I think it’s safe to say that we all have experienced disappointment at some point in our lives, whether it was something that didn’t turn out the way we had planned, or even a missed opportunity. For me, disappointment is unfortunately an experience I have lived with this past week. You may have noticed that my GPS tracker has not yet moved, my posts have been a little different, and I haven’t been including any personal stories or photos. This is because I have, unfortunately, spent the last week in my room at the Lakefront Hotel after testing positive for COVID. 

View from my hotel window.

I had started to have some symptoms earlier in the week, which I thought was just the beginnings of a bad cold or maybe even strep throat, which I’ve had before. However, before heading to Vet checks and then out to visit Matthew Failor’s kennel, I wanted to be sure it wasn’t COVID. I knew I was going to be around lots of people, including mushers, and I didn’t want to take any chances. Unfortunately, the result that morning confirmed my fears; I had tested positive. 

Since then, I have been isolated in my hotel room at the Lakefront. I watched the live streams of the Gala Thursday night, the Ceremonial start on Saturday, and the Restart on Sunday. Once the race officially started, I have been glued to the Iditarod Insider’s GPS tracker, much like the other “armchair mushers” out there. I have also been watching the Insider team videos and trying to stay as up-to-date as possible throughout the day. Basically I’ve been doing everything I can to stay as involved as possible without physically being out on the trail. Because, with situations like this, it’s all about your perspective and attitude.

Take Nic Petit, for example, who is currently in the exact same position as myself. He tested positive several days before the start of the race  and had to make adjustments. He could have gotten upset, but instead he moved to “Plan B” and made the best of his situation. Nic knew he had a good team, he does every year. His dogs were ready, and he just needed a musher to take them to Nome. Nic reached out to Jeff King, who agreed to step up and be that musher. Now his team is on the trail, headed to Nome. Again, making the best of a disappointing situation. Nic and I are still following the race, but from a different perspective; virtually instead of in person. 

 As a teacher, I feel that this is a great opportunity to allow me to speak to fellow educators and students out there about the power of attitude and perspective.

This is something that I have been excited about and looking forward to ever since I got that phone call in April of 2020, that I had been selected as the next Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™. For the past two years I have been preparing, planning, and dreaming about this experience. I was not able to attend the race in 2021 due to Covid restrictions at the time, and when I was offered deferment to this year, I was over the moon about representing Iditarod EDU for the 50th race. I have loved learning about the history of the Iditarod and the story of Joe Redington Sr. not stopping for anything to make his dream a reality. This is always the focus of the first portion of my classroom presentations and it has truly been an honor to share his story with students around the country. So when I was told that I would be an Iditarider with Ryan Redington, the grandson of Joe himself, I was floored. I was already dreaming about the experience of riding in a sled, during a portion of the Iditarod, for the 50th anniversary – but to ride with a musher with the Redington name? I had no words.

This past week has been heavy with disappointment. I wasn’t able to go to Vet checks, visit Matthew Failor’s kennel, or attend the Gala to see my student’s artwork (as centerpieces) in person. I missed interacting with the conference attendees and the 3 finalists for next year. I was not able to experience the thrill of the crowd during the Ceremonial Start, or take my much-anticipated ride with Ryan Redington. I wasn’t able to be a part of the Restart in Willow, or help be a sled holder (brake person) for every team as they began their Iditarod journey. And now I am missing the one thing that I may never get to experience again; time on the trail. 

 Despite the disappointment, I am staying positive. I am reminding myself that there is nothing I can do about it. The situation is completely out of my hands. Have I been looking forward to these amazing experiences for years? Yes. But in my mind, I am also trying to keep things in perspective. I have waited this long, I can wait a few more days.

This will still be the experience of a lifetime. It will still be amazing to get out on the trail, see some of the towns, and fly across this beautiful landscape of Alaska. I will still try some of the local food, meet some incredible people, and so much more. I will still be able to set foot in places where others will never have the opportunity to go. It’s all about perspective. 

I truly respect and appreciate the efforts being made this year for zero transmission to the villages. The Alaska Native population that lives there has been through various epidemics, just in the last century or so. The Influenza outbreak from 1918-1919 devastated their populations, causing 82% of the total deaths at that time in the village of Nenana alone. The 1925 Diphtheria outbreak in Nome affected the Alaska Natives in the surrounding communities as well. While a large number of the Native people in these villages have been vaccinated, I completely support the efforts of the race to further mitigate any spread of Covid to these communities. 

The mobile site where I get tested each morning.

I thank you for your continued thoughts and well wishes. 

TEACHERS:

Many of us have some sort of a “Morning Meeting”, “Closing Meeting” or check-in time with our whole class. My case would be a perfect real-world example to introduce that critical conversation with your students about disappointment, and how they persevere through it. Talk about the importance of “Growth Mindset” and outlook on things that don’t turn out as planned. These talks with students can be very meaningful and can have quite a powerful effect.