(ThyBlackMan.com) March 13, 2020 was the day school shut down for my son here in Louisiana. In the time it took for the news to break and me to pick him up stores became packed. Items that were on the shelf at noon had disappeared. I was able to find a few of the items we needed but I knew I would need to go to various stores to make sure we had simple items like bread. The combination of COVID-19 and children being out of school for four weeks has taken its toll. I mentally prepared to go to a couple of stores for this bread only to venture to four stores with no bread. When I finally found a small loaf, it was severely overpriced. In that moment of frustration, I called my nerves, and decides to bake the bread myself.
My elder once told me, when I am able, never pay for what I can do myself. This is about to become the reality of living as we are forced to embrace new norms in the wake of COVID-19. Convenience feels like a thing of the past as many of us have been home due to stay at home
mandates. Growing up some of us had elders, and ancestors, that annoyed us with the weekend cleaning. They made us get in the kitchen and learn something. They taught us how to mend an item verses just throwing it away, and some taught us to create the clothes and covers that was needed. More so we were taught how to be still.
Hurricane season and various storms was the time the elders taught us to find contentment in being still. Play a board game quietly, read a book, have a meaningful conversation, read your bible…or take a nap. Many of us didn’t grow up with 24/7 TV, gaming systems weren’t as they are now, and we had to connect to what was right in front of us. This is very different from what our children know today. However, the lessons the elders taught us growing up prepared us for a time when we would be forced to a state of stillness.
In reaching back we are finding that we have what we need, or we have the knowledge to manifest such. I admit I didn’t panic when I saw disinfectant wipes disappear. That’s not how I learned to clean, and honestly the wipes are convenient. If I had to get the cleaning done the old fashion way it might take me a few minutes more…but it will get done.
These are perilous times. It feels as though the ground is shifting beneath our feet, and nothing will be the same again. The longer this virus runs rampant the more life as we know it will be forever altered. One can only wonder if this is what the previous generations felt as they faced like altering challenges. In this time, I am grateful for faith, culture, family, and the lessons that are keeping me sane.
Staff Writer; Christian Starr
May connect with this sister over at Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/christian.pierre.9809 and also Twitter; http://twitter.com/MrzZeta.
