The last year changed my life in meaningful ways. I had been a substitute teacher for the last ten years and lost all of my jobs when they closed the schools last March. Suddenly, I had a lot of extra time and a ton of anxiety. I started hand feeding the squirrels in my backyard which helped … a little.
Fortunately, my husband worked from home and kept our family afloat which allowed me to volunteer and help others. I decided that I had to get out of my head so I got out of the house and started helping at a drive-up food bank (outside, masked and distancing, of course.)
Education was also important to me so I’d been reading books about racism/inequality for many years yet I wanted to do more than just peacefully protest. One of the silver linings of the pandemic was the gift of time at home, so I helped launch a local chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice. SURJ San Mateo is going strong with over 100 members today!
Then, we adopted a rescue dog and my life was turned upside-down as I had to care for a baby once again. Whimsy is 7-1/2 months old now and she’s sweet, smart and sassy. She loves all animals (dogs, cats, humans, etc.) and enjoys watching me hand feed the squirrels in our yard.