Things I learned today…(forgive me for letting this sit in Drafts…uugghh)
Everyone is really messed up. COVID, world affairs, politics, social media influence, societal pressures…it’s all taking a toll on human beings. I really believe that.
I’m trying to recognize and process that history has been wrought with trials, natural disasters, human error, and disease. The world keeps going…and it always recovers. The cycle continues. It ebbs and flows. It’s just difficult to grasp when it feels like you’re in the midst of a series of ongoing crises. It’s like you’re in a dream and can’t wake up from it.
So what do we do? I guess we just get up out of bed. We put one foot in front of the other. Sometimes we can only take things day by day. Maybe that’s where we are now.
Along these lines…I read that there is a difference between positivity and optimism. Positivity is when you have a rosy, silver-lining, smiley outlook. Optimism is when you have rosy, silver-lining, smiley outlook IN SPITE OF problems you KNOW you’ll face along the way. I think positivity aint’ always good. I am inclined to choose optimism. What do you think?
The weather is glorious. I am thankful for that.
I had lots of smiles today. And I’ve learned so much kids, their families, and frankly, the disposition of the world in the last few days more than I probably have in the last few months. No kidding.
Kids needs us, Y’all. And none of us know what to do really. But I’ll tell you what NOT to do. Don’t tell them to get over it. Don’t tell them to make the best of it and “hang in there” through whatever they’re going through. Don’t tell them that this, too, will pass. It’s all words and bullshit and fluff, and that’s how they hear it (as helpful as we might think we sound).
So what DO you say? I haven’t really nailed that down. But I will tell you that “you’re not alone” and “there ARE ways you can cope” and “I can help you figure those out” seem to work better than “you just need to try hard to get through middle school”. Man, eff middle school. It’s hard and scary. They need US.
Oh…and if you have to choose between pet and baby them and give them coping skills, please choose the latter. Plus…whatever you do…don’t blame yourself.
So every day…one foot in front of the other…one day at a time.
That’s all. We learn every day, don’t we?
Amanda Herring, Writer 