Megan Again: There’s Beauty in the Cracks

By Megan Wirts

Great things are about to happen. I can feel it. I can also sense the doom, the fear, the tension and the helplessness people are feeling. I feel that too. I hear my friends say they are scared about losing their jobs, many have already been laid off. Small business owners are worried about keeping their doors open. I hear others say they are afraid of going to their jobs because of their risk to exposure. Many of my friends work in the medical field as nurses, doctors, and respiratory therapists. Others work at grocery stores and pharmacies. Everyone is feeling it. No matter who you are, where you live, your age, race, your religious, non religious or political beliefs, we all are going to be affected. We cannot control what is happening around us, but we can control how we respond. 

After my initial anxiety peaked and I refilled some prescriptions, no shame in that game my friends, I started making lists. Lists of food, activities, songs and recipes. I went through my pantry and made a list of meals I could make for the next 30 days. I felt lucky to be able to come up with 30 days of meals without having to go to the store. You see, I’m already a home baker, cook and person that has been in a bit of social isolation for a few years now. Being physically disabled will do that to you. I’m also a planner, not quite a prepper and absolutely NOT a hoarder, but I usually do my grocery shopping monthly so I’m pretty well stocked. There are hoarders out there and it’s not cool. Recently I watched someone haul loads of toilet paper and other large bags of things into their house. I thought it seemed excessive and now I can’t find a roll of toilet paper anywhere and ¾ of the people in my house suffer from the nervous poops. Good thing I save all my mismatched socks. 

My 12 year old son and 16 year old daughter cleaned the entire basement and turned it into an awesome hangout spot and jam space all on their own. I was very suspicious. I still kind of am. The day before that my son built a rocket and my daughter painted it. They did this together. We have also been playing more music and learning new songs together. It’s only been one week, so let's see where we are three weeks from now. Currently I’m cautiously optimistic that we will not be having a Shining like situation on our hands

It feels as if the world is taking a deep breath and we all need to join in. We can do this by staying home when we need to and by helping those that cannot. I see people organizing food drives, creating mini libraries, sewing face masks for health care workers because they are running low on everything, and just being good, kind humans for the sake of humanity. I see moms that are original homeschoolers reaching out to all of us new to the homeschooling business with helpful ideas, laughs and hope. People are sharing jokes, stories, and songs trying to lift spirits and find joy in what feels like a joyless situation. We are going to show up for one another because that is what humanity does. 

I’m trying really hard to focus on the good that will come of this. I’m hopeful for a more empathetic world. My daughter has asthma and I have a neurological movement disorder, we are part of that vulnerable population that needs to be protected. I know that it’s going to hurt for a while and we are going to grieve. We are going to have to pick up broken pieces and glue them back together and we all know that the things are always just a little different after something has been broken, but there is beauty in the cracks. That’s what I tell my daughter when we are singing and our voices crack when we are trying to reach those high notes. Sometimes the crack is more beautiful than the note we were trying to reach.

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