Am I living in a Footloose movie? And where is Kevin Bacon?
It was back to school for the kids this week. It has been a bag o' tears for me this year, but not for the usual reasons. I am sending my kids back to school in the middle of a global pandemic. There are so many rules and restrictions right now---I may have even considered home-schooling ...for about two hot minutes. The kids need to go back to school. They need teachers that went to school to teach. They need the social interaction with friends. Heck, they need the fresh air to and from school. And they need a break from me (and possibly vice-versa). They are required to physically distance, which means stay 2 meters apart from the next person and since that is near impossible in school, all children grades 4-12 are required to wear a mask. Zoe is the only one excited about this, and she isn't even required to (she's in grade 3). Haha! I thought this would mean that they would have to wear their masks as they enter the school and in the hallways until they were settled, but apparently after the first day I learned that they have to wear them all day (with the occasional mask break). I did not like hearing this news. Thankfully none of my kids have complained about it. They have been so good about rolling with the punches. Which is great because those punches seem to change every five minutes. One day this or that is allowed, then the next it isn't, then just kidding it is. Or the rules are inconsistent with other rules. Don't even think about getting close to anyone at school, but go play at the playground. It's a little bit of insanity these days. At first there was going to be no PE or recess or options, but now these things have been reinstated with restrictions. As long as they stick with their class as a cohort it's fine. I was so happy to hear that the boys were going to have options back. As far as we knew options were off the table until the DAY BEFORE the boys started their first week back to school. On the first day back to school, they filled out a form as a class as to which options they preferred, so as a class they will get to ALL take the same options based on the most popular responses (so who knows which ones those will be or if the boys like any of the chosen options!). This is Noah's first year of Junior High and I think I'm just mourning the loss of him not getting to have a regular Junior High experience. I mean, Junior High is scary as it is with all of the unknowns, but starting grade 7 during a pandemic where rules are so different? It's just tough. And to top it off, Noah got his bike stolen on his first day back. Thanks Junior High. What a lovely welcome to an already scary experience! And another cherry on top? He brought the wrong bag to school, so he had ZERO school supplies! Haha! How awful is that? At least he brought his lunch! ...just no water bottle (there's no access to drinking fountains). Anywho, up to this point there was going to be no lockers, but after the first day we found out that they will indeed have lockers, just not as much access to them. Right now there are no school sports, but that could also change? As of right now, I have no hope for that. What it might look like is sports teams that only scrimmage with each other or play against one cohort team all season. I can't see that working out really well, but it breaks my heart to know that as of now there are no sports. There is also no band or singing allowed. So for those kids that wanted choir or bad? No go. Like I said. Footloose! Also, if your child is the least bit sick or is showing ANY symptoms of Covid, they must stay home. Cold season will be interesting. There will be no children at school! However, that being said, kids usually get their germs passed around at school, so if there are no germs to pass around, then maybe there will be no colds! Haha!
This year they organized a staggered entry for kids, so each of my kids had their own special send off. It was kind of nice in a way to give each kid their special moment. Come Tuesday (Monday is a holiday), they will all be back at school at the same time, full time. Four kids gone just like that! And as happens every year, I am conflicted about that. I will miss them so much, but it's time. It will just be me and Jane and Tucker. Tucker and Jane aren't going to know what hit them. The kids have been home since March. That's six whole months of constant children---constant playmates for Jane and constant someone to walk Tucker. Some of these moments have been difficult, but most of them have been great. I will say, Summer has felt like a pretty regular Summer (minus not being able to visit my parents or being free to cross the American border), but during Covid-school, they only had each other. Rules were even more strict in terms of not seeing anyone. No friends. No church. Don't bring your kids to the store. Basically, if you don't have to leave the house, don't. So. There is a reason kids are excited to go back to school. That being said though, Summer had its moments with seeing friends. But it certainly wasn't your regular Summer. Restrictions everywhere you go. Sanitize, physically distance, less numbers allowed in a space (like the beach, playgrounds, restaurants, etc). It's a weird time. I do hope that rules ease up a bit at school as things progress and everyone gets into a routine, obviously not at the cost of numbers going up, but at the same time, how long can we keep this up without it affecting our health in different ways? It can't be good for children to wear a mask all day. Noah had a headache by the end of the day. Ellie and Jackson said they were fine, but that was only the FIRST of many days. I mean, I could go on. I think my biggest worry about back to school is that things will shut down after a couple months. It's this weird fine line where I will do what's necessary to follow guidelines so that the economy doesn't shut down again, but... I'm not going to do it with a smile. And no one will know if I'm smiling or not anyway, because I'm wearing a mask everywhere I go.
Well. This turned into me. I'll be interested to see how the kids' real first week back to school goes. I might be playing the song "Freedom 90" by George Michael all day to celebrate. Haha! Just kidding. I will miss them. Maybe.
Zoe: Grade Three
Noah: Grade Seven
Goodbye bike. You will be missed.
Jackson: Grade Eight
Ellie: Grade Five
Ellie was so excited about wearing her mask that she biked to school with it! I have a strange feeling that that excitement will wear off.
Happy back to school kids... during a Global Pandemic. I hope you can hear your teachers behind their masks. And that you don't faint because of all the hot air you are breathing in. And that your hands don't fall off from all the hand sanitizer. And that your grades don't drop too much because you've been home for three weeks due to a sore throat. And that you don't forget how to sing because it's not allowed in public. And---okay, I'll stop.
