What the heck just happened? Let's do some reflecting on COVID, together.

It’s might be hard to believe, but we’re coming up on two years since COVID lockdowns began, and the world changed in so many ways. Some times it feels like ten years, other times like no time has passed. Some times I long for how things were “before,” while other times I can’t recall anything other than what is now.

How about you?

Last year the New York Times published an article about the need to actually process what happened (and is still happening) during the pandemic. That, while we roll with the news and changes, and even see brighter days ahead, we can’t really move forward into those brighter days until we come to understand how we were affected. We face, we prepare, we get through, we adapt…but all of that has impact, and changes us, too. It’s important to know that.

With this in mind, we’d like to invite people to spend some time with pen and paper, to do some thinking about what the pandemic has been like for you. We’ll even get you started—we’ve got journals, pens, and prompts. Spend some time writing it all out, in whatever fashion you prefer. Then comes the good part—we’ll meet in-person on March 29, in Meeting Room A (lots of space!) to share and listen to what we all have to say.

If you’re at a loss to get started, you can try one or more of these prompts we’ve picked, and write down whatever they bring to mind.

If you’re unsure of how to use the prompts, here’s an example. If I were to pick ‘masks’ as my prompt, my mind immediately goes to my mother-in-law, who is an expert sewer and spent time making lovely masks. She actually came to our house last spring for several weeks, and so I might end up journaling about how I got to spend quality time with her, an unexpected bright spot during COVID, and an event that made me realize how nice it is to really spend time with people, in your own home (so, also a ‘silver lining’!). If I were to use ‘illness’ as a prompt, I might write about a family member who spent a great deal of time in the hospital (unrelated to Covid), how none of us could visit them while they underwent major procedures, and the loss of control we felt, the fear, the guilt, and the anger. If I were to use ‘outdoors’ I would write about how much I enjoyed spending time on my patio, how it became an “outdoor room” of our house, and the lengths I went to in finding just the right chairs. In fact, I might even try to draw the chairs—it doesn’t have to be all words!

Register for a spot, and then stop by the Info Desk on the 2^nd floor to pick up your journal and pen. Feel free to contact Stacey or Candice if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas you want to chat about. We look forward to seeing you in March, and hearing what you found out about your own experiences.