A year of letting go.
We did it!! This school year is history…listo, done, finito!!
Although the pandemic is not entirely over, most of us have started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is an immense sense of relief, yet there is also a tiny bit of heartache for all that we have endured and some grief for loved ones who left us, and projects that didn’t materialize.
Just to think about how abrupt the disruption of our lives was stings a little. But, among the many things we had to change, endure and learn, I was blissfully reminded to let things go.
My son’s wonderful 4th-grade teacher, as Valentine’s gift last year, gave her students a homework pass. It immediately earned the center spot on our fridge door. No homework is sweeter than chocolate for my aspiring zoologist, and until last week it remained as it was for more than a year. After Valentine’s Day and in a matter of 3 weeks, it went from sweet to sour.
My son would often stare at it and regret deeply that he saved it for a special day: he was so happy when he got it, and so sad he didn’t get to use it. Other times he will just mumble, “I should have used it, but I didn’t know!!”. Oh, the sorrow and regret of what could have been. As time passed, he went from sorrow to “silly me, I was so happy thinking of no homework, and suddenly we had no homework, not even school!!” with a chuckle. Until he hardly remembered it was there.
Self-care, anxiety, pivoting, and languishing gain relevance over our everyday vocabulary in the last months. My son and his peers used none of those; they went from talking of google meets and brain pop to servers and lit screen backgrounds. They complained about the masks, and then used them for hours at school or while riding their bikes as if they’ve always been a thing. And although his transition was not smooth for all, seeing my child enjoying in his PJs the extra time mask break provided while in remote learning, or laughing at retelling their conversations during snack time at school -since the only thing they were able to do was to eat and talk during mask breaks- gave me comfort. It also reminded me that in their wisdom, most children don’t dwell on what is lost; they enjoy what they can, they just let go and move on. That’s a main ingredient of their resilience and ability to find joy in the little things.
For many of us, “boomers” (as parents are known nowadays :P), moving on is not that easy; we refuse to let things go: the notion of certainty, the feeling of safety, the illusion of control, the guilt of not having done enough. And we have the toilet paper to prove it, ha!
Letting things go is easier said than done, I know, but hey!! Now there’s no homework, we made it through!
This strange and unimaginable school year has ended, and with a maskless smile, I hope this summer brings you some restorative rest so we can, with renewed clarity, embrace what the next school year will bring us.
Happy Summer!