I am blessed. I have all the things I need and almost everything I could want. Sure, I second guess myself when I want to buy a pair of $130 gym shoes.

But I usually end up buying them anyway.

I am very lucky in this way. But after listening to our governor speak today, I was reminded that many people have less.

He was talking about the real implications of closing schools amidst the corona virus crisis and just how that would impact students and children. He talked about the toll it would take on parents concerning childcare. And then he talked about those who depended on the free breakfast and lunch programs to provide these students with possibly their only meals of the day.

I was heartbroken.

I’ve worked with students for nearly 21 years and I have almost exclusively worked with students receiving free school meals. But thoughts like what do they eat when schools unexpected close never crossed my mind.

They are truly living with less. They don’t have all they want and quite possibly don’t have all the need. They may not have full bellies. And here I am with so much more than I really need.

I went to the grocery store today. I usually only shop one week at a time and tend to not stock up on frozen and canned goods. I buy fresh, we eat what we have and repeat. That being said, the last time I shopped was Saturday, nearly a week ago. We were out of food. The stores were close to being out of food as people scrambled to stock up on pasta and toilet paper. And yet I didn’t bat an eye dropping $250 to get us through the next couple of weeks should we be suddenly quarantined.

However, my students have so much less. I don’t know what to do with this. These thoughts fill my mind tonight and I am confused. I am thankful for my blessings and saddened by their lack of. I wish I could change the world they live in without diminishing my own blessings as to impact my children.

Is that selfish? Probably.

I could should do with a lot less. And maybe while we are in a 2 week holding pattern, I will par down to less to make more room for experience rather than the things that occupy our space.

I am writing for the 2020 Slice of Life Challenge.