Today is one year since we got the call that school would be closing for two weeks. I left school early that day for a doctor’s appointment and an appointment to be fingerprinted for my summer teaching job; the job that never happened. We all know what happened next – two weeks became four – four became until the end of the school year. Who would have thought the world would change on a dime?

So many times I thought to myself, I can’t do this much longer. Some days I still think that, but I go on because I have no other choice. Like everyone else, I mourned the loss of a “normal” life, but that was small in comparison to those who were mourning the loss of family and friends. I prayed for the safety of my family and thanked God each day they remained safe.

I have been a fan of Dr. Wayne Dyer for many many years. I wonder what he would have thought about the pandemic, what sage advice he would give his followers on public television? His quote at the top of this post has been with me for years and has often encouraged me to stop and try to change the way I look at things. That has been difficult this past year, but I have tried.

I went from looking:

• at being “stuck” at home to being thankful I had a roof over my head
• at not being able to go to a restaurant to being more appreciative of my chef husband
• at having nothing to do to seeing an opportunity to tackle things on my “to do” list
• at taking my family for granted to making the most of video chats and Facetime

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. I could have never imagined the world would look as it does today, but I am going to try and continue to change the way I look at things and hope that next year when I look back some of the lessons I learned during COVID will still be with me.

I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge for the month of March. I will be posting every day this month. It is sponsored by twowritingteachers.org. #SOL21