This too shall pass

#ThisTooShallPass

Last week, while working from home, I met a neighbor, a middle school student. She lives on the next street over but is a neighbor in the sense that her property adjoins our yard along the rear fence.

This morning while out for my walk I came upon some of her sidewalk art. Here it is pictured. Not seen is the caption: #ThisTooShallPass.

Meeting neighbors, whether virtually or at a distance, has been a thing for me since, first, we've moved into a new house and second, it creates connections. On that same walk I met the last adjacent neighbor, also along the rear fence: Dennis. I'm thinking back to a short story I read in school. In this story aliens manipulate neighbors to turn on each other. The end result is the world is conquered.

But this pandemic is more like those stories you read about neighbors reaching out (without the actual physical reach) to each other after a tornado or flood. Sure we're scared. Who wouldn't be frightened by the prospect of death creeping into your home due to an innocent (and maybe a friendly) touch? And for all the stories of horrible companies (I'm looking at you GameStop) forcing employees to continue work, there is greater recognition of how the bottom rung of our society is more vital in place than the top rung of corporate executives.

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My First Year Teaching

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