spring has sprung?

It is spring, supposedly. But it’s cold and overcast and the world is closed. Usually in spring I can’t help but to make plans and feel invigorated by the change of season. This year I know I am not alone in feeling overwhelmed and exhausted and a bit frightened.

I am at home, trying to be a responsible social distancer. Trying to educate my kids when math has changed since I was in school (and I was never much good at it then). Trying to keep them insulated from a virus, and more importantly, from fear of a virus.

Spring has sprung, but so has this pandemic. Armchair political correspondents are now also virologists. So, while people are falling victim to COVID-19, others are falling victim to the 24-hour news cycle and incessant need to be right.

This is a spring unlike any before in my lifetime. Not only because we are facing a virus that the world has never seen before and does not know how to fight; but because we are doing that in a time when people lead with righteous indignation instead of kindness. This virus is taking lives, but it’s not the only danger now.