Today should have been the first day of Brainy Bird’s senior year of high school and Little Chirp’s first day of junior high. Instead, the summer of uncertainty continues as the political fall out of the pandemic continues to paralyze our nation.
As of right now, school is expected to start on September 8th, and the boys are supposed to be able to return to their class rooms. Most of the schools in our area have either delayed their start dates, or they have resumed classes virtually. Schools in less urban areas of Texas did return to class as originally planned.
I find myself wondering where we will be this time next year.
What will we know about the virus a year from now? Will we still be disrupting our normal lives in response to the virus? Will we have a vaccine? Will we look back on this time and realize that the shutdown was a huge mistake? Will we still be wearing masks? Will the masks help stop the spread of the virus?
Who will be president? Will the nation’s economy be recovering or declining further into a state of depression? Where will the energy market be? In turn, where will Houston’s economy be? What will relations be like with China and the rest of the world?
Will the world of professional sports be back as we knew it before the pandemic, or will the NFL, NBA and MLB be forever changed as consumer behavior adjusts to the post-pandemic world? Will consumer behavior continue to shift toward savings and spending on online shopping and home improvements, or will consumers return to concerts, dining out and movies?
Will the acceleration of technological investment brought on by the pandemic continue or will the advancement level off?
Where will Brainy Bird be this next time next year? Will we have dropped him off at college? Where will that be? Will Little Chirp and I be ready to adjust to not having Brainy Bird with us?
So many questions. Only time will tell…