Everything’s Canceled! Dealing with Disappointment in Pandemic
On March 14, actress Jennifer Garner extended a social-media invitation to “preschoolers to professionals” whose games, meets, recitals, and productions had been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She urged them to share what they’d been working on (using the hashtag #heyjenlookatme) so that she could share it “with the world,” adding tenderly, “because I want to see.”
I enjoyed following along as she shared dance routines and monologues, but I’ve also grieved as I’ve considered the tangential losses that the coronavirus has caused all over the world: massive denominations with canceled meetings, brides with canceled weddings, seniors who won’t get to walk across the stage in cap and gown, athletes who have lost the chance to compete, students who have lost one-eighth of their...