Last week was back to school for the Grade R's at my son's school. What an emotional time leading up to the first day back at school after more than 3 months at home... Time spent sleeping late and playing Xbox games, watching YouTube videos and Netflix. Its been a crazy time just trying to stay sane.
Initially, we both worked from home, while playing referee about whose turn it is to watch Masha and the bear or YouTube videos about Minecraft. Cleaning the house, feeding the kids and keeping them from harming each other. I know we were not alone in this struggle, but at times, it felt like we were on an isolated island. The times that I could 'escape' to the shops to buy essentials, helped me recharge and reset. This has been such an unreal time.
Then it moved on to looking for a job amidst a pandemic - this is no easy feat. There are hundreds of advertised positions coming through daily, but also hundreds of candidates applying for each of these positions. How does one stand out from the crowd, who are all surely willing, able, eager, and experienced?
There have been positives too, don't get me wrong! I am grateful for the time I am able to spend at home. Lots of time to spend with the kids, playing in the garden, baking, finger painting. I have watched my youngest grow up before my eyes. Going from speaking only single words, to long sentences. We counted 8 words in a sentence last week! By no means perfect, with a lot of English thrown into her mother tongue - thanks Masha and Peppa Pig - but she has blossomed and I am grateful I was there to be part of it.
My son is now at Expert level in Minecraft, it there is such a thing, and can tell you anything and everything you need to know about the game. Unfortunately, this is the necessity of the times, I guess. If mom and dad needed to work, technology had to take over and keep them occupied.
Not to mention nutrition, but it started out with little snack trays for each, with nuts and dried fruit and healthy snacks that they could pick and choose from during the day... which I ended up picking out of the carpet and from between the couch cushions. Epic fail...Clearly my 2 year old is not at the level of unsupervised snack trays yet. Some mornings they wanted Tinkies for breakfast, and tired of fighting the fight, that is what they got. They don't have super healthy diets during this time, but at least they are happy. (I do try to sneak in the healthy stuff here and there.)
But back to school... armed with masks and face shields and hand sanitizer I sent my 5-year-old back, into the big scary (virus invested) world, very early on a cold Tuesday morning. His school has been so awesome, sending little videos and instructions to prepare the kids on the "new normal" that they will be returning to. No hugs for their teacher (which sent my son into tears, as one of the first and last things of his school day included a hug for his awesome teacher). No playtime outside with friends, always keeping a social distance of at least 1.5 meters... If I still sometimes struggle with social distancing, how will a 5-year old abide? Especially when he is used to close proximity playtime with his friends? So many rules, but hey, he got through it! And I think he even had a smile for me, underneath his face shield and mask when I collected him.
Part of the "new normal" is that the teachers each bring their class to the gate, and the parents collect the kids there, everyone masked and shielded. I had tears in my eyes when I saw the little ones come running that first day, everything so different. No one is sure who is who, the kids do not recognize their parents and vice versa, to the due to the masks... Parents (or me at least) needed to remember the outfit and mask that their kids we wearing. Then you have to wave, call out their name, and move forward for them to recognize you. Is this what normal will look like from now on?
I pray that our kids are kept safe and that the virus will pass us by. I pray that we will emerge from this pandemic stronger, better equipped to deal with the challenges that life throws at us. But also that this has made us realize what is more important in life. Your family will always need you, but an employer can let you go in the blink of an eye... I am enjoying the fact that I can spend time with my loved ones, preparing home-cooked meals, watching movies together, playing silly games, without the need to rush off somewhere. Take it slow and treasure those moments.
Comments
Post a Comment