Quarantine
Dear Bill,
Things have been stressful these past few weeks. We were notified that the woman who killed you is being considered for half-way house placement, not even four years into her twelve year prison sentence. Twelve years is hardly adequate for what she did that day, and the choices she made in the years leading up to that day, and while the half-way house does not appear to be even on par with Motel 6, it would be an upgrade none the less. I will fight this as best I can. The governing board has already received close to probably 30-40 letters from supporters on our behalf showing their protest. I will go before the board and read a statement and do what I can to bring what little justice can be served here. But I fear it will not be enough. The system doesn't work for us. It works for them. While I realize there needs to be more work done to make these offenders rehabilitated so they can contribute positively to society once the are released, it is absurd to think she is being considered for this so soon.
If that isn't enough, we are also dealing with a pandemic. It's a very fast moving, very aggressive, pneumonia-like virus that has reached every continent, and has so far infected over 950,000 individuals and killed over 48,000 just in the last couple of months. Quarantines are happening nearly everywhere, schools are closing, public events are being cancelled left and right, travel is being suspended, businesses are closing and people in some states are being told to "shelter in place." Our kids are out of school until at least April 30. That's 4 more weeks away. We have already been doing this for 3. And let's be honest here, this situation is not going to magically get better on April 30 so we all need to just accept the fact the life is pretty much canceled for several months. Those of us that are able to work from home are doing so for the foreseeable future. The schools here are sending out homeschooling/on-line learning plans that I am having to monitor, and it really is a shame you cannot be here to experience this joyous experience with us. I taught Landon how to do decimals today. For an hour. And Owen cannot sit still and wants a snack every five minutes, because he is you. It is stressful to say the very least.
The social distancing will most certainly give us plenty of opportunities to foster our independence and interpersonal growth. And spend more time with our families, which I realize for some is not ideal. Luckily I like my family, but I will be curious to see how many alcoholics and divorces this situation produces. My hope is that we all come out of this with more appreciation and empathy, and that we are transformed for the better with the knowledge that life can change in the blink of an eye. Death and taxes. Isn't that what Ben Franklin said? Other than those two things, there are no guarantees here.
All of this stress, isolation, and uncertainty brings up a lot of anxiety for me, reminiscent of everything I felt after your death. The situation changes daily, and not for the better. It is scary and there are a lot of unknowns. The kids have asked a few times if I would be ok I got this virus. Their concern for my mortality is palpable, and not surprising. I don't know how to navigate this and I don't know what tell them other than the vague and grim details we are given. I just keep reminding myself that we have been through so much worse and we made it out ok.
It is so strange not to have you hear for all of this. 4 years ago, I could have never imagined living through something like this without you. I went to Google the other day and stood in front of your mural for a little while. I do that sometimes. The image of you there is such a representation of who you were. Larger than life, giving it your all. Always with plenty of adoring fans, though none of us were shown in the photo. I was kind of hoping that by standing there, staring at your photo I would get some clarity in all of this. You were always good at that sort of thing. Instead I just cried and got some questioning looks from a few folks who were there collecting their belongings to be able to work remotely. I guess we just keep pressing on and doing everything we can do to keep ourselves and others around us safe.
We love you and we miss you so much. If you can send us some wisdom around all of this, that would be great. Love always -Bri
Things have been stressful these past few weeks. We were notified that the woman who killed you is being considered for half-way house placement, not even four years into her twelve year prison sentence. Twelve years is hardly adequate for what she did that day, and the choices she made in the years leading up to that day, and while the half-way house does not appear to be even on par with Motel 6, it would be an upgrade none the less. I will fight this as best I can. The governing board has already received close to probably 30-40 letters from supporters on our behalf showing their protest. I will go before the board and read a statement and do what I can to bring what little justice can be served here. But I fear it will not be enough. The system doesn't work for us. It works for them. While I realize there needs to be more work done to make these offenders rehabilitated so they can contribute positively to society once the are released, it is absurd to think she is being considered for this so soon.
If that isn't enough, we are also dealing with a pandemic. It's a very fast moving, very aggressive, pneumonia-like virus that has reached every continent, and has so far infected over 950,000 individuals and killed over 48,000 just in the last couple of months. Quarantines are happening nearly everywhere, schools are closing, public events are being cancelled left and right, travel is being suspended, businesses are closing and people in some states are being told to "shelter in place." Our kids are out of school until at least April 30. That's 4 more weeks away. We have already been doing this for 3. And let's be honest here, this situation is not going to magically get better on April 30 so we all need to just accept the fact the life is pretty much canceled for several months. Those of us that are able to work from home are doing so for the foreseeable future. The schools here are sending out homeschooling/on-line learning plans that I am having to monitor, and it really is a shame you cannot be here to experience this joyous experience with us. I taught Landon how to do decimals today. For an hour. And Owen cannot sit still and wants a snack every five minutes, because he is you. It is stressful to say the very least.
The social distancing will most certainly give us plenty of opportunities to foster our independence and interpersonal growth. And spend more time with our families, which I realize for some is not ideal. Luckily I like my family, but I will be curious to see how many alcoholics and divorces this situation produces. My hope is that we all come out of this with more appreciation and empathy, and that we are transformed for the better with the knowledge that life can change in the blink of an eye. Death and taxes. Isn't that what Ben Franklin said? Other than those two things, there are no guarantees here.
All of this stress, isolation, and uncertainty brings up a lot of anxiety for me, reminiscent of everything I felt after your death. The situation changes daily, and not for the better. It is scary and there are a lot of unknowns. The kids have asked a few times if I would be ok I got this virus. Their concern for my mortality is palpable, and not surprising. I don't know how to navigate this and I don't know what tell them other than the vague and grim details we are given. I just keep reminding myself that we have been through so much worse and we made it out ok.
It is so strange not to have you hear for all of this. 4 years ago, I could have never imagined living through something like this without you. I went to Google the other day and stood in front of your mural for a little while. I do that sometimes. The image of you there is such a representation of who you were. Larger than life, giving it your all. Always with plenty of adoring fans, though none of us were shown in the photo. I was kind of hoping that by standing there, staring at your photo I would get some clarity in all of this. You were always good at that sort of thing. Instead I just cried and got some questioning looks from a few folks who were there collecting their belongings to be able to work remotely. I guess we just keep pressing on and doing everything we can do to keep ourselves and others around us safe.
We love you and we miss you so much. If you can send us some wisdom around all of this, that would be great. Love always -Bri
Comments
Post a Comment