and the annual March Slice of Life Story Challenge.
I’ll be honest. I nearly did not return for this year’s challenge. Last March was so overwhelming, as we all lived in increasing fear and uncertainty and had our lives upended by school closures and lockdowns, and it made it very difficult to write – for the first time. This year, I find myself still sitting in my home office, still teaching online, still uncertain about what comes next, still trying desperately to balance teaching my students and helping my son manage a virtual learning system and a degree of access to technology that is pretty overwhelming for a child. I don’t have a lot of moments where I am feeling super positive or that I have anything to share with others, especially since my world has shrunk so small.
And yet…
I thought of the sense of connection I always get when I read the Slice of Life stories.
I thought of the friends I have made who I really only know every March through these blogs.
I thought of the camaraderie to be found in a group of teachers who are facing the current world together, no matter whether we are virtual, hybrid, in person, vaccinated, not yet vaccinated, terrified, stressed out, longing for connection, or overwhelmed.
The only thing we are not, is alone.
So I have returned this year, to share what I can, and visit with old friends, and hope that through writing, I can regain some of the that sense that we are all in this together. Perhaps I can carve out a little time for me, and think some thoughts that are not about anyone’s education, or too many meetings, or ever changing health metrics and the relentless drum of sickness.
So here I am. Hoping for inspiration. Waiting for my leaves and buds to break free from the ice and snow and open up to the sun.