I need a schedule. All of this freewheeling staying at home isn’t good for me and I’m starting to go a little stir crazy. But I’m trying to learn some new things. Amelia and I broke out the watercolor paints the other day and followed along to a tutorial online. She’s pretty good at this whole art thing. Me, not so much. We’re making some jewelry, reading books, and watching some TV. So we’re trying to keep busy. But the most important thing is that we are staying home and saving lives. The only way this is going to fade is if we all follow the guidelines, be firm in social distancing, and stay home. This pandemic isn’t about you or me. It’s about us. We are one gigantic team and we need to take care of each other.
The M.V. Museum is, of course, closed to the public. Staff has been working to create an expansive online presence for the community, from Objects and Oral Histories of the Day to educational curriculum guides to the entire backlog of MVM Quarterly magazines. Additionally, senior management is working to assess the situation and its impact on the Museum’s finances. The goal is to ensure that when they reopen, the Museum is ready and able to welcome everyone back and carry on where things left off before the pandemic age. If you are looking for a way to help them, you could make a donation to the MVM Annual Fund, which will help sustain them through these challenging days.
Happy birthday wishes go out to Carla Cooper on March 31, and my brilliant and beautiful cousins Joanna and Samantha VanGelder on April 3 and April 6. I’m a little early on those but don’t want to forget.
As I’m sure you know, schools are now closed until at least May 4. But fear not, all of the teachers have been providing lessons and activities for our students. If you or your child haven’t gone online yet, you should check your emails, the kids should check their Edgartown School emails and Google Classroom, and and check out all of the teachers’ websites at edgartownschool.org to find out what your kids should be doing to prevent “brain drain” and give you parents a break and an opportunity to do your own work. Goodness knows juggling kids at home with working from home isn’t easy. Keep those kids busy with schoolwork!
Do you have a dance with Rise VPA? Starting this week, the dance studio is running classes using Zoom, a video meeting app. So if you have a dancer that is part of the Rise family and don’t know about this, check your emails for details. The schedule and important information went out to the dance families last weekend.
I was chatting with Gina DeBettencourt the other day. I don’t even know the best title for Gina. She runs the cafeteria at the Edgartown School, but she is so much more than that. She takes such good care of the kids, the staff, and the families and no one is more devoted to the kids than she is. That said, she was singing the praises of Robin Forte, Anthony Rabeni, and Dan Townes, who have been working so hard in the cafeteria for the last few weeks and who will still be there working in the weeks to come, turning out grab and go-meals for the kids in need. Unfortunately, there are kids who struggle with food scarcity in their day-to-day lives and long-term school closings mean they may be missing out on some of the only real meals they get, especially when parents may also be out of work. These can be scary times for many. These four cafeteria angels have been making sure that none of the kids go without during this challenging time. So a big thank you to all of them for the support they are giving, and always give, to our students and families. They are amazing.
While we’re at it, how about a big thank you to all of our community members who are on the frontline during this crisis. To everyone who works at the hospital and in the medical community, from the housekeeping and custodial crews to technicians to nurses to the top docs, and the police officers, EMTs and paramedics, and fire department crews who are taking care of emergencies, to the essential workers in the grocery stores and pharmacies, I tip my hat to all of you and on behalf of the community you all serve, thank you for holding the line and taking care of your community.
I’m a little late in sending my condolences to the families of Janet Norton and Sherm Burnham. I’ve been thinking so much about both of them that I thought I had written. I met Jan when I was 11 years old and she had a horse at Muskoday Farm. She remained a friend from that day on.
Sherm was one of my dad’s dearest friends, golf buddies with the crew that included Ted Morgan, Marty Mard, Dick McCarron, and Arthur Winters. Sherm and Pop have been the only two left of the crew for a while now and would visit each other regularly when golfing came to an end. Visiting had become all but impossible for the two of them recently. Getting older isn’t for the faint of heart. Sherm, you will be missed. Thank you for the memories and your years of friendship with my dad.
I wish I had more to share but as we all know, there just isn’t much going on. Stay home and stay healthy. I’m loving the quality time with my girl child. When you get frustrated or feel bored out of your mind, remember that we are all in this together and you are staying home to take care of your friends, your extended family, your elderly neighbor, or maybe your best friend’s grandfather. The fact of the matter is that we are all heroes simply by staying home. Keep going. It’s not forever. We will get through this. Together, as ever, as one.