What’s On My Mind…

By Allan Olson

What’s on my mind? Well, my kids might say nothing – jokingly, of course. But in reality, what’s on my mind is the same as is on the minds of millions of others across the world – the pandemic we’re currently experiencing, and what life is going to be like on the flip side of it.

Some say there will be a new normal. If that normal has us all being more appreciative of our families, then I hope that’s true. If the new normal sees growth in our mom-and-pop businesses and less in the big box stores, I look forward to that, too.

If the new normal is less games to watch at the high school level, because people are scared to congregate again – I hope we don’t see that. Rather, I hope we see more families and fans at more sporting events – locally, rather than just at the collegiate or professional level. 

This virus has affected so much at so many levels – on a local level, we have seen the shuttering of the casinos, with the restaurants and bars resorting to take-out only, and smaller stores seeing a lot less foot traffic, because many folks don’t have funds for the extra stuff they want to get from them. The resorts and golf courses are left wondering if they will even get to open this year, and if they do, what their season will look like.  

The high school and college seniors are wondering what their graduation ceremony will look like. Will they even get one? Will grad parties even be a thing this season? Then there’s also that one last final big dance of the school year – the prom.

At Cass Lake Bena, I’m not sure I can count the number of things that occur at the end of the year across the various grade levels. At the lower level, we have kindergarten round-up, where the pre-school families get their kids signed up for the next school year. Then there’s the kindergarten and fourth grade celebrations, not to mention all the fun end-of-year field trips the kids go on, like to Dairy Queen, Teal’s, the Library and of course the fire hall.

Over at the middle school, while the field trips might not be as numerous, they still always have a lot of fun stuff at the end of the year, too, that their teachers and principals always set up for them. For the eighth graders – their annual end of the year celebration and lock-in is now in limbo, along with everything else. Trust me, I’ve heard plenty on this topic – my daughter has shared her displeasure about possibly missing this rite of passage.

At the high school, you have especially feel for the seniors. There’s a lot they are missing – their last golf, baseball, track and softball games – at least as of now, as with everything there’s so much undecided. The Honors Breakfast (for all high school kids), the Senior Feast, and of course the Commencement exercises.

One thing you don’t hear much complaining about (at least by the students) is the cancellation of standardized testing. While it’s often said that the testing doesn’t give the whole picture, it’s true that it at least provides a snapshot – and that is often referred to as a benchmark to show the growth of the students. For these students, a whole year of testing will be missing. Again, most of the students really don’t care much about that.

On the home front, I’m not sure when the last time I was home this much in the evenings. All the games are cancelled, and even meetings are postponed or relocated, all due to the pandemic. Of course, we aren’t just sitting idle. We started playing games even more often than before, and Abigail has taken to baking. One night last week, she made banana bars and bread on the same night. Like many others, I fear that we might come out of this a lot heavier than before. Geocaching is of course still a thing for us, and we still find time to either hide or seek those “treasures” in the woods whenever the weather and/or mood is right for us.

On the homeschooling front, between my wife and me, the internet and phone-a-friend, we are able to help them with pretty much everything – at least so far.

I hope these ramblings find you and yours happy and healthy.

“…And that success will belong to every one of us. We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return. We will be with our friends again. We will be with our families again. We will meet again. But for now, I send my thanks and warmest good wishes to you all." – Queen Elizabeth II, April 5, 2020.

What I really hope everyone remembers when we’re back to our everyday busy lives is what MN Governor Tim Walz said in his State of the State Address on Sunday, April 5: “Our modern lives move fast – and this presents an opportunity to slow down and appreciate what truly matters. We will welcome the morning rush getting our children to school, we will smile as we pass restaurants bustling with friends sharing a meal, we will gather again in our houses of worship, we will have a renewed appreciation for the calming power of a warm embrace…No matter how daunting the challenge, no matter how dark the times, Minnesota has always risen up – by coming together. Stay home, and stay healthy, Minnesota.

As always, feel free to drop us a line at cltimes1@arvig.net. We love to hear from our readers.