“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ...” Even if you haven’t read it, you’ve probably heard these famous opening lines from the Charles Dickens classic “A Tale of Two Cities.” Sounds a little like current times, does it not? Many people have dubbed 2020 the worst year of all-time. It has had a great deal of tragedy, pain and suffering, to be sure, but it has also brought some unexpected blessings and beautiful moments.
When the county first announced that all students would start school virtually this fall, we were angry. We just knew it wouldn’t work for us, and we immediately began tallying up all the ways it was going to be a disaster: “We have to work!” “Our Wi-Fi is terrible!” To say we were dreading it is an understatement. Sometime during the middle of the second week, while Scott was sitting with our youngest son and I was dashing back and forth between the two middle schoolers—they have a knack for having a technology crisis at the exact same time—it dawned on us that we had been thinking about it all wrong. We don’t have to do this; we get to do this. We get to spend all this extra time with the kids. Yes, it’s stressful and difficult, but it’s also fun and rewarding. We’re grateful, but we get irritated. It’s inconvenient, and it’s a blessing. Indeed, it’s the best of times and the worst of times.
We hope you enjoy this issue and the stories of hope, love and inclusion in our community. There are lots of bright spots to be found out there, if we just remember to look for them.
May the Lord bless and keep you.
Meredith Tredeau
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