We recently passed the one year point for the closure of CMCB. It was March 13, 2020 that we made the decision to close our doors for programming as the coronavirus was making its way across the country. As I reflect on that day, my mind drifts to those of you who are feeling anxiety around this marker of one full year around the sun with coronavirus and closures. So many of you are experiencing a type of collective fatigue that you have never experienced before.
We are tired.
Celebrating January birthdays in one of our weekly staff meetings on Zoom
Our work is harder, so there is work-capacity fatigue connected to the extra weight that we are having to carry. Our families, friends and colleagues need for us to be more patient with them, so there is a sense of compassion fatigue that is setting in for many of us. Our future is still so unclear, so even though there are vaccines that are being administered, we are still feeling the fatigue of fear that is connected to our own individual statuses as it relates to receiving a vaccine depending on our access, personal choices and level of comfort.
The sum of all of these different types of fatigue can be overwhelming. Although there are these events around us that are making some of us more hopeful, the last thing that we should do for each other in this moment is to diminish the overwhelming nature of our fatigue. The competing truths of hope and despair are true for many of us, and they should not be ignored.
How we are feeling is real. What we have all experienced is real. The fear that we might carry is also real.
Lecolion Washington
Teaching online lessons from CMCB
How we are feeling is real. What we have all experienced is real. The fear that we might carry is also real.
As we seek perspective, let’s remember that alongside all that has been happening, CMCB’s commitment to our students and families has helped to drive us forward. Because of our individual and collective spirits, we have done so much good. This is just who we are, and our community feels it.
What we can do for each other moving forward is manage our expectations of one another while remembering that we are all trying to be in this together as best we can.
As you reflect on this anniversary, please know that, whether you are feeling hopeful, afraid, and/or fatigued, you are in my thoughts.
Wishing you all the best,
Lecolion Washington
