Dear Nursery Families,
How Much Love There Can Be
“Please watch out for each other and love and forgive everybody.”
~Jim Henson
It has been a dizzying week for all of us. The ground feels like it is shifting in so many ways, and it is difficult to adjust our balance as new changes and challenges seem to arrive daily. The word “unprecedented” has been used a lot in recent days, and certainly it feels as though we are in the midst of something none of us has ever experienced before. The level of uncertainty in multiple areas of our lives is perhaps the most daunting aspect of what we are all going through. But even though this particular experience may be unprecedented, our ability to rise in moments of crisis is not. As families, as a community, and as a city, we have met unprecedented challenges in the past, and we have managed to rise to them with extraordinary compassion, with deepened commitment to community, and with care for one another and for the world. As scary as life feels right now, I am confident that we will look back on this time as one filled with examples of profound kindness and grace. I am confident of this, because we have done it before in other moments that felt similarly unknowable. And I am confident because I am witnessing so many examples of this commitment to community and to care each day, as we all care for each other and for those who are especially vulnerable.
I think often about the words of Andrew Solomon, who researched families negotiating the experience of parenting children with many kinds of profound difference. When asked about how he managed to find the hope necessary to have his own children, “in the midst of studying everything that can go wrong,” he said. “I'm not studying everything that can go wrong. What I'm studying is how much love there can be, even when everything appears to be going wrong." And, indeed, the most profound love is always found in the moments that feel the most daunting and frightening.
As we are asked to distance and shelter ourselves physically, let’s continue to take good care of one another and to look out for those who are most vulnerable. We may not be able to solve the biggest things, but we can always stretch to soothe a need that is within our reach, and doing so not only repairs a small corner of the broken world, it mends our own hearts and calms our own fears a little bit in the process. Check on those you know might be feeling most worried. Play with your children. Be patient and kind with each other, as we are all stretched thin and our imperfections are closer the the surface than usual. Each of these small things puts a few stitches back into the whole cloth.
If you are looking for something a little bigger and a little more concrete to do, we have been told by multiple members of our parent community, who are also on the front lines as physicians, that the hospitals are already in significant need of masks. If you happen to have bought boxes of masks when it was still possible to do so, and you feel comfortable donating them to those who are putting themselves at risk each day to keep us safe, please reach out to me directly. I can provide you with information on how to go about donating masks to two local hospitals in need.
Perhaps the most beautiful feature of childhood is the ability to believe in things we cannot see or know. Let’s all try to find that faith within ourselves and remember that there is love and beauty everywhere if we are determined to see it.
Last week we began our Shabbat with Paul’s beautiful prayers. This week I wish you hope and comfort in this lullaby.
From our living room to yours, with gratitude and love.
Shabbat shalom,
Alicia