Missing normal

I would love to jump 50 years into the future to look back on this time as a part of history to see what we’ve gotten right and where we missed the boat with COVID. Everyone feels like they have it right and everyone else is wrong, but we can’t all be correct.

The most recent news here is that the government will be putting signs on the doors of people who are in quarantine. Just stating facts. No public judgment here. You would have thought the house arrest tracker would be enough … I was going to write more, but I. Can’t. Even. (I can’t even legally either or I could be under another kind of arrest.)

The house arrest watches for people who have been in contact with someone who has tested positive. 14 days in isolation, guaranteed by this tracking device (Not mine, thankfully — at least, not yet). Unfortunately many of them are buggy and set off alarms saying you’ve crossed the perimeter line when you’re actually home in bed . . . but I have no comment about that.

Meanwhile, after a 6 week trial with 30k participants, emergency approval has been given for a coronavirus vaccine that was developed with China, but tested here. In unrelated news, it generally takes 10 years of testing and refinement to develop a vaccine. I’m sure it’s perfectly fine.

Hopefully we get to go back to school in person on Sunday (elementary, not MS/HS yet). [*** yes, Camille did get to go back, yay!] We all did our nose swabs again and as long as we don’t get two positives, we are cleared to open. It feels a bit like going to Vegas and putting all your money on black.

A pastor friend wrote an article about how to continue to participate in the body of Christ when we are physically distanced and the entire thing was excellent, but my biggest takeaway was to adjust my attitude. I can’t control the rules, the fines, the tracker watches, or any of the other external controls, but I can adjust how I think about them.

Instead of banging on (thanks British English for that lovely phrase) about how illogical some of these restrictions are, I can think about how Paul gave up all sorts of freedoms (including his physical freedom) to advance the Gospel. God has us in UAE for a reason (not always sure what that reason is, but we are here in his service) so am I willing to give up my freedom to travel for the sake of the gospel? Yes I am. Am I willing to forgo seeing my US based kids for the sake of the gospel? Um, God and I are going to have to have a long conversation before I’m OK with that one. BUT, if that’s what he calls us to do, then I’m willing.

And we just got the news 5 minutes ago (via Instagram) that for the near future (until we are told otherwise), Middle and High school kids will continue learning from home. They were supposed to start in person this coming Sunday. (Surprise!) But wait, there’s an exception for High school students. They may come in person if “they are sitting exams that affect university placement.” Hmm, that’s basically every high school student. It’s the sweeping declarations paired with burdensome exceptions that bothers me.

Since admin was informed at the same time as the general public (via Instagram) I don’t know how our school will handle it. I’d love for Caleb to go in person, but I’d rather have his teachers focused on one population and teach it well, rather than splitting energy between those at home and those in person. But I know there are plenty of parents who are concerned about college admissions and exams and want them to have in person instruction and there are probably just as many who are scared of Covid who will want to keep their kids at home.

Bless, I have no idea what the future will bring because every time I turn around, things get crazier here. But, I’m reminding myself, I have freedom in Christ, so none of this matters in the long run. A friend in the US has thrown around the hashtag #freethechartiers and yes, 6 months in and this is getting to be a bit much, but I’m going to hang on and not give up. Long term? I have no idea. I can see a lot of the teachers feeling like this isn’t worth it. More than one has commented that they’ve considered going home at the end of the year and working at a garden center or driving a truck because this environment is not what teaching is supposed to be.

Enough complaining. My favorite thing about today? This letter that Camille wrote to Carter at boot camp. I didn’t ask her to write a letter, but she heard me say that I had finally gotten his address and next thing I knew, she was handing this to me to send to him.

Thankfully we have the sandboxx app so we can type a letter, upload a photo and have it printed and shipped to him overnight. It’s not as cheap as a regular stamp via USPS, but if we mailed him letters from here, he’d be done with his 5 year contract before they arrived.