​   No blog this weekend. Well, technically, I guess this is one. But with our daughter heading back to Calgary in two days, the weekend was spent with her and the blog post will wait.
     Our first week back.
   It was amazing to see people again. It was great to be back with such amazing people again too.
   And that’s about enough to write for now, although I have a COVID-test experience that will be detailed at some point lol. Plus I have probably saved a hundred bookmarks and dozens of quotes over the past months. Soooo many things to think about and soooo many questions about how the next few weeks will play out.

   But of all the things I have saved, this one keeps coming to mind.

   For as excited as I am to see what the fall brings there are a lot of mixed emotions, especially with our daughter leaving (and that’s when there isn’t a pandemic raging in the province next door.) So if you’re feeling conflicted this fall for whatever reason, it’s okay. As the poet below says, there are a lot of feelings being brutally blended together right now. It’s not easy, and that’s alright to admit.

   Till next week (when I promise I’ll have something better to say lol) stay safe.
​Edla.
 
 
i said to the sun
you are so lucky
to have a sky
full
of friends
 
but she looked
disappointed
and she sighed
as she said
 
i’m really
all alone
up here
in the end
 
the clouds
just drift by
and all birds
must descend
 
the sunflowers
love me
then leave me
as the sky
blackens
 
they bask
in my light
then they
all
turn their heads
 
she said
i have mastered
the art
of accepting
in the end
 
love and loss
is a duo
so brutally
blended
 
By ‘what goes unsaid’ via Instagram

   You know it’s been a long pandemic when Nascar is being a beacon for civil and human rights issues.
   If you follow it at all, you will know that this is not generally the image and demographic that they cater to. To be fair, our family is the opposite of that, yet have been Nascar fans since our kids were little. I honestly don’t know how it started, but we’ve seen a race at Daytona, our daughter still has an email with Jeff Gordon’s name in it, and our son only wore orange clothes until he was in upper elementary school because his favorite driver Tony Stewart drove the orange Home Depot car.
   I swear they even talked with southern accents for a time in their early development, having listened to the announcers week after week. Don’t judge! Lol.
   To see Nascar support their only Black driver, Bubba Wallace, and the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as banning the Confederate flag at races, were welcome but surprise moments.

   So why write about Nascar on this, the eve before we return to schools after five months away due to COVID 19?
   Because we actually have a lot in common.

   When Nascar started back with racing, they tried to keep things as normal as possible, but implemented many restrictions at the track. They use a condensed schedule, have strict track access, no fans allowed in the beginning, and only 16 people on the track per team.
   Despite all their precautions, one of their most-winningest drivers, Jimmie Johnson, tested positive early on with the virus. (He got 3rd today though, so he’s all good!)
   The biggest change though, is that they have eliminated practice and qualifying sessions. Usually the teams would get a chance to drive the track, make changes to the cars, and have a fairly predictable set up before the race. Now, drivers only get to check out the track when they climb in the windows of their cars right before they drop the flag for the actual race.
   So how do they adjust? Are they stuck with a set-up that doesn’t work with track conditions?
   It’s actually kind of ingenious.
   They run a few laps of the race, then there is a new optional pit stop called a “competition caution”  where teams pull in and make adjustments on-the-fly.
   As always, the communication between the crew chief and the driver in the moment is crucial. The driver gives feedback on how the car is handling and the crew chief and pit crew do the best they can to sort it out, in the shortest amount of time possible.

   Any of this starting to sound familiar? Lol.

   No matter how we start out, we will continually be making changes. Communication amongst staff, admin, parents, and students will be of utmost importance. We will try, and fail, but we will also learn as we go. Although our experience won’t literally have crashes as they do on the track.
   As driver Brad Keselowski said, “You hope everybody is smart and that they take chances…you have to take chances to learn. But by the same token, you hope they don’t take chances that are potentially lethal to everyone else’s day and causes big wrecks. Everybody has different motivations, challenges, goals, and they all kind of get thrown into this big pot (at Talledaga) with no practice. We’ll see what happens.”
   So true.
   I love how he says “you have to take chances to learn.” I heard something similar from an announcer in today’s race: “They’ll be learning every single lap. Let’s see who learns the quickest.” That should be a Sask Health Authority slogan because I'm pretty sure that's what they have been doing since March.

   For Nascar teams and drivers, the end goal is a win.
   For us, it will be providing a safe place for learning in uncertain times.
   But regardless, this African proverb seems to work for both: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. 
​
   Welcome back everyone! I won’t say that we’ve got this…I’m not at that level of confidence lol…but we can do this.
   Yep, we can.
   See you tomorrow peeps! It’s been five months - I can hardly wait one more night!!