Parenting in the Pandemics: First Day @ School

It’s 10:30 am on Monday, March 29th, and I am cherishing the silence. Well, actually the birds are chirping reminding me that spring is here.

It’s also the first day AT school.

My daughter, a Kindergartener in the Berkeley Unified School District is back at school for in-person learning for the first time!

Cue Teyana Taylor’s “Made It” 🥳

Girl you made it, you made it

Aw yeah, you made it, you made it

Baby girl you made it, you made it

Aw yeah, you made it, you made it

It’s been a long time comin’

And then, I’m flooded with the memory shared in Part 1: One’s Profession IS Personal when I said to Jaylin in mid-April 2020, “Love, you won’t be going back to school this week…or the rest of the year.”

To this, Jaylin immediately responded with “This is a disaster!”

What felt like a disaster to a then preschooler has in reality been 54 weeks of living through an active trauma.

Even so, I will always be grateful for the time to reconnect with Jaylin’s learning as her co-teacher across two households first as we wrapped up preschool and then as a Kindergartener. And, I will be the first to say, it was hard, tiring, and frustrating while fun, playful, and full of lots of hugs, love, and snuggles. Oh, and mid-day bubble baths!

I will cherish those the most while realizing they can still happen because school is dismissed at 12:30 pm 🙃 However, let me resist the urge to idealize the time because let me repeat: IT WAS HARD.

And, these last 54 weeks have confirmed:

We. Can. Do. Hard. Things. TOGETHER.

What Lies Ahead is COVID-21

While we have made it through to the metaphorical other side, I want to acknowledge that it’s a privilege to have my daughter in school right now when many schools still are not open.

I am here to advocate and be a thought partner for equity, so please reach out.

And, COVID-19 is Different Now for all of us.