One of my fond memories of my mom is when she would sing, Getting to Know You, from The King and I. As an introvert, it gave me a sense of the positive possibilities when I am friendly and reach out to people. It’s one way to learn to love our neighbors as The Good Book directs us to.
However, it’s easier said than done, isn’t it? We’ve been taught to be reserved, keep to ourselves, and even be a little suspicious of our neighbors. That tension inspired me to write and draw this cartoon.
As the novel coronavirus concerns ramped up, there was a big emphasis on working from home. But we soon heard, “What happens when you just can’t work remotely?”
For many office jobs, we found it was a possibility. As a graphic designer, that can be a preferred mode of working. After all, you just need a laptop and a speedy Internet connection, and you are in business. However, after two years, we’ve found there are aspects of remote work that just don’t work.
Also, there are many jobs where that just isn’t possible. Manufacturing requires workers to be at the machines and be productive. As a Graphics Manager at such a facility, I soon found I was needed at the plant. While we had some office workers off-site as a precaution, we still needed office workers there to keep the jobs moving.
While some schoolwork can be done remotely, someone has to be there to guide a child and keep him out of trouble. Someone has to be home to feed her. Sure, The parent can do that… while they are working remotely… and having their web conference with that important client… and keeping the dog quiet. What could go wrong?
We soon found out! Remote learning has been very hard for students. I feel for them. While remote employment has worked, remote learning has been very hard for kids.
If the last two years have taught us anything, we have learned that the best-laid plans never go as planned. There are circumstances and surprises that come out of nowhere. In fact, we may be tempted to utter along with Curly, “I’m a victim of circumstance!“
I thought I had life all figured out until I had children. Planning was easy when my wife and I started our lives together. For the most part, we were on the same page and had similar goals. But when we had kids, I discovered they didn’t always share the same goals like when was the proper bedtime, how to behave at restaurants, and when was the optimal time to begin potty training.
Alas, if you get slapped with a restraining order, you probably aren’t loving your neighbors the right way! What does it look like to help those around us when society has become very suspicious of anyone offering help?
Yes, I’ve been on a hoverboard before. But for some reason, I escaped unscathed. Still, it was enough of a harrowing experience to create a cartoon about it.
Parents and teachers do a lot of things to relate to kids. The other day, my sister sent a video of her dancing with her daughter. She was doing what she needed to do to keep her kindergartner entertained. There has been a lot of that activity going on while we have been cooped up in our houses and apartments for the last two weeks with a COVID-19 quarantine.
I’m willing to bet it will be worth it when you share the memories in a few years. It may seem things are dire at the moment, but kids will probably remember this time as a fun break that allowed them to connect with their parents in a way they never would have been able to do otherwise.
So embrace today and find another new way to connect with your son or daughter. Just be careful of those hoverboards. You don’t need a broken ulna right now!
