02/13/2021
We are all super heros during this pandemic - sometimes we need someone to tell us that.
Iāve lost a year with my kids battling over school and Iām done.
My seven year old and I were in the midst of our usual asynchronous day battle. I had his writing homework in my hand from school. Heād written several full, well-thought-out sentences.
But he wonāt do the same for me, at least not without a fight.
I told him he didnāt have to write about his best day like his teacher asked, he could write about his worst. He could write about whatever he wanted as long as he wrote a few sentences.
He said heād get in trouble. He said he was doing a bad job in first grade. He was on the brink of tears but didnāt know why.
And it hit me.
Instead of getting frustrated and pushing the assignment, I sat down with him at his desk in his superhero bedroom.
I said āyou wonāt get in trouble and you canāt fail first grade. In fact, youāre kind of a superhero yourself.ā
He sat up in his chair just a little and looked at me with disbelief.
I said, āDo you know that no kids in the history of kids have ever had to do what youāre doing right now? No kids in the history of kids have ever had to do school at home, sitting in their bedroom, watching their teacher on a computer. You and your friends are making history.ā
A visible weight lifted from his seven year old shoulders, āWhat does that mean?ā
I told him it means I havenāt given him nearly enough credit for rolling with the punches. I told him how proud I am of him and his friends. That kids this year are doing the impossible and theyāre doing a really great job.
I apologized for not saying it sooner and more often. A little tear fell down his cheek.
Weāve thanked everyone from healthcare workers to grocery store employees but we havenāt thanked the kids enough for bearing the burden of what weāve put on their shoulders this year.
Weāve said kids are resilient, and they are. But they are the real superheroes in this whole scenario for having ZERO say in their lives but doing their best to adjust every day.
We closed his school-issued laptop and spent the rest of the day playing. This was supposed to be temporary and here we are a year later still trying to hold our head above water.
This is our home and I wonāt turn it into a battle ground anymore over something we canāt control. Something that no longer makes sense.
Hug your little superheroes today and donāt forget to cut them the slack weāve given everyone else.
Join me in the trenches at Christine Derengowski, Writer !!
