We’re lucky— to live where we live; to have the people we do

March marks the one-year anniversary when the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed our lives. Life as we knew it came to an abrupt halt.
    As we look back over the past year, we’ve made countless adjustments in our lives to adapt and cope.
    Do masks work or not? Does social distancing make a difference or not? Are lockdowns effective or not? Can kids got to school safely or not?
    These were just some of the questions we were faced with in the “new normal” of our lives.
    To top it off, experts told us one thing, then reversed their position several months later, only to reverse themselves again a year into this thing.
    Frankly, we’re lucky—to live where we live and to have the people we do.
    We’re lucky in that good ol’ Midwest common sense has ruled the day—mostly.
    We’re lucky that we live in the wide open spaces of rural Nebraska versus the lockdowned cities of our country.
    We’re lucky to have teachers, administrators and staff who ensured that our kids attend in-person school versus some variation of on-line learning or no school at all.
    We’re lucky to have health providers, first responders and other workers and volunteers who met the virus head on and never wavered in their duties.
    As I look around the country, I see how many teachers, administrators and school boards are depriving children by not getting them back to the classroom. It makes me appreciate even more the kind of people we have in our schools who would never let that happen here.
    The impacts of the COVID pandemic will be felt for a long time but we will eventually bounce back. However, my fear is that a whole generation of school kids will never recoup what has been lost to this point and going forward.
    Kids belong in school.