home work

Back in January, my son was assigned an oratorical project for school. He needed to choose a speech given by a historical figure, memorize it, develop an introduction and conclusion for it, and then recite it in front of his 5th grade class. A timid, quiet boy, he was not at all psyched about this. Even so, he researched speeches and ultimately selected an excerpt from Steve Jobs' commencement address to Stanford's graduating class in 2005. Day in and day out during quarantine, my son has been practicing his speech at home, which runs exactly one minute and forty-five seconds long. While he sometimes races or mumbles through it, I am consistently moved to tears when I hear this specific quote from Jobs: "When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: 'If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.' It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something." During this raw and vulnerable time, I feel like we are collectively changing something--for the better. Personally, I have roused up extra/renewed gratitude for life. Even though I am still doing the same old--getting up every morning, making meals for my children, paying bills, eating too many gummy bears, trying to be creative and productive, and yes, even wearing a cute dress through it all--I am also readying for the new normal ahead. Happy Hump Day.