It won’t be long and all the kiddos will finally return from spring break. It’s been the longest one in history, but they are so ready to be back. Many schools are opting for the hybrid plan – which allows two days of in school learning and three days online.

This virus has us all up in arms – more than a little afraid – unsure of the unknown and wondering if we will ever go back to the old way of doing things. We’re told on one hand that we must open things up again in order to restore order and a sense of stability. We’re also told we must wear masks, social distance and isolate as much as possible.

For the past few months, we’ve lived in a sanitized, purified, germ resistant environment. We’ve been placed in a prison of sorts with only occasional trips to the grocery store. Emotions are at an all time high and each of them is playing on us both mentally and physically. Those of us who want to follow the rules, wear our masks, make our shopping trips short and sweet, and stay home, while others think nothing of putting others at risk. The roads are filled more than the usual amount of crazy drivers. None of them is me however. Protests and riots continue, spreading more and more anger and hate.

My oldest grandson returned to South Korea last weekend to continue teaching there. He will need to stay in quarantine for two weeks before he can begin working again. My second grandson is settling into an apartment for his senior year of college, and my granddaughter will begin her senior year in high school in a few weeks.

The roller coaster ride has us feeling hopeful one day and in the toilet the next. I am one who tends to hold her emotions inside and then explode at some point to release them. You don’t want to be around me on those days.

The political rhetoric is nasty, slanderous and hateful. Tempers and patience run thin. People are being mask shamed. Can you imagine the bullying which might occur on our playgrounds – if they ever open up again?

Fear of the unknown surrounds us all right now. Will we have a job tomorrow? How can an artist survive this social distancing? The elderly among us are concerned for the younger generation while the kids often seem to have no fear. This is a difficult time for all of us. The “all in this together,” mantra seems ridiculous. We aren’t united anymore. In fact, I fear we’ve grown further and further apart.

However, as Americans, we are adaptable. We have an inner purpose that drives us. We can overcome obstacles without the use of a super hero cape. We can accept the fact that what we’re living today is the ‘new normal.’

So buck up! Pull up your bootstraps!! We can do this!!! We can survive whatever is thrown at us, because that’s who we are. I’m thinking of creating a mask with an image of the person wearing it, so we don’t forget what we look like. Yankee ingenuity is still alive and well and we will overcome.