Day #268 Writing Through COVID-19: Back to Class

My poor painful peeper made it through a full day of teaching! 

I greeted each class with full disclosure: my eye can focus up close, but when I shift my glance across varying distances, I see double in a wobbly, disorienting way. (Also, if you get close enough to look me in the eye, prepare to be permanently scarred!)

Strangely, my hearing was also impacted by my weakened eyesight today. I kept asking students to repeat themselves, and louder. It felt as if I had a head cold, all sensory input slowed and fogged.
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That said, it was a joy to spend the day reconnecting with my students! Mia told me about pinning her first four wrestling opponents. Andrew hobbled in on crutches and explained that he had dropped a weight on his foot and broken his toe. Mary, Korbin, and Belle had finished their books. Dante is excited about his first debate tournament. 

As my students bubble forth with their news, I am convinced (again) that I have the best job in the world: I am paid to reinforce optimism.
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Last night I learned that a beautiful woman in our Atlantic community is in severe COVID distress in an Omaha hospital. The news of her serious condition hit me hard. Our lives overlapped as we raised same-aged children. She is, in her early 60s, the picture of health: vibrant, athletic, strong. That she is now intubated in a city hospital, where her husband cannot even be at her side, stabs me with the unrelenting cruelty of this virus. 
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My husband and I are watching an Iowa v. Iowa State basketball game as I blog tonight. The bleachers are empty.  The coaches are masked--now unmasked--now masked again. So much of our efforts to sustain regularity in our lives (like sports) crashes against efforts to manage the pandemic. 
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Day after day, I keep blogging. I told myself I would, so I do. 

Enough.
Be well.
Write.

Meet the beautiful Kiwi babies as they convene for
an antenatal coffee! Can you spot the Wolf?
He's hiding in the camo! <3

Allison