Infusions of Love

Infusions of Love

"Nevertheless she persisted." ~in reference to Elizabeth Warren; speaker...unimportant. 

The pandemic sucks. Cancer sucks. Once, when I was a sophomore in high school, my math teacher kept me after class to reprimand me about using the word, "sucks." I was already an English major in the making, so I defended the language and explained how the word "sucks" was the appropriate word for whatever situation I was referring to. It didn't work. I still got in trouble, but I was happy to have worked out my feelings about the word.

I'm on a new medication meant to help me deal with the neuropathy. It does, in fact, help me with the paralyzing tingling in my hands and feet, but it sucks up my energy.

People have been sending me things. I am still receiving cards from friends and family. Dana Schliep, who has started a business during the quarantine, decorated my porch with balloons. I have received a lot of tea--which I love and drink constantly. These things all energize me.

I get an infusion of chemotherapy every three weeks. I take chemotherapy pills for 14 days after the infusion. I like to think of the word "infusion" as the opposite of "sucks." The gifts sent to me have been infusing me with energy. The gestures go straight to my veins and stop the pandemic and the cancer from sucking so much.

I think we would agree that the pandemic sucks for everyone. But it sucks for some more than others. My friend Tara Wood, for instance, has had to postpone her wedding. This is especially heartbreaking because Tara is someone who embodies all the amazing things a wedding represents. She is one of the most creative, inventive, and enthusiastic people I know. She unifies the English Department, by working with all three schools as our Literacy Coach. She took her time finding a partner worthy of her and now that she has found someone strong enough to stand next to her, she has to bide her time until the quarantine is over. But...to my knowledge, she's not moping. She posts pictures of her porch, where she's soaking up the spring air. She spends her time trying to reinvent ELA lessons and rubrics to make teachers' jobs easier and effective. Even though what I'm sure was to be a beautiful wedding was postponed, Tara sends me flowers. Infusing me with energy.

Emily Severance, came into my life as a young, lively new teacher at Timber Creek several years ago. She reminded me of my little sister and since, has lived up to that first impression in every way. At some point, I will find the words to post about my sister, Lindsay, but I'll say now that I need her. I don't just love her, I NEED her. So when Emily Severance moved her teaching supplies into a classroom down the hall from mine, I felt relieved when I hadn't even realized something was missing. Every TC teacher will agree that Emily infuses our building with energy. She dances in the halls in the morning and has zero qualms about belting out her favorite songs in a car, in a classroom, in the faculty bathroom. It is tragic, of all people, that Emily Severance didn't get a baby shower. She's expecting a baby boy in June and had to cancel her shower due to COVID. But...Emily is not moping. She is posting her nursery progress on Snapchat. She is watching Harry Potter and Twilight as she folds new baby clothes. And she is sending me flowers.

Thank you Tara and Emily for making this all suck less, infusing my world with love.