July 2020

Generation COVID 
Don’t you miss the days when the most common question you were hearing was “what kind of milk in that latte” or “what time do the kids have to be picked up from camp?”. 
The days we are in will forever be remembered and not just in our minds but in our culture. It is hard to imagine how things will ever be as they were before March 2020 and yet it is easy to grasp the concept that one day we will look back and this will just be the “COVID times” that we lived through and are looking back on.

Our children know how to learn naturally, remember that and tell yourself that every morning when you wake up. Our children are incredible and their minds are incredible and they have curiosity and want to learn and be challenged. The lessons they are learning right now are not conventional and they will not be testable in the SAT’s but they are lessons and our children are learning about life and about family. It is hard to be at home with children all day long, we all know that and we all knew that before we were in quarantine. Our children will adapt, they know how to adapt because it is all they have ever known. They didn’t come into this world doing anything other than eating and sleeping (and some babies even need lessons on those tasks). As toddlers, kids and teens our children are doing an incredible amount and it is because they have the innate ability to adapt. 

Right now for many of us the question about “what is happening next year” is playing in a loop on our minds and for valid reasons. It is my experience that not knowing something is far worse than knowing, even if knowing means accepting a truth we do not understand or agree with. So I am here to give you an answer and that answer is that our children are going to be in school as much as they possibly can be. Our school systems are working tirelessly to design a system that works to keep our children and families safe, the educators safe and the community safe.

Those of us in public schools know that the reality of public education often results in lower funding and less flexibility within the structure. Those of us in private schools know that we are paying a college tuition each year but our children are able to receive more flexibility and more time by their educators. It can be very frustrating when a friend talks about their child being at school Monday-Friday come fall and your school does not have that same plan in place. I want to remind everyone of a few things:

1. We have no idea what will happen next year
2. If you need to make a change and get into a different school so your family has the support they need that is OK
3. If your child is only in school two or three days a week and peers are in school five days a week, your child will be okay
4. We are going to get through this
5. We are going to be stronger because of it
   
   We are being given the opportunity of time and self reliance that generations have not had for decades. Try to take a deep breath, try to see the silver lining in all of this because the alternative is a black hole of worry, dread, concern, frustration, anger, anxiety and resentment. Those feelings are okay and valid and necessary but so are many others like gratitude that you have your health, motivation to make changes that you have been wanting, love of the time you have with your children, peace in knowing that people in your community are working tirelessly to keep you and your family safe and educated. 
   
   

There is not always going to be a definite answer and in pre-COVID days we were very trained to get what we want, when we wanted it and in a format that was fit for us. Now we can’t have all the answers and we can’t have all the things. So remember that while you can’t always get what you want….you almost always get what you need. I challenge each and every one of you to find something beautiful in your day that is only there because of COVID. ​

Stay safe, stay healthy and stay sane!