When I was a kid I wanted to be a famous actress, a writer, or a teacher. The problem with the famous actress goal was that I was pretty shy. I've never earned a living from it, but I have actually always been a writer. My third grade teacher, Mrs. Otopaul helped me to develop that. I remember she had these folders with pictures from magazines. Our job was to choose a picture and write a story about it. Then at some point we would read our story to the class. From there, I started to write my own books. No one else ever saw those books, but I remember working on them. Mrs. Otopaul was my favorite teacher ever, and I know it was her influence and creativity that made me want to be a teacher. The great thing about being a teacher is you do get to be an actor, writer, artist, nurse, counselor and so many other jobs all rolled into one.
As a teacher I have always loved teaching reading and writing. I stressed with my students the important parts of good story structure. You need interesting characters, a story setting, and then you develop your plot. After you have introduced your characters, those characters will encounter problems. To keep things interesting you will have plot twists that build interest and suspense, until there is a resolution and closing to your story.
Real life tends to be that way too, and recently we have had a lot of unexpected plot twists. Last fall I was struggling with getting back into school routine after working at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden during the summer. I wanted to keep my hand in at the Botanical Garden by working on weekends there, at the same time as I was doing my AmeriCorps Reading tutoring four days a week. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I told myself that if I continued to feel this way, I gave myself permission to change what I was doing after the beginning of the year.
Plot Twist! I have been having more problems with my asthma. I was telling my doctor this when I had my annual physical in October. She was concerned and referred me to a pulmonologist, who then referred me to a cardiologist. Lots of lung and heart tests followed. As all this was going on, and the anxiety increased, I had increased breathing problems. I began to wonder if issues with my health were going to determine how I spent my time. The good news, none of the tests showed heart damage.
Plot Twist! I did get referred for a sleep study. It turns out I have sleep apnea, and I am now adjusting to using a CPAP machine.
Things settled back into a routine, and I learned how to better balance my work at Phillips and my work at the botanical garden. As an AmeriCorp Tutor, I knew this would be my last year. AmeriCorps operates on a grant, and you are only allowed to have four contracts. This is my fourth, so now is the time to think about how I want to spend my time in the future. What things are most important to me? What makes me happy? Would I be happy spending all my time at home, as some people do in retirement?
Plot Twist! The Coronavirus began to make it's way around the world. After hitting China, Italy, Spain and other countries hard, it made it's way to the United States. Schools are closed, restaurants and stores are closed. The Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden is closed. Instead of enjoying our usual spring break activities, we are practicing social distancing and self quarantine. In less than a week's time life has changed drastically.
My son lives in Madrid, Spain, which has been hard hit by this pandemic. This virus is just taking hold in the United States. Here is where people have to confront and resolve the problems, and hopefully gain some self realization.
We don't yet know what the outcome to this story is. How many people will become ill? How many will die? Could it happen to me or someone I love? What kind of economic impact will this have?
While we don't know the final outcome to this story, as the main characters, we can decide how we are going to approach these problems. Do we deny the reality of things that are happening? Do we let terror and fear take over? Do we just keep going? My goal is to learn what I can from this situation. It is a terrible situation, but I want to find the positives where ever I can.
I am already watching as family and friends are finding creative ways to reach out and connect with each other. Teachers are finding ways to connect with students and provide instructional opportunities. Coworkers are working to get food into the hands and stomachs of kids who need it. People are meeting using apps like Zoom,Skype, or Microsoft Teams. It makes me proud to be connected to these people.
I am going to use this as an opportunity to work on things here at home, set priorities, and find constructive ways to use my time. I want to find some joy in each day. It is an opportunity to practice being more retired. I get scared, but I don't want to let fear take over.
I'm sure there will be more plot twists, but I am looking for a happy ending and new insights about those things that are most important to us all.
