I’m behind on my blog writing. This is how the handful of blogs I’ve written in the past year always begin. I committed to getting one written this week and then – this week happened. So, here I am on Friday morning trying to figure out what I can say that even matters right now. I have a 4th grader who learned about Robb Elementary School following a moment of silence at the Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball game the other night. A game she was attending with thousands of other elementary school students from around the region as a reward for being diligent in their book reading. Last week she heard thunder and had an out of the ordinary reaction to it. Turns out she was still feeling a little traumatized from the shelter in place experience at her school during the tornado warnings a few weeks ago.

So today, we packed her lunch, made sure she brushed her teeth and fed her guinea pigs, and then carted her off to school with another round of potential tornadoes in the forecast. Now I’m struggling to get any work done because I can’t stop thinking about what her day is going to be like. How can she get any work done with all of *this* happening around her? This is too much to ask of a 9-year-old, to carry all of this worry. Hell, it’s too much to ask of a 41-year-old.

We are all so worn out from the trauma - the impossible decisions we are being forced to make, the fear, the stress, the amount of work to do in our jobs, and the obstacles that give us less time to get it done; and the amount of work we, collectively, have to do as a society.  Some days I am able to dig in and focus and use productivity to keep out everything else. On other days the ability to focus is fleeting and I feel like I expend 60% of my energy on simply trying to be present.

My kids have been a little “extra” this week and we’ve constantly had to remind ourselves as parents that they are feeling so much, we have to dig a little deeper to find patience and grace for their outbursts and tears and seemingly oversized emotions. I also have to remember to give myself, my coworkers, and my friends that patience and grace too. Nobody, not one of us, is functioning at our best right now. We are tired, running a little hot, and many of us are probably a little “extra.” I grew up with that saying, “you never know what someone else is going through, so lead with kindness.” That applies right now more than ever, I think – except we do actually know a lot about what people are going through. Whatever your work culture is, hold space for that, take an extra 30 seconds before responding to that email or slack message, and let people “go home” early this afternoon if you can. And you, you go home early too if you can - and hug your kids or call your friends or watch trash tv or take a nap or whatever you need to relax and recharge.

There is no call to action at the end of this blog that points you back to The Spark Mill, other than to say, if you need a dad joke, or a funny gif, or need somewhere neutral to send that angry email you really wanted to send – I’m happy to help.