Executive Director Article

We have enjoyed what has felt like an exceptionally beautiful spring in this part of the world. The temperatures have been mild, and the rain has come just often enough to make everything burst with life. It feels like the mood of the last two years has begun to lift. As we make our way around town, we see fewer masks, more hugs, and people gathered in restaurants, theaters, stores, and at the airport. We cannot help but be drawn together, especially after many months of separation and physical distancing.

Last week, my family came to Atlanta to celebrate Mother’s Day and my brother’s doctoral graduation from Emory. A few days before the ceremony, I thought my allergies were kicking into overdrive. My chest felt congested, and I developed a harsh cough. Like so many people, I hadn’t even experienced a cold since the beginning of the pandemic, so I was surprised to feel like I was taking a sudden turn. Having received my second booster and also masking and distancing as diligently as I had for the last two years, I wasn’t concerned about COVID; that said, I decided that with family arriving and at least two of them particularly vulnerable to the virus, I got tested.

Twenty-four hours later, the positive test result came back.

I am the first case of COVID in my family, and fortunately, everyone else tested negative. I quickly learned two valuable life lessons. First: logistics. How does one quarantine in a small house? What do you do about meals, showers, and laundry? Should we all wear masks? Keep doors closed? Keep Clorox wipes close at hand? Within the first few hours, we figured out how to manage many of these simple changes, and we were grateful for the privileges we enjoy as a white, middle-class family in the US. My spouse redesigned our world and routines. We developed meal shifts, and I stayed almost entirely in our bedroom, alone for seven days.

This points to the second life lesson: isolation. The Board and Professional Well-being members have heard many members talk about the isolation of the last couple of years and how they miss the structures and rituals of ACPE that brought us together with a reliable frequency that felt nurturing to the profession. The office staff has also known that isolation over the last two years as we have transitioned to working from home. To not be able to touch another person, to always be at least six feet apart, to not eat or talk or laugh with loved ones, to miss essential rituals and gatherings, and all the while to feel so physically depleted: this is the experience of millions around the world. Add the loss and grief of the over 15 million global deaths, and we cannot begin to grasp the amount of trauma experienced globally. How can we use the feelings of disconnection to help us come together again in common purpose, be present to one another in ways that begin the healing journey out of the pandemics, and practice gratitude and appreciation for the gift of one another?

I’m so fortunate. I have the best medical resources available to me, a loving family, a good job, and a community of friends, all of which will be a part of my journey forward from this experience. In the moments when I found it difficult to breathe, I found myself reflecting on how deeply grateful I am for breath, for life, for hope. As the COVID fog began to lift, I started to reach out to friends near and far to reconnect. Some of us will gather in the coming months, and I wanted to commit to a specific time to share with others in those spaces.

So who have you missed? And when did you last reach out to them? Who knows how you are doing, and what insights, growth, and learning from the last two years do you have to share with a colleague, friend, or loved one? What is one simple act of gratitude you can offer this day for the gift that is ACPE? 

May we find one another anew in the healing journey that lies before us. 

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Trace Haythorn is the Executive Director/CEO for ACPE. He can be reached at trace.haythorn@acpe.edu.