School of the gracious

Every year before school starts I pray the heavens down for the teachers and administration who interact and are leading our children in the school buildings. This year I still prayed the same prayer and added the IT administrators, the parents who chose virtual learning instead of in school, the parents who chose in school because that was the best option for their family and the village of each family as we all come together and support one another through a pandemic, parenting and advocating for our children.

Dear parents,

I know it’s not easy. Whatever decision you made.

I know your worries are through the roof and you might feel like you aren’t being the best at this role you’ve been called to lead.

Maybe you don’t have a strong community.

Maybe the ones you called friends are making you feel ashamed. Perhaps what should give you an exhale is giving you anxiety and no one is walking alongside you to encourage you to breathe.

If you don’t see anything else today, if you don’t receive any well wishes or any affirmations I want to tell you, you are doing the best job you are capable of doing in this moment in time with what you understand and have the resources to execute.

Shame doesn’t own you and you don’t adhere to the negative energy it dispels. You are mindful, motivating and you speak life over your situation. I proclaim a school year free of sickness and full of thriving ideas and expanding minds over each family reading along. We must constantly remind ourselves that we are not living in normal times. That we are all experiencing the same thing and thus should be more gracious. Yes, we SHOULD be more gracious.

More gracious with the teachers, the school district, our children, ourselves. There will be hiccups and meltdowns. (I’ve already dealt with one about drawing the perfect foot to display his number of toes.) Our expectations have to shift just like we all did when the world shifted. No one has all the answers and even in our own ideologies of what we think is the right thing to do it might not be the right thing for the collective.
Be mindful.

Give grace.

Know you aren’t alone.

My boys woke up before their alarm went off. At 6:30 Alexa plays Good Morning by John Legend from Spotify, a song I’ve sung to them since they were babies but especially during the school year. They heard it, having not heard it since last school year, and cheered. They came to my room and said, thank you mommy!

That’s it right there. In the words of my good brother Drake, Nothing Was The Same (NWTS) and because of that truth I want to bring pieces of our (previous) norm into this new norm so that they will continue to find school exciting, no matter the format.

Cheers to making memories, centering your spirit and seeking the light to be the light as you navigate the unknown.