I’m behind on writing blog posts (like everyone else, I feel so much busier than usual, but I find I get way less done by the end of the day), but I felt the need to drop everything and write.

On the ELA teacher chat, HC just shared this link to an NPR Life Kit broadcast featuring some very, very old friends of mine: Elmo and Grover.

Go watch it, or listen to it, or read through the transcript. I’ll be here when you’re done, really.

Because even though I am significantly older than the target audience, this made me feel better, in some ways I can’t entirely explain. Sad, too, in sort of a deep-in-my-stomach sort of way, but also better. This particular spot in the transcript both loosened the knot in my stomach and hollowed it out a little with that feeling:

Anya: So Grover, there’s one really big question, and I don’t know if you know the answer to it, but I’m kind of hoping that you do. And I know that it’s the top question for almost every kid. And that is, when is this going to be over?

Grover: You are asking me? I do not know. I am sorry. But that is OK. You know, it is OK not to know things. That is all right. But I know that this will be over someday. And we will all get to see each other again and play with each other again. This is just for now. That is what my mommy says.

The hosts then go on to teach Grover a game called Five, Four, Three, Two, One– not a counting game, exactly, but a “just-living-in-the-moment-game.” They tell Grover “name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two that you can smell, and then finally, one thing that you can taste.”

You guys, that’s a grounding technique for panic attacks.

And we are living in a world where it is helpful, and necessary, and calming, to teach it to tiny children.

Though I am trying to hard to stay positive, and enjoy little things, and live in that moment, there are also times I’m struck by how inexpressibly sad a situation we are in. People are in real danger, and beyond that, people are living with so much uncertainty and anxiety and fear. The babies feel that, too.

Take care of yourselves, and your younger siblings, and your families. And maybe play a few rounds of the game; see if it helps you feel better, too.