A Conundrum of blessings

Conundrum.  I feel like all of us have been living in a conundrum for the past 5 weeks.

Let's start back in March.  Specifically, let's start at Spring Break.  I had planned on staying home and doing all kinds of things in and around the house.  My wife had wedding planning to do up in Estes Park, so it was to be just me and our zoo.

I got home on Friday, and the plan was soon hatched for me to also go to Colorado.  Mind you, this required loading up a 100lb pig into a cage in our car, along with 3 dogs.  This plan was only complicated by the pig getting car sick around Eden, TX.  We got to Lubbock, dropped off the pig and a dog, and proceeded onto Denver with 2 dogs and a very pleasant smelling car.

Denver is an incredible city, located near the amazing Rocky Mountains.  We had enough time to check out our daughter's new apartment, enjoy a nice meal, then head over to Estes Park.  We arrived late on Sunday night.  Of course, the town was shut down at 11pm.

Little did we know, but many of the stores would not open while we were there.  With no skiing in Estes Park, many businesses close for the winter and open around mid-March.  Not this year.  This was the beginning of our living conundrum.

We stayed for a few days literally right on the edge of town.  We had several meetings planned with various vendors.  The weather was amazing; we even had several inches of snow and lots of elk came down from a nearby hill to graze.

While we certainly enjoyed the area, we also kept an eye on current events as they unfolded.  Little did we know.  We had planned to be back in San Antonio by Thursday night so we could enjoy the weekend.  Before we had arrived home, our break had been extended by a week.  By Sunday, we knew we wouldn't be back in the classroom until the end of March.  Within a few more days, all of April was turned into distance learning. 

There is no denying the overall beauty of Colorado.  I, however, am partial to our incredible state of Texas.  Travelling from the Great Plains, through the North Central Plains, and then here to the edge of the Hill Country on the Coastal Plains is always a very spiritual journey for me.  I have traveled these roads at all hours in all types of weather.  This trip was no different.  God's blessings are readily seen on the open roads of Texas.  For some reason, this trip was highlighted by a wonderful sunset and sunrise as we drove through the night.

A few hours later, we went to Sam's.  Within the beauty of Texas and all we had seen the previous few days was the most emotional outpouring of human panic and concern for an unknown enemy.  In spite of our blessings, I could see the absolute panic in the eyes of ordinary people.  The 30 foot high shelves in Sam's were quickly emptying. 

As I write and recall the last 5 weeks, I remind myself I have my health, a paycheck, and a house.

As I write, I worry about many of my students.  Many took part in distance learning as we started, but soon dropped off.  I am fortunate only about 10 of my students have never come into our Google Classrooms.  But, how are they doing?  I set up Zoom classrooms, but no one showed up after accepting my invites.

Therein lies my conundrum.  We have some interesting ways to connect to our students, but is History the class they really need right now.  I have purposefully made some easy lessons so all my students can respond successfully.  I send a video message every day.  I try to send a comic strip every day to bring humor to the proceedings.

As we prepare to return to campus in a few weeks, I anticipate what our students missed the most was our community, our teachers, their friends, and a constant predictable schedule.

Current events may have blinded our middle school students from their blessings, and with good reason.  Parents might be struggling with work, or a sick family member.  The list is endless. 

With all these things happening at once, I am just like my students.  I cannot wait to get back to campus.