by Paige Schillinger, 04/29/2020, Traverse City, MI

Middle School 6-8 Category

STUCK

The fresh air surrounds me but is it really all that fresh? A few deer scamper by or is that just this virus in disguise?

I’m stuck and scared.

Inside, outside, back and forth, the only landscapes I’ve seen for what feels like an endless lifetime of mysterious viruses.

Sit, stand, up, down, stuck in random places. New news every day; tornadoes, hurricanes, escalating numbers, escalating deaths.

Totally stuck.

We turn to God and plead, “Please, please stop this!” Will this great exercise of patience ever end?

No more schooling, no more swimming. Back streets, front streets silent in midday.

But wait people! Even if we’re stuck, can’t we turn to God our savior our only beacon of light?

This virus is a great mystery to a clueless kid like me. New rumors everyday some of which are true. No more restful nights of sleep.

Stuck in bed. Stuck at home. Can’t even drive by Munson.

I can’t believe I’m scared of a microscopic virus. But is it really all that crazy to be scared of something like this? Take Hans Solo for example, “Watch yourself kid.” Maybe if we watch ourselves and exactly what we do …

Then maybe just maybe, God will answer our desperate pleas and we won’t be so stuck!