A Year Ago Today: Going into Lockdown Because of the Coronavirus Outbreak in the United States (and the World)

Greig Roselli poses for the one year anniversary
of living through Covid-19 in these United States.

One Year Ago Today

Today is March 12th in the Year of Our Lord Twenty Twenty-One. Last year today, I was in a faculty meeting. “We’re not closing school,” they said. By Sunday, we were in lockdown. And the rest is history.

I feel like I’m living through a historic moment like folks who lived through the Great Depression and hoarded pennies in their mattresses. 

What Will Future Generations Say?

Future generations will ask, “What was

On the corner of 37th
Avenue and 79th Street
 in Jackson Heights, Queens

the Twenty Twentys like?” My friend Amira’s child, who is now ten months old, will want to know what he did during the quarantine. “Mostly eat and sleep,” Mom will say. “But it was a long time before you saw real people besides the doctors who birthed you and us.” And Sam will say, “OK. I survived a global pandemic.”

Recognizing That This is a Deadly Virus

As of today, 532,466 people have died in the United States; and, worldwide over 2.5 million people have perished. I recognize I’m privileged because I’m vaccinated and generally healthy (although I need to lay off the potato chips and ranch dressing). The pandemic has disproportionately hit the most vulnerable of society. I realize I’m in-person with students — so there’s always a risk I can be infected. But think about folks who work essential jobs and live in small apartments where everyone is working, coming into contact with many people. I can slink away to the haven of a more-or-less safe space in my apartment.

I think this global crisis has revealed just how fragile the ties that bind are. I’m grateful for today. I mourn those lost to Covid-19, and I’m hopeful for the future.

Kristen Ahfeld is a
First Grade Teacher in Queens.

How was your Covid-19 lockdown anniversary — and how are you coping? Let me know in the comments. ⁣

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Movie Review: Tully (2018)

A scene from Charlize Theron's movie Tully

Charlize Theron's movie Tully (2018) reminded me of another movie I saw that also deals with the theme of beleaguered motherhood. In that movie, Towheads (2013), Shannon Plumb also plays a beleaguered mother. In both movies, the characters rely on their own inner resources to cope with stress — but the results are different for each character. Theron’s character Marlo hires Tully, a night nurse who provides an outlet for Marlo’s conflicted feelings about motherhood. Tully serves as a salve to the fact that Marlo’s husband Drew is a feckless, overworked drone — albeit a sweet, lovable one. I loved the scenes with Tully and Marlo — not only because the conversations passed the Bechtel test — but because I could see that Marlo needs a tug to lift her out of her malaise. Some viewers were dissatisfied with the film’s twist ending. I won’t give an outright spoiler, but if you watched Towheads, then you’ll not be surprised by Tully’s ending. Both movies play with the idea of how creating alternative versions of oneself can be a release from mental drudgery. But there is a downside to escapism - a point the plot of Tully makes more clear. Watch one and then watch the other. Did you like Tully? Did you think it was an accurate portrayal of beleaguered motherhood? Let me know in the comments.

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