Where is Everyone?

Nobody on the road. Nobody on the beach. Nobody at the print house? 

I was all geared up for Social Work Awareness Month when out of nowhere, the world flipped upside down. I generally tool the whole issue to social workers. I’m a big fan. I’ve penned an article or two about how much I appreciated my social worker. It’s my honor to honor all of you in the field. I do so with a special print issue of the magazine. But there is nothing more pressing than dealing with and cover the COVID-19 pandemic. 

I’m aware my contribution to the zeitgeist is minimal at best. That said, I have to do something.

I offer up all that I have; information. The plan is to share as much information on how foster care is handling their new normal. I’ve got a couple articles to that effect in this issue and a couple more in the next. 

I don’t know about the rest of you, but this pandemic has left me feeling small and helpless. I’m not sure how other people are combatting that problem; I’ve turned to my army of writers for comfort. They’ve responded with thoughtful, informative pieces for you to read. 

I know in recent years that media has gotten a bum rap. I’ve always turned to information in times of confusion, still do, there are a lot more outlets than when I was young but I still turn to journalists for answers. I consider myself a hybrid. I am both man and media. I have a media outlet and I run the show here, so that makes me both.  As such, I have certain responsibilities and am given the benefit of the doubt if I should err. I go to great lengths to make sure I get the story or the story given to me, right and accurate. I want to be the place where you can go to find out how people in the world of foster care are responding to the changing world around them. 

Some agencies have taken to the internet. Some states have suspended age-out dates for the duration of the Corona Virus, four, at the time I wrote this. They are adapting to the new way of doing things while protecting the kids in the care. Ohio and California have made a point of putting foster care in the forefront of their efforts. 

I am a small media outlet, but the articles within that outlet have been used to teach the next generation of social workers in several Universities across the country. So, maybe I can make a small impact. That feels better than feeling so helpless.  

On that note, let me get back to Social Workers Month. I’m calling a COVID mulligan. You folks deserve your time in the spotlight. A pandemic spoiled it; I’m going to make it right. Next month is Foster Care Awareness month and June will be Social Workers month reboot. These two issues are also print versions, you deserve the month to yourselves. I’m happy to make that happen, even if it is a reboot. There was no one at my print shop to run an April issue anyway. I hope they are back to normal by mid-June, which is when I hope to send both issues to print. 

On another note, I want to thank all of you who reached out concerning my health issues. For those of you hoping for an update, here it is; I’ve adapted to life on the pills I’ve been prescribed. Moments of clarity are happening more frequently and lasting longer. Though I’m afraid it may be impacting my writing. I’m not sure if these Editor’s Notes are even making sense. The good news is that those pills they are giving me seem to be doing the trick. I’m in far less pain now, still learning to live with my Hulk heart. Trying to figure out how to exercise without raising my heart rate has been a challenge, but I’ve been through worse in my life than this, I’ll figure it out. I appreciate your patience and well wishes.

And that’s where we stand. A world in crisis. An Editor on the mend. And a foster care system figuring it out as it goes along.

Here’s to hoping things get back to normal. There’s work to be done.