What will your kids remember from COVID-19? I’ve spent the last few weeks silently trying to process this situation that we, as a country, are currently in. I have spent many nights praying for those I love. I’ve prayed for our community and our healthcare workers. I’ve gotten out of bed each day and gone to work with worry and stress. I have Lysol-ed every hard surface, diffused essential oils, and lived in complete fear.
Protect their innocence
As someone with a diagnosed anxiety disorder, I have been eerily calm on the outside. But I think my biggest fear on the inside isn’t the impending virus or the loss of wages and money; instead, my biggest fear is how this will affect my children. How will their brains process this? How do I even explain this to them? As a child, I struggled with big, grown-up fears, and I would never want my children to worry about all the big and grown-up things that are happening right now. The news will not be played in my house. At my dinner table, the “virus” is not discussed. My job as a mother is to be honest and real, but also to protect their innocence.
I think my biggest stress is getting up and off to work while leaving my children at home. Being a teacher at heart, having to leave my children and not stay home to teach then has been the hardest part of all of this. I worry if they are learning to their best abilities. How this will effect their milestones? I worry about sensory meltdowns and lack of routine and structure.
But it occurred to me this afternoon: my children will likely look back on this time and smile.
I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to manage my children. I’ve laminated picture routines, left to-do lists, and created a fool-proof, daily routine. But today, as I lay in my bed exhausted from all the striving in order to create the perfect experience for my children… I heard this explosion of laughter. I hear the adventures of Peter Pan (7 year old), Tink (3 year old) and the infamous Captain Hook (33 year old husband).
Like a light built above my head, the reality is that THIS is exactly what my children will remember about this time. This very moment of adventure and pretend is what they will remember years from now. My kids will remember the time mom and dad bought the swing set for the backyard. They will remember the after-dinner scooter rides, the big blanket forts, and movie nights with popcorn. They’ll remember the connection. They will remember the lack of an agenda. They will remember the thousands of books we’ve read, the tickle fights, and the massive bubble baths.
Yes, phonics and addition are important; but, what they need now is freedom and creativity. This realization was like a breath of fresh air for this burdened mama heart. I will set myself free from the idea that I must make every quarantine moment Pinterest worthy. I will set aside my degrees and agendas, and I will run around like a lost boy in Neverland. We will have imaginary food fights. We will parlay with pretend swords and will crow like Peter Pan himself.
So to all my weary moms feeling like you will not survive this…
Free yourself of the striving and expectations. Instead, make it your goal to have fun with your children every…single…day. And remember, all you need is a little bit of faith, trust, and pixie dust. Make this what your kids will remember from COVID-19.
Elaine Lawson
So good! Love the photos!