Week 1. Week 2. Week 3.
Many Chattanoogans have been stuck at home for weeks now. For me, this is Week 6.
I couldn’t quite put my finger on how I’ve been feeling about it until I covered a group of East Brainerd Elementary teachers passing out care packages to tornado victims this week.
Donning gloves and masks, the teachers crowded around cars in the curbside pick-up line, trying not to lean too far through the windows.
They waved and called to their students, showering the kids with love.
“Can I see a smile?” “I miss you.” “I love you.”
They also wiped away tears. One teacher told me that the students – her students – “are the joy that is missing” from life right now – seeing them in person, hugging them.
There is a lot of joy missing for all of us in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and in the aftermath of the storm.
But many, like those East Brainerd Elementary teachers or strangers sewing masks or helping track down family treasures lost in the storm, are trying to create it.
And the Times Free Press will be there to tell those stories – the good, the bad, the joyful. Stay with us.
– Meghan Mangrum, education reporter, mmangrum@timesfreepress.com, 423-757-6592