Thursday, August 20, 2020

Back to (virtual) School 2020

 I never thought my Nies would be going back to school- to my dining room table.

Between home school and virtual school, the excitement of "going back to school"

is pretty much non-existent.

I'm trying to make it as fun as possible, but to be honest,

I can't help but feel sad and disappointed too.

No classic first day of school photos in new school clothes,

new backpacks, or brown paper bag lunches.

If there is one thing us Nies have learned over the

 years it's that disappointment happens,

but it's what we choose to do with that disappointment that is crucial.

Jane, SENIOR YEAR

So we're trying to hold our heads high, 

work hard, and remember that God is in control.

Over video-chat and a rundown of how school went for our kids,

my sister Lucy and I were lamenting our new normal and wondering

if our kids will really learn anything with these new precautions and concerns.

Oliver, Sophomore year

School here in NC is virtual only while her kids

 are going back to school two times a week with masks and a plastic

sheet around their desks for protection.  I gasped.  Really?

Nicholas, 8th grade

Then she suggested that maybe our kids aren't supposed 

to go back to school to learn academically

necessarily, but more to learn patience, love, 

kindness, and compassion with their peers.  

I gasped again, I liked that thought. 

Charlotte, 3rd grade

This will really stretch our children in ways maybe 

we can't see clearly right now, and

I have faith that everything will make sense someday, somehow.

And maybe this won't end up being so bad after all?  Maybe?

And in the meantime, I appreciate the effort teachers and educators

are putting into making virtual school work.


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