Unlucky? Lucky?

You all probably know the story of an old man whose horse runs away and people say he is unlucky. Then the horse comes back bringing a wild horse with him. People say he is lucky. His son rides the horse and falls, breaking his leg. Unlucky. The army drafts men form the village and because the son is crippled he is left home. Lucky. The old man answers every time, "Maybe."
This story keeps surfacing in my mind as I think of the current situation.
Last week, when I had to make the decision not to travel to Slovenia to present at a conference, it seemed so unfair, because the numbers of people with the virus were small in Estonia and Slovenia was virus free. Washed with a mixture of negative feelings I certainly felt unlucky. Only ten days later, Estonian government declared a state of emergency. The number of virus cases has increased exponentially. All schools will be closed. Teachers and students will start distance learning on Monday. I am so thankful for not being in Slovenia right now. I don't have to list the reasons, do I?
Luck?
Following what was happening in the world, my school has been preparing for the campus closure for two weeks already. So when the announcement came, we had our distance learning plan and handbook ready. We had time to prepare the kids for the novel situation. The early years and lower school teacher created care packages with all sorts of materials to continue supporting hand-on and play-based learning, including things like pasta, popsicles, and sponges. My fourth graders got special home-learning journals that they decorated with happy stickers; they chose two to five books to take with them; and as all writers, they took some colourful post-its and colourful paperclips with them. And yes, they were allowed to make a paperclip chain. I packed some essentials to take home - several picture and poetry books. The teachers know which platforms to use and how, and how to communicate with children, parents and each other. We learned form other people experiences and stress the need for flexibility and self-care. The school decided not to ask the teachers to prepare anything over the weekend and implemented two day preparation plan for the beginning of next week. The students will have their first e-lesson on Wednesday. This weekend everyone is expected to rest, play, read or do anything else they need to charge.
We also understand the need for humour in building resilience, so based on the following advice form Piglet (shared during a teacher meeting last week), all teachers received a Toblerone. And because (opposite to my belief of Estonians being calm and rational) the toilet paper hoarding has hit Estonia too, so we also received a roll of toilet paper.
I'll be home for the next two weeks for sure. It is very likely that we'll be at home much, much longer.
Unlucky? Maybe. Lucky? Maybe.