Writing in the month of March 2020

My first slice of March, 2020, was about the day my dishwasher flooded, sending gallons of water gushing onto the floor.  Water that eventually dripped down into the basement.  I look back wistfully, wishing that that had been the worst thing to happen this month.

It boggles my mind how quickly life can change.  It boggles my mind that a microscopic virus can change the course of our lives, uprooting our way of life.  The writing we have all done this month reflects this change.  The first alarms came from fellow writers on the other side of the world. They told of quarantines, and face masks and bravery in the face of fear, along with everyday stories.

A slice that has stayed vividly in my mind was from someone living in Thailand.  (Unfortunately, I can’t remember who it was.)  This writer wrote about her housekeeper, whom she had asked for guidance on how to get face masks.  To the writer’s great surprise, the housekeeper showed up one day with colorful, patterned, handmade masks – custom-made smaller ones to fit the kids and larger ones for the adults.  The writer was very touched by the kindness of this gesture.  I thought it was an amazing story, yet, it seemed a bit surreal to me.  Looking back, how prescient it was.

Everyday seems to bring a new challenge, a new curveball.  In this month of March, I read stories of teachers adapting to the curveball of distance learning – facing it head on, as teachers are wont to do. I read stories of teachers missing their students and stories of setting up home “classrooms”.  I read stories about the signs of Spring – emerging in a variety of ways across our country, across the world.  I read family stories: engagements, card games, virtual birthday parties, and lots of love.  I read sad stories and stories of struggles.  I read stories that made me laugh out loud.  I read poems and narratives and letters, in first person and third person, and even one or two in second person.  I have read and treasured comments and the feeling that I’ve gotten to know some of my fellow writers through the commenting.

This has been a tough month, but it’s also been a month of perseverance, hope and community, and moments of beauty glimpsed through the words of so many amazing writers.