b'T Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:he young poet Amanda Gorman gave voice toPHOTO: ROBIN JERSTADmuch of what we felt this past year when shedeclared at the Presidential inauguration in January:That even as we grieved, we grew,That even as we hurt, we hoped,That even as we tired, we tried.From across the United States, members of theMarianist Family tried their best to adjust to new waysof working and staying connected as the pandemicbore down. Some still are reeling from waves of griefand sadness at the death of a family member, a friendor a Marianist Brother. Most are trying to make senseof what has happened these past 16 monthswhatis happening stillas we find our way forward inthis global health crisis.What is clear: COVID-19 caught us all off-guard.It dispensed a lethal array of illness and death, trig-gered job losses and work uncertainties, and flaredracial and economic tensions in a country alreadydistraught by its fraying social fabric.Despite a tsunami of unwanted change, there aresome glimmers of hope. Vaccines are reviving ouroptimism. Like kids at a Christmas party, those recentlyvaccinated feel safer to gather with family and friends Many are exhausted by the thousands of extra steps Kay Tally-Foos, executive where the greatest gifts we can lavish on one another it has taken to get their jobs done. director of Tecaboca, a are much-needed hugs and a renewed sense of belonging.Kay Tally-Foos, executive director of Tecaboca,Marianist retreat center While we continue to ponder the impact of the a Marianist retreat center in Mountain Home, Texas,pandemic, ALIVE magazine wanted to know what and her staff thought they had missed the worst ofpeople involved in Marianist ministries have learned COVID burnout. Forced to shut downfrom the past year. How did they handle grief and in March 2020 due to health mandates,loneliness? What did they do to foster faith during they reopened three months later to Most kids had been cooped upthe months of isolation? And what are their hopes offer Family Getaway Weekends.for three months and looking atfor the future? Here is what they had to say. Most kids had been cooped up screens all day. We decided towith their families for three months offer an outdoor family-faith Anticipating the unknown:and looking at screens all day, saysA thousand daily adjustments Kay. We decided to offer an outdoor experience that gave everyoneYou could have everything planned perfectly, and family-faith experience that gave more breathing room.the next day that plan went out the window, says everyone more breathing room.Kay Tally-Foos, executive director of TecabocaMarianist Brother Justin Quiroz, a teacher in Dayton, Kay vividly recalls the first familiesOhio, who serves at Chaminade Julienne Catholic to arrive at Tecaboca. I saw one kidHigh School, a Marianist-sponsored school, and Our jump out of the car with such a look of relief on hisLady of the Rosary, a Catholic middle school. That face, she says. He ran down to Johnson Creek thatmeant being really flexible and adapting, he says. flows through our property and began throwing rocksMost of the faculty and staff at the 17 Marianist- in the water for the pure joy of it, she says. Watch-sponsored schools across the country learned the ing that kid made me appreciate the importance oftwo steps forward, one step back routine as they our ministry. adjusted their online teaching and in-person plansSo while the retreat center kept adjusting its pro-to keep up with the emerging health crisis. gramming to accommodate the health crisis, it wasntEducators, especially teachers, and other front-line until February, when an ice and snowstorm ravagedworkers, shouldered the brunt of COVIDs impact. much of Texas, that Kay and her staff hit a wall. marianist.com/donate 11'