I’m sitting outside with Perry the dog, finally taking some time to sit in the quiet. I’ve started this blog post about seven times now, not really sure how to begin. I haven’t written here in ages, after writing every single day for an entire year, just to see if I could. I have a lot of thoughts about that, but that’s for another time.

I’ve been taking in too much information lately: too much news, too much social media, too much noise. I’m finally taking the time to breathe outside. My butt is freezing on the cement steps. We don’t have any chairs out here, but that will change once it starts being a little warmer. For being on a relatively busy intersection at our new house, my neighborhood is extremely quiet. There’s a few dogs barking in the distance every now and then. A child is giggling in the house across the street; they have their windows open, which is nice. It’s also relatively dark for a city neighborhood, which is calming right now.

It’s pretty cliche to say, but everything is so weird right now.

How am I doing? In terms of work, things are working out pretty well for me in some ways because I’m used to doing things quickly because I usually wait until the last moment to do things. It’s not because I don’t want to do things, it’s just that I’m much more comfortable waiting and thinking about how I want to proceed, and weighing different options for a long time before doing something. This personality quirk definitely drives some of my colleagues and friends crazy, but it’s coming in handy right now because things are changing so fast that it’s hard to plan out too far.

In other ways, I’m not doing so well. Even though I loathe tight schedules, I need structure imposed in some ways so that I function. Left to my own devices, I sleep until 1 p.m. and eat whatever I see. I need to find a way to work at home, too, in a non-distracting place, now that we have the okay to work from home. I have time blindness (look it up) and I can’t visualize what’s going to happen. I can put things together, but I can’t always see the outcome in my mind. That’s hard right now. It’s hard not to know what’s going to happen with the e-learning/online school/homeschooling that we are preparing for.

But we are preparing. And we are going to be ready. I’m actually getting a little excited for that – students and learning and talking to young people.

Something that has been on my mind: here, in Minnesota, we respond to hardship with food. I’m really proud of the way my kids’ school district is providing food using the busses to deliver to families with kids in our city. I’m proud of the way the high school where I work is putting together an emergency food shelf for our kids who need it, and then delivering to the homes of families in need. I’m proud of the restaurants, who are under so much financial pressure now that they have been closed to all but take-out and delivery, that have stepped up and made free meals available to kids without question. Everywhere I look, people are offering food right now. It’s pretty cool.

I have so much more to write, but I need to rest too. My bottom is frozen and my fingers are getting stiff. I think it’s getting colder. Perry the dog is harassing the bunny, who was laying out and enjoying the evening.

To friends reading (in the off-chance I’m not shouting into the void): How are you doing? Really, how are you? I want to hear about the little victories and the silly, absurd things we are noticing now that we are all forced to do this weird thing. Or maybe nothing has really changed for you? I want to hear about that too! I’m going to try to write here more, and I want to hear from you all too. Thanks for being there.