I have so much respect for the kids growing up during this pandemic. It is hard for adults who are grown and matured. For kids, and especially young kids who are still learning to handle their emotions it can sometimes be harder to understand. I am constantly amazed at how my kids and so many others have adapted:

• Wearing masks all day at school
• sitting spaced out at lunch so you can’t really talk to friends
• Sitting behind shields at school
• Not having field trips
• Not sitting with friends on the bus
• so much hand sanitizer (hard for some kids like one of mine who has exczma)
• Having to carry your stuff with you everywhere because the school doesn’t let kids use lockers
• Water fountains being off limits (have to carry your own bottle of water)
• Schedules constantly changing if you happen to be exposed to someone with Corona.
• Etc…etc…etc…

In the beginning a year ago when news of corona first came, I really didn’t think it was going to be a big deal. Then schools shut down… I got so I was looking at the news every day watching statistics. At first the kids were excited that school was closed. Then when they found out everything was closed and it wasn’t just a vacation they got sick of being home. However we had a great time over the summer. We learned new card games together, spent a lot of time outside, movie marathons, etc.

By the time summer was over my kids were ready for school to start. Here school started out virtually. That was hard at first, especially for my one child who was just starting middle school and trying to adjust to that. We worked hard and got into a routine, and things went well. We all celebrated when it was announced that in person school would start again. The kids adapted well to that change.

Around Thanksgiving schools went to hybrid schedules where half the school would go 2 days a week, and the other half went a different 2 days. The rest of the week then you weren’t there in person, you would do school virtually from home. I figured that hybrid would be the best of both worlds. They would get in school instruction and some social interaction, but still be able to be home. I was wrong. I think hybrid is the hardest for our family. It ruins the ability for my kids to get into a normal daily routine. They would have 2 days at school, 3 days home doing virtual school, then 2 days of weekend. All routines went out the window, our house went to pot, and the kids seemed to be stressed and argue more.

Luckily now the kids are back into full time school!

Today however I got a phonecall from one of the schools telling me that I needed to come pick up my child to quarantine for 2 weeks due to a possible covid exposure. I went to pick up my child and I could tell, even with their mask on, that they were on the verge of tears. As we walked out to the car after the nurse went over exposure protocols with me, the tears started to spill down my child cheeks. I tried to say words of comfort but there were tears all the way home. It was so hard for my child to face the thought of being away and virtual schooling for 2 more weeks. 2 more weeks of not seeing friends in person (video chat is not the same), 2 more weeks of trying to learn from home. It broke my mommy heart.

While I feel bad for all of us, my heart breaks for all the kids. All the kids that aren’t able to run and play like we did growing up. The kids that are getting scared of illnesses. The young kids getting separation anxiety over being away from family now, or who are suffering from depression. I wish I could take all of this away from them.

so next time you are around the youth, remind them how awesome they are. They are dealing with extremely hard things during a super impressionable time in their lives. They are all rock stars in my book.