I’m Supposed to be Planning for a Year in Spain, but Coronavirus!

Hello Meltingpot Community,

I had every intention of starting March off with a big announcement. I wanted to share that I would be spending the 2020-2021 academic year in the south of Spain with my family, in order to continue my research on the Black experience in Spain.

However, not only have I not received official word from my university that my sabbatical application has been accepted, but also, CORONAVIRUS! Suddenly, everything I had planned and hoped for is entirely up in the air and out of my hands.

Please note, I am not complaining, nor am I comparing the inconvenience the coronavirus will have on my travel plans to the actual life and death decisions others have to make, I’m just saying this sucks. I can say that right?

Living in Limbo

Let me explain. In my opinion, the one thing worse than hell, is being in limbo. Do you plan for scenario X, or scenario Y, or both? Do you enroll the children in school in the United States or in Spain for the coming year? Do you buy airplane tickets when you see a good deal now or do you wait until the very end so you can ensure you’re actually going somewhere?

So many questions without clear answers. I kind of want to crawl back into bed and cry. That would be okay as well, right?

But now isn’t the time for tears. Based on the most recent news reports, I may have something real to cry about sooner rather than later (like being stuck in my house with my kids for weeks on end. I love them but…). Now is the time to be about my business in a way that hopefully makes sense to someone and gives me some positive energy.

As if…

As of this morning, after a night of tossing and turning, I decided that I will proceed as if…As if the sabbatical comes through. As if the Coronavirus will be contained by next fall. As if we will all get through this somehow. I mean, because what else can I do? Put my life on hold? The crying thing? I don’t think either of those options is going to help me get up every morning. So, that’s the plan for now. It’s not the big announcement I wanted to share, but it’s something. And that’s something.

What would you do dear readers if you were me? I would really like to hear from you!

Peace!