Tick tock, time marches on

It has been 12 days since I taught my last power yoga class and the last day I had students in the classroom. We spent the rest of the week in school preparing more blizzard bags and trying to figure out what was going to be happening.  Friday we found out we'd be working from home. 

For a week now, it's been social isolation. Homeschooling my two grandsons, preparing classwork, calling students. The gyms are all closed - no classes to teach. Doing workouts on my own. I'm thanking God that several years ago we bought a couple of spinning bikes; I can still work on my Sprint coaching and hope to one day do the filming.

I'm amazed by the toilet paper hoarding. It's sparked a great number of hilarious memes, so that's something. People are going bananas hoarding stuff.  I think about what I've learned about serious events in the past and how everyone shared. Rationed. Not this culture. Hogging, hoarding.

With all of the uncertainty we find ourselves in, I think perhaps the most stressful thing is wondering what other ugliness will be revealed about our cultural condition.

Neither shall any plague come near thy dwelling...

Here we are in the midst of a crisis that we haven't seen in our life time. I was a child during the 1973 Oil Crisis. I only have the vaguest of memories of gas lines and people getting gas based on odd or even numbered license plates. I was a young mother during 9/11. Neither of these events affected "life as we know it" the way the coronavirus is.

Last night I taught my last power yoga class until further notice. I was the last class taught before that fitness center closed. Yes, people came. We distanced ourselves properly...and it was wonderful. My theme for the class was anxiety. As we flowed through wonderful poses, we focused on strength in peace, strength in breath, strength in calmness of mind, strength to maintain balance and to be flexible no matter what life throws our way. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound mind.

Prior to this I had spent the day at school. School was open but only two students in my class showed up.  The day was occupied by making two more blizzard bags. I had already made the first one on Friday. We staggered copier time so that every teacher would get a fair chance to get this task done.  I had spent a great deal of time on the weekend seeking out materials that would be educational, but not over reach.  The fear is that many children won't bother to complete the assignments.  Three weeks worth were made but the word from our governor is that schools may be closed for the rest of the school year. Normal may not return until July or August.

**I actually began writing this on 3/17. Today is 3/28. Things have continued to get weird.