Back to school in the age of COVID...

Hello all. Today in Laramie, WY and around the state, we’re sending our kids to school. I’m more emotional than usual and I’m not sure if this is because we sent our youngest to kindergarten this year, or because of everything else that makes this year so different. I vacillate between optimism and anger, pessimism and fear, sympathy and judgement. I’m angry and sad and hoping for the best at the same time. I’m so sad that this year will be her first experience in school. I’m fighting the urge to scream. And I don’t know why I’m telling you this. Because I’m guessing you feel the same way and you also don’t know how to fix it. Powerlessness is an awful feeling.

This year our kids are fortunate enough to start school in person. I’m hoping against hope that they continue with in person classes for the entire year. I have very little reason to believe that those hopes will be realized. I am grateful for the faculty and staff that are doing their best. And I’m livid at the failure of leadership in our school district and at the state government level.

What I should focus on is that we’re so lucky to live where we live. Relative to many other places, our lives have been disrupted to a much lesser degree in Wyoming. Thank God for small favors.