Friend,
You’re tired. I can tell. I’m tired too. I’m tired from putting forth a monumental effort to achieve normalcy, only to have plans upended for the 23rd billionth time. I’m tired from not knowing what the future holds, from being in a constant state of limbo, from being separated from my friends and family, and from not having one ounce of control over my own fate.
Not one of us has been untouched by the pandemic. We’ve watched our world become upended by chaos and anger. We’ve battled our own depression, addictions, grief and loss. We’ve seen loved ones slip away slowly – and suddenly.
We’ve been in survival mode for 10 months and counting.
Our bodies and minds were not meant to operate like this. Our survival instinct is meant to come in short spurts, to sustain us until we reach higher ground. But instead, the amount of cortisol our brains are producing to cope is creating a level of unhealth we’ve not seen. We are experiencing adrenal fatigue. 2020 has made us all sick in one way or another.
If you didn’t know it before, you now know firsthand what it feels like when the world turns upside down.
There is value in the Knowing.
We’ve collectively experienced grief and loss the likes of which children in foster care experience every day. This Knowledge makes us better caregivers – better Office Moms and Office Dads.
And so, let us take this Knowledge, with the 1% battery we have left, and allow ourselves to feel empathy for our kids in foster care. Let us find it within ourselves to carry the pieces of ourselves into the child welfare office when the call goes out. Because those babies need us. Let’s continue putting one foot in front of the other. Because I promise: you have more to offer than you think.
~~~
In the dark days of Winter Solstice, may you find peace and rest. May you have the courage and space to recharge your batteries, because my friends, we’re coming back in 2021, and we need you all-in when the time is right.
Merry Christmas. I wish you good health and much happiness in the year ahead.
Sarah Desjarlais, Executive Director
Office Moms & Dads
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