Juggling with Jello

I have been trying to write my school year kick-off blog post for two weeks, and, much like the last six months, writing a compelling, relevant, and upbeat blog has been like trying to juggle Jello.  The Jello represents all the things we want to maintain from pre-COVID-19 life and darn it if they aren’t slippery buggers to hold on to! Every human on Earth has been spending each waking hour doing some form of juggling Jello trying to keep everything in your hands but clearly seeing big globs of normal life drop to the floor.

WSA started school last week with a primarily remote learning model after months of analyzing conditions, making decisions, changing decisions because of changing conditions, and then focusing on what we do best: teaching and learning.  Just to get to the point of starting school involved a tremendous amount of Jello juggling with a lot of Jello splatting on the floor.  There is so much of normal that we had to let slip through our fingers and then hold up the remaining Jello in our hands and say, “We can make this great, people!”

The fatigue of juggling Jello is corrosive to our well-being.  It sneaks up on you, eroding the edges of your perseverance, your stamina, and your optimism.  Now more than ever, as COVID-life is proving to have a long-term impact, putting down the Jello and taking inventory of your well-being is critical.  Solutions for improving your well-being are limited, so perhaps it is enough to simply acknowledge the conditions.  Acknowledge that your hands are dyed red and sticky. Your arms are tired. You’ve got Jello in your shoes and hair. And then look at the person next to you and see their Jello.  Together in our mess, we are better.