(This is for the Slice of Life challenge, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. We write on Tuesdays about the small moments in the larger perspective … or is that the larger perspective in the smaller moments? You write, too.)
I was pretty successful in my attempt to not think too much about the new school year throughout the month of July (we ended our year at the end of June). Now things are creeping back into my head, day and into the night, and I am beginning to feel that anxiety increase again.
Someone on Twitter dug up this comic of mine from last year, a comic that seems appropriate again this year, as the Delta variant upends the plans for the start of the new school year.
To be fair, I don’t even know how Delta will affect our school opening in a few weeks. I live in a state with high vaccination rates and the Covid numbers are still fairly moderate. But any elementary school, where kids are too young to be vaccinated, is sure to be a place of concern for families and staff, and students.
And I noticed our public libraries and spaces are shifting back to mask mandates for everyone. More people are masking up in grocery stores. And my high school son remarked that he just can’t even think about starting a year in remote. My wife, a school librarian, and I are having more conversations about Covid, again.
Suddenly, the return to school is back to the forefront of our lives, and ‘normal’ still remains a distant memory.
Peace (thinking it out loud),
Kevin
Yep, we have started online and it makes me so sad:( Here in Cambodia when schools do open it looks like vaccines are mandatory and I am sure masks will be too, but so far they are vaccinating only down to age 12.
Estonian Government has announced that they won’t close schools this year. They said the same about elementary schools last year and we all went into DL in March. I hope that with increased vaccination numbers we won’t have to do it this year.
We are on the same wavelength today. Our back-to-school welcome buckets from admin included a mask, hand sanitizer, and vitamin C drink mix alongside the usual Flair pens and sticky notes. Here we go again….
All too familiar, Kevin. Open House is today. Kids come tomorrow, all masked from k on up. We’ll see how long this lasts. Our state is the hotbed and we are all on fire! These are scary, uncertain times and I’m afraid will have long term effects on our kids.
I was so hopeful for this fall… but the anxiety is creeping back in here too.
Your title is perfect. We are all starting a new school year with some disappointment, a lot of hope, and the certainty of uncertainty.
Kevin, thanks for sharing the cartoon again. I’m glad we weren’t told in March 2020 how long this was going to affect us. One day at a time. It sounds like Massachusetts and all of New England is being wise. Stay safe.