The Helpers.

After 9/11, I read a lot about how to talk to kids about what happened. I had a four month old at the time so it wasn’t an urgent issue but as a new mom, I was curious about what in the world do you tell kids to make them feel safe? You tell them about The Helpers. Look around, in the middle of every disaster, you’ll find The Helpers. After 9/11, the first responders were the first helpers but more followed.

Today’s helpers are the science teachers at our high school who rummaged through the science department and the school nurse’s office to find gloves, masks and goggles to help community hospitals who may not have enough supplies on hand to combat COVID-19. I have friends who know their way around a sewing machine who are making face masks. Kids in the neighborhood are decorating sidewalks with chalk and people are putting up holiday lights. People are donating blood. Friends are using video chats to hold happy hours. Helpers come in many forms. Some are very visible and some are in the background. They also pop up when least expected.

A week and a half ago (seems like a lifetime) I was at a meeting after my son’s drumline rehearsal. The meeting was held to discuss the fact that the final competition of the year, WGI Championships in Dayton, was being canceled because of the coronavirus. At the time, it was thought that was canceled because it was such a big gathering held at a college. Surely the smaller, local competitions would still continue? Thirty five kids are involved in this program and had only competed once so far. They hadn’t even put the entire show on the floor. They placed first at that initial competition and had a very solid future, intending to place at least as well as they did at last year’s WGI Championship, where they placed 13th nationally. At the time, we were shocked. The kids were heartbroken, many of them crying. The WGI Championships are the culmination of months of hard work. No one was thinking this was the first domino and so many more dominoes would fall as events and gatherings continued to be canceled, including the remainder of the drumline season.

As the students were trying to process what they were being told at that meeting, hugging each other, and crying, the parents just looked at each other. This is something we could not fix and we were devastated for the kids, trying to process this ourselves. Eva, a senior and the student leader of the group, stood up and reminded the group how far they’d come. That she was proud to be part of the group no matter what happens. That they learned so much together, worked hard, had so many obstacles to overcome and had a great time on the journey so far. And nothing could take that experience and those memories from them. I know Eva was heartbroken like the rest of the students but she had the grace to step up and offer some very positive words at a very difficult time. A helper.

Helpers are always there. You just have to know where to look.