Covid-19 Fatigue is Real…and we’re not sick yet. by Sheri LeClair Banitt

2020 has offered the world some extreme challenges. In America, we are divided like never before in a Democrat vs. Republican election year. That is tiring on its own with all the media hype, the Russian trolls invading our social media and families divided by political rhetoric. There have been several natural disasters, including floods, fires and tornadoes. We have experienced a racial awakening in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder that took place in my home state, very close to home. With all of this, I find most daunting the fatigue that entered society along with the Covid-19 virus.

I’m not talking about the actual, physical symptoms and lingering effects that come with contracting the virus. I’m talking about the extreme fatigue that comes with being ever vigilant against this lurking threat. It seems there can be no spontaneity anymore unless you are willing to risk your own health or someone else’s illness.

Before leaving home, you must make sure to have a mask and check to see if your destination will be open and receiving visitors. When you get there, you must run through a long list of Dos and Don’ts. Do wear your mask and stay 6 feet away from anyone. Don’t touch your mask or anything around you. Do wash your hands thoroughly, but don’t use the air dryer in public restrooms-they spread germs. Do use hand sanitizer, but don’t use the kind that can hurt you. Do stay connected to people, but don’t hug or kiss them, don’t laugh too much or sing into someone else’s zip stream, (the air that lingers after you move – it has germs in it). This is just to manage your grocery shopping or a trip to the gas station.

For those who are still going to work in person, there are many more concerns than just the morning alarm, commute and what to eat for lunch. Now you must check yourself for symptoms every day and attest to being healthy, then submit to a temperature check. There are more rules and regulations to follow and that can increase the workload, just when we long for a rest.

If you are working from home, you are faced with distractions that are not present in the workplace. You must be engaged and productive even when the dogs are barking and the kids are fighting. Your home is exposed to others in ways it has never been before.

School kids, teachers and school support workers have strict protocol to follow each day before they can even begin to get to the real business of learning. Masks, distancing and electronic instruction are foreign and there is no historical data to support the new teaching model, leaving teachers tired and discouraged. Parents are confused and overworked and want a break from long days with children who are stressed.

We should save money in case there is a recession. We should spend money so there is no recession. We have to watch the curve, keep track of the numbers, make sure our elders are safe. We must feed the hungry and help our neighbors who have lost their jobs. We are fending off depression and domestic violence against people and animals. We struggle to learn new ways to communicate through video calls, social media, emails and text. We guard against gaining weight and feel guilt about the plastic and packing that comes with mail order delivery. There are so many things to think about and remember.

We’re tired, and we’re not sick yet.

September in Minnesota by Sheri LeClair Banitt

These are days before Labor day, right before school starts. We are supposed to be visiting the Minnesota State Fair. We should be walking shoulder to shoulder with thousands of others on a hot sunny day, eating food on a stick and people watching. We should be in the dairy building checking out Princess Kay of The Milky Way, carved out of butter. We should be awed at the crop art and tasting Minnesota grown apples and honey. We should be checking out livestock and watching horse shows. We should be buying trinkets and gadgets and spending money until our pockets are empty and we are too tired to take another step. We should be heading home with full stomachs and happy hearts. But we’re not.

We are at home with our memories. The weather is right, the time is right; we long for the fair, but we can’t go. The corona virus threatens to get us at every turn. We dare not mingle with the 250,000 other Minnesotans who typically attend the fair each day. We are grounded. We are safely tucked in at home with only our closest circles of people. We wear our masks when out in public. We long for next year and we hope things will go back to normal. We know the normal will never be the same. Our new normal will include the corona virus and all of its ravages. We hope for a vaccine. We hope our loved ones do not get sick and we make the best of what we have right now.

We can still enjoy the cooler days. We can walk in the breeze and say goodbye to the monarchs and hummingbirds. We can have one last meal outdoors. We can have late evening bonfires and roast marshmallows around the fire. And we can start planning yard displays of pumpkins and haybales and scarecrows.

We are at the beginning of pumpkin spice season, and nothing can change that!

Breakfast is a good place to start with pumpkin spice. You can get your coffee later to match!
This is a new one I haven’t seen before. But pumpkin spice Toll House cookies sound good to me!

We Learned to Make a Timeline by Sheri LeClair Banitt

In my Digital Media class with Dr. Stacey Patton, we learned to make a timeline. This was not easy. We had to use several digital sources to come up with a three-moment timeline. I had to fiddle with it for over an hour and start over three times, but I did it! Our next project will be a 10-moment time line of our own life using pictures, videos and sound clips of our own history. I am afraid and excited to get started on that one.

Here’s my practice timeline featuring Carol Burnett.

https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1IVuVH7bMPLki8Rn6eLIUk8Nx2pHD0uCAbfEREllbQTQ&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650

C19 Quarantine Hobbies #4 by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Knitting Pumpkins

Half the fun of knitting is picking out the yarn.

It’s that time of the summer where you’re tired of mowing the lawn and the petunias are looking scrappy. But it’s not over yet and there are still those days with sweltering heat and humidity. You could go outside and weed the garden. Or you could stay inside with the air conditioning and Netflix and plan for fall. That’s what I did. I made a pumpkin ahead of pumpkin spice season so I’ll be ready when it’s time to switch over.

It didn’t take much yarn or much time to get this done.
About an hour of work, a custom stem, and this little guy is done. I can hardly wait to try all the colors.

Make Room for Growth by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Pull the weeds, fertilize the flowers.

I am part of a new community that is giving me space to grow. I am learning what it means to have white privilege in America and how life is more difficult without it. I am growing my empathy and understanding for people whose experience is different from mine.

Many boomers are faced with the reality that we can no longe ignore the racism in our society. Some double down on long held prejudices and harmful ideology. Some insist they are not racist while upholding systems in place that limit the potential of our neighbors of color. Some, like me will be thankful for the space to learn and grow.

I thought it was good that I never considered race when meeting or interacting with people. But it was only good for me, because being ignorant about race and color is accepting the systemic racism that is part of our American culture. In the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, and the media coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement, I am becoming more aware of the racism surrounding me and more sensitive to how that affects people of color.

I am fortunate to be taking a class learning about digital media offered by Dr. Stacey Patton. My daugher who follows Dr. Patton on twitter shared a link with me where I signed up for the class. 300 students were enrolled and we began a Zoom journey together to learn how to manage a blog on Word Press. It was timely for me because just weeks before I started a blog on Word Press. I didn’t have any experience and didn’t know how to proceed. I could only add ‘New post’. Now I have learned to embed videos and sound tracks. Next week I will be creating a timeline of my own life.

While I appreciate learning about the technology that will help me with my blog, I feel that the greater value is in the community and fellowship of the other creatives in class. It is a new experience for me to be in the minority where I am one of a handful of white students amid a majority of people of color. I am immersed in a class of people who are the same as me and different from me. We are the same because we share a common interest. We are different because we experience racism in different ways.

The assignments we are given are creative and meant to teach us about technology. The topics are personal and we choose them ourselves. This is where I feel uncomfortable, privileged and frivolous. My life experiences feel normal to me; entertaining and fun. When I look at many of the other submissions, I see something more. I see people being vulnerable about themselves, their lives and experiences. I see pain and anger and activism and advocacy. I see real people dealing with real trauma that is happening in the same spaces where I live but that I don’t experience. And maybe that is why I scratch the surface in my writing, so I don’t have to deal with the hard problem of racism.

I want my classmates to know that while I do not experience the same difficulties, I have experienced some difficulties in my life, and that creates a bridge of empathy. I want to share with you the things that make us the same so we can laugh and enjoy each other. I want to learn about the things that make us different so I can understand what you need and how I can help you get that.

My heart is full of love, even when my actions have fallen short. My mind is full of ideas, even when I have not said them out loud. I am starting where I am, with what I have, doing what I can. I am a Digital Media Bawse in progress. Bear with me, I’m growing.