By Eva D. Coleman
Lifestyles Editor
Many people are posting and sharing what they feel are wise statements they come across. It’s hard to locate and attribute them to the originator. A couple that stood out to me were: “You are not working from home; you are at your home during a crisis trying to work.” “… and it isn’t “E-Learning” it is Emergency Remote Teaching, from home, during a global pandemic.”
When we dropped my college freshman Cecily off at school in Fall of 2019, never in a million years did we imagine education would be transformed such as this. As a 16-year media educator, I’ve observed how some feel they’re online education experts, while others are flying by the seat of their pants… throwing stuff against the wall to see if it sticks. At this point, both of these scenarios are okay.
As we made our way down I-45 for our dorm check out appointment, rescheduled from an abrupt cancellation of our original date of March 25th, I thought about the grief tailspin so many of us are in. The feelings and tears are real. It’s okay to not be okay. As a widowed Mom, I’ve cycled through moments of hopelessness and despair before.
Greeting my girls and I on the University of Houston campus were members of my village and fellow NABJers Michael Douglas and Maria Reeve… two of my dearest friends and best journalists in the land! Michael jumped in immediately as our moving logistical expert while Maria was there for support and assisted as well. Together, we were in and out in record time.
No lesson plans, Zoom calls, worksheets or labs were required. We actually zoomed back up the highway in a turnaround trip! The love my girls and I were shown by Michael and Maria was a testament of God’s continuous favor in our lives. The biggest lesson learned… love begets love. We’re earning diplomas and degrees in #Faith, not fear, followed by the letters G-O-D.
Eva D. Coleman is the Lifestyle Editor for I Messenger Media. A graduate of Sam Houston State University, Eva is an educator and award-winning journalist.
