In the midst of the pandemic I felt, like most people overcome and undone. My usually busy life was no longer an escape. Everything was still. My day job and home life collided into an unsure virtual bumble... and I just felt uneasy all the time. Lost really. But this business we had Marty's Parties helped me so much. We started to offer balloon packages to celebrate people. Birthday packages (because there were no parties allowed), graduation packages, (because their were no graduations), celebration balloons for Mothers Day and Father's Day (because interaction were limited). We provided safe outdoor dropoff all over the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding counties and the joy on people's faces was palpable. We literally brought joy to people's houses when so much was in despair. Making people smile gave me hope and perspective. It make me happy to help. My balloon business saved me. I felt like I was drowning and the joy of our customers and their lived ones lifted me to a better place of gratitude.
As a 12th grade teacher and counselor I like to give a positive perspective of our city's young people. During this season of gratitude I'd be remiss if I didn't take pride in the brilliance of our children, especially the older ones. With so much death and despair gaining news coverage we tend to forget the kids that are on the right track doing, the work to make themselves better. Each year our high school seniors spend the fall applying to colleges far and wide hoping for a chance to start a new journey in just a years time. With dreams of a career in engineering, medicine or even animal husbandry (yes this is a thing) they cast fear aside and shoot for their ultimate goals in spite of current circumstances. We often don't recognize the teens working long shifts at local stores after a full day of school just to have a sense of responsibility. The teens that sit up all night fretting over projects and assignments due the next day aren't always on our radar, but ...
Comments
Post a Comment