A letter to my kids: as you 'possibly' head back to school this fall

To my babies,

Yes, I still call you and always will, my babies. This was and still is a tough time.

Yes it is.

This is something you will most definitely, always remember.

I don’t know what exactly you will remember but I sure hope you see and understand one thing. Family. Now more than ever. When the world falls apart (literally), who is there: family. Who checks on you: family. Maybe some friends. True friends. But mostly family.

School was cut short but your amazing teachers jumped right in and took charge. They put together a plan like nobodies business in matter of days. They had you up and running and you didn’t miss a beat. You finished strong and I am so proud of you.

I know you missed your friends. You missed them a lot. We saw some of them, from a distance, strolling by with their families. We made some social distance play dates and even moved on to backyard and home visits this summer. You still chat with a few friends regularly via this beautiful thing called the internet. Thank you Vint Cerf (father of the internet) for the internet. It’s a beautiful luxury to have. We couldn’t do any of this without you.

But remember this, you are so amazing and so strong that you will come out of this stronger and smarter than ever. You will be ready for your next grades with so much more will, appreciation and love for school and learning. You will get to see your friends, teachers and classrooms and make up for all the lost time. It won’t look the same just yet, but you will.

For now, we have to continue to do this, stay home, wear our masks in public and keep our families and our communities safe. It is not over yet.

You understand. I know you do.

We talk a lot. Sometimes too much. We try to make you understand. Because you hear it, see it and feel it everywhere you look. And even though you are young, you deserve to know what is going on.

We missed a lot this summer but we also did a lot too. Some things that we may not have done otherwise. But I do know it doesn’t always look fair. A lot of people are living their life as if nothing ever happened and you are confused. But you know better. As long as most of us do our part, we can and will make the world a better place. We will get back to doing our favorite activities. Eventually.

Let’s stay healthy first.