Anna Burgess Yang
It’s 5:32 a.m. on my birthday. A normal wakeup time for me, to be sure, but for once I would have preferred to sleep in a bit. Instead, I found my mind busy, not only with thoughts over where I was at this time last year but also thinking about years to come.
Continue reading “Another Year Around the Sun”
When I was young, if someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always responded, “a writer.”
It’s a natural question that adults ask children. They fill out “getting to now you” questionnaires on the first day of school or write essays on the topic.
Continue reading “Telling My Son to Follow His Dreams”
All of my “memories” popping up from this time last year reflect our first few days of Shelter in Place in Illinois. Schools were closed and remote learning was mostly independent work (which was a disaster). I made a schedule for my kids and tried to keep them entertained through the volume of free content made available by different companies and individuals as they tried to help parents that were adjusting. There were YouTube art classes, virtual museum tours, and sing-a-longs. Our energy to engage in these activities waned quickly as the weeks of isolation dragged on.
Continue reading “Beginning to See the Light”
It has been a year since had any type of “normal.” On March 13, 2020 we pre-emptively kept our kids home from school. We saw the writing on the wall that schools would likely be closing due to COVID-19, and we were right. Later that same day, our governor announced the closure of schools, limits on capacity in businesses, and other measures to curb the spread. The day before, we had gone shopping, thinking that we might be in “lockdown” for several weeks.
How wrong we were.
Continue reading “One Year of Pandemic Later”
I have had a huge sense of relief since January 20th, 2021. I felt like I let go of a breath that I have been holding for four years.
I made my two older kids watch the inauguration with me. Any politics aside, there was no denying the significance of the day. I cried buckets as I watched Kamala Harris, the first woman – and also a woman of color – be sworn in was an emotional moment. As she said in her speech when the results of the November election became clear, “I am the first woman to hold this office, but I will not be the last.”
Continue reading “History Has Its Eyes On Us”
Musings Out Loud 