Well, it seemed inevitable, but until the actual announcement was made I don’t think there was a teacher in the tri state area that was not holding out some hope for a miracle. Alas, sometimes no matter how much you hope, want, even maybe pray, you can’t always get what you want. NY and NJ had “called” the in person school season off yesterday, and today CT followed suit. I don’t know that it has really settled in, this entire thing is very surreal. It has “hit” but I don’t know how long it will take to embrace. Interestingly enough (for me, anyway) this is the second time a “natural disaster” event has closed down a part of my career. When I decided to retire from public school teaching in 2012 and was due to leave the first week of November, Super Storm Sandy blew through the area and closed schools for so long (it seemed like a long time then, who would have thought that, in retrospect, was just the blink of an eye), that my last day at Weston High was simply an afterthought as it was going to be closed longer than I was going to work before my official state retirement day. Other than going back and returning my laptop a week or so later, the last day before the storm was the last day I was there. It makes me feel even more deeply for the kids who are graduating this year as I get the unceremonious “leaving” part of concluding a chapter.

I can also tell you that it’s not just the kids feeling odd about this, we, in the business, are very much used to being able to put closure to a school year. Most of my career at the high school level, each class was a group of “one offs” where I didn’t have the joy or the luxury (or yes, sometimes the pain) of working with a group for more than one year. My last 7 years have been markedly different. I’m with the same kids for three consecutive years and quite the deep relationships develop, so this year, the inability to say goodbye, to wish them a personal good luck, to conclude with my summary of the past three years in person, will not happen. It really feels odd.

For the kids, who are just starting out, it will be strange as well, but they have many, many more events and many, many more years to enjoy major celebrations. Me, I’m currently playing the latter half of the “back nine” of life and so each “interruption” such as this stands out as something I might never be able to make up for. Of course, my stated plan is to make it to 146, so if that works out, I’ll have more than a few more, but this virus has managed to wag a real finger in my face with a “you never know, do you” reminder.

For those who are most impacted by these lack of celebratory events, chin up, you’re just starting out, as Bruce so eloquently puts it…”One day we’ll look back on this and it will all seem funny..”

Cheers all, it’s time to celebrate!