Changing Lives
By Marty Erickson
The year 2020 will be infamous for many reasons. I am sure the New Year’s Eve celebrations at the end of this year were more about the year being over than the new one beginning. Lives have been changed forever, both for the good and the bad. Now is the time to reflect on the good, as we tick off the months of social isolation, masks, and quarantine.
If I had known last March that I would still be dealing with this pandemic in December 2020, I wonder if I would have done anything differently. Our lives have become so much more structured that our choices have become limited. Because I am of a certain age, I am trying to stay out of harm’s way as much as possible. While I used to feel the need to go out every day to run errands, I now let them pile up until it is necessary to get them done. I shop when there is likely to be less people in the stores, early in the morning, preferably, and during the week, rather than on weekends. This has resulted in filling my gas tank once a month, instead of once a week. Also, I used to eat out twice a week. No more. My wallet is not as slim as it once was, thanks to these money-saving measures.
And my house? Well, the closets and drawers have all been emptied of unnecessary items that have been repurposed to charity. It is satisfying and somehow freeing to not have so much extraneous “stuff.” I know I am not the only one who feels this way, because the parking lot at the thrift shop is always crowded with cars donating household goods.
But by far the most life-changing situation in my life is distance learning. Three of my grandchildren are with me every other week. When schools were closed in March 2020, I was sure that would only last until summer but surely not any longer than that. Little did I know.
We muddled through the last of the 2019-2020 school year, learning not only the curriculum but how to deal with the technology involved. Sadly, the kids knew that they would be receiving the same grades on their final report card that they had on the previous one. Since two of them were in 4th grade and one in the 2nd grade, they realized that the quality of their work would not matter. That made my job as their “at home” teacher more difficult, because motivation was lacking.
I felt lucky that I was a retired teacher at a time such as this, figuring that my experience would be invaluable. I have been substitute teaching since retiring. One attraction of subbing is that you get to choose the days you want to work. That was not going to be the case for me anymore. But, on the plus side, I was looking forward to spending more time with my grandchildren. Now that I have a few months on the job, there have been some definite improvements.The kids are a lot more attentive to the Zoom meetings, and more individually responsible. However, at the end of each week, there are still unfinished assignments that they swear they have done. That is still a battle, and their grades are suffering for it.
I have heard a lot of criticism of teachers during this difficult time. I can tell you as a person of experience, that, at least the teachers I am in contact with, are doing an amazing job. This is a whole new way of teaching for them, and so much more difficult than being in the classroom. Imagine being in a Zoom meeting with 25 students, some at home with no supervision. Trying to get them all to the same activity and the same time would have me pulling my hair out. The students are having computer issues, or are not able to keep up with the teacher's directions, or are otherwise distracted by something at home (a pet, a sibling, their toys, etc.). Each of these issues must be dealt with separately and is very time consuming. I can only imagine the exhaustion the teachers feel at the end of the day. If their day ever ends. By being connected through technology, they are always “on call.” The teachers that I have had contact with are prompt at returning their messages from me.
And as for the children themselves, my heart breaks. Think of the life that has evolved for them since March 2020. No social life. My three grandkids have been around no one except each other, and an occasional visit to their cousins. Needless to say, they don’t get along with each other as well as they used to, and I don’t blame them. Most of the outlets they used to have are gone, the pool, soccer games, the park. Video games are occupying much more of their time than would otherwise be allowed.
I wonder how many have taken up new hobbies while trying to stay as close to home as possible. I know my ex-husband Bob, being single, used to eat nothing but fast food or microwaveable food. Imagine my surprise when he called to tell me he had taken up cooking! And not just grilled cheese sandwiches and scrambled eggs. Filet mignon with bearnaise sauce was his first attempt. He said he couldn’t believe how easy it was. After a few more recipes (not all successes, some went to the dog), he decided he wanted to recreate some of the meals his mother used to cook. Meat loaf, macaroni and cheese, and pot roast with noodles were some of the comfort foods he was craving. So far, so good he says, although the pot roast is still a work in progress.
Another positive note for us ladies, there is no reason to wear make-up anymore. For one thing, it gets all over the inside of the mask. And it is really hard to recognize people with their masks on. So you don’t need to feel uneasy going out in public without make-up.
Although there have been many tragedies associated with COVID-19, hopefully when this pandemic has run its course we can look back on the benefits it provided us and realize that it enriched our lives in some ways.
Photo/Marty Erickson.
Marty Erickson has been a Reno resident for 39 years, retiring from the Washoe County School District as an elementary school teacher. The best two years of her life were spent teaching in a two-room remote rural school in Denio, Nevada. There, she had the privilege of teaching together with Carolyn Dufurrena, who encouraged her to become a writer. Marty has written articles for Community Living magazine and in her retirement, when she doesn't have grandma duties with any of her eight grandchildren, she loves to travel with her sister in her motorhome.
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