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“Fa la la la la”

12/20/2022

Tuesday December 6th, 2022
From the messy desk of Amanda Eichstaedt

Tis The Season

2022 is almost over, and it has flown by “wicked fast.” If you feel like the past three years are a bit of a blur, you are not alone. There was a discussion on a Zoom meeting this week where we were all feeling really busy and overwhelmed. A different kind of overwhelm then at the peak of the pandemic. 

       
Really beautiful spiderweb.  Photo: A Eichstaedt

While we are still in the pandemic, health officials are saying that we need to “double down” on the “tripledemic” of RSV, influenza, and COVID-19. A respiratory trifecta. These illnesses attack our very essence, our breathing. How can we not be traumatized by what collectively, as a planet, we have been coping with these past years.

The good news is that we know more than we ever did about how respiratory illnesses track in our community by monitoring wastewater samples, having vaccinations for two of the three, and we are all well aware that well fitting masks work, and washing our hands is always a good thing to do.

So we go about our daily activities, choosing to mask, or not, depending on our personal risk assessment. There is no longer any shame in masking up, it’s just something we do. Three years ago, unless the particulate matter was dense in our air, masks were “not a thing.”

Collectively we are all recovering from the trauma of the pandemic. While some of us are also recovering from other traumas, there is something to recognizing the global aspect of COVID. In order to recover from any trauma there are three generally recognized steps. The first is to get to a place of safety and stabilization. The second is remembrance and mourning. The third is reconnecting and integration.

It is a personal journey, but one that we are all taking together. The holiday season can be tough for some folks. My personal goal this season is to cut myself some slack, and cut others some slack. Knowing that everyone is on their own journey, and we can never know what any one person is experiencing.

  
My kind of deep breath.    photo: A Eichstaedt

So as we glide towards the days with the least daylight this year, and you are feeling irritated or frustrated, take a deep breath. Pretty soon we will be getting towards the solstice and our daylight hours will begin to expand, and before we know it little flowers will be blooming and we will all start worrying about defensible space again.

Tis the season to be merry, Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la.

Let’s all have each other’s backs. 

Amanda



KWMR Is also teaming up with the Family Music Hour once again. Their next show is on Saturday, December 10. Sounds like you will be able to tune in to hear the Family Music Hour Live on KWMR! Tune in Saturday Night at 7 PM in your jammies and enjoy the show via KWMR!

Come on out to the play!
Amanda Eichstaedt
Station Manager/Executive Director