The End Of Summer

“Can I wear my new Elsa shoes now?”

Summer went by way too fast.  Once this posts, I will have been back at my teaching job for almost two weeks.  My oldest will have a few glorious days of summer left.  My youngest will have been back to daycare for a few days.  And Hayden will still have another week before he starts Kindergarten.  

We spent the summer with our Covid pod, enjoying hikes, lakes and outdoor play near our home; always in small groups, watching out for large crowds.  We even got to have one weekend away at the beach.  We rarely adhered to a bedtime.  Baths became the pool.  (We did have actual baths, but not as often as we should have).  And popsicles before 9 A.M. became commonplace.  Late nights with a bonfire, marshmallows and lightning bugs happened most weekends.  The beautiful summer weather made it easy to forget some days that we were still in a pandemic.  

For the most part, summer was as it had always been.  I was home.  We got to see some friends.  We spent some days doing absolutely nothing.  We played in the rain.  We did summery things.  The biggest difference was there were no large crowds.  No huge fourth of July bonfire, like we usually have.  Masks became part of our clothing for going out in public.  We washed our hands more than normal.  And our summer reading program was virtual, instead of at the library.   

But, as much as I wanted to hold on to summer, the boys were also excited for school.  They had the excitement of new materials, new shoes, new clothes, playing with friends on the playground, going on a field trip, seeing their teacher smile, and maybe even getting a new backpack.  They didn’t quite understand that the start of school did not mean school would be how they remembered it.  School wasn’t going to be like it was that Friday, so many months ago, before everything shut down.

The joy of a morning hug from their classroom teacher would not be allowed.  Sitting closely on an alphabet rug reading a shared book with a friend could not happen.  Holding hands as you skipped out to the playground was forbidden.  Everything they remembered school to be, was going to be a distant memory for quite some time. 

I have sat through countless virtual meetings about school opening.  I have read far too many documents about how the school will be run.  I know my children will be in good hands.  And the school is doing everything they can to try and keep everyone safe.  I am in the same position in my own job.  What my school is doing may not mirror my children’s school one hundred percent; but, I know that all the decisions that have been made have been to try and keep the children and staff safe.  Even if that means the whole structure of the school day is completely changed.  And the socialization children are used to is completely different.  

In a previous post, I mentioned about Hayden starting Kindergarten.  He had been talking about starting Kindergarten for over a year.  He attended Pre-K at the school he will be going to for Kindergarten, but it wasn’t the same as being in Kindergarten.  In Kindergarten, he would get to ride the bus with his brother.  He would get to have specials.  And he would get to participate in the holiday concert.  But this isn’t the way kindergarten was going to be for this school year.

I think about all the things he will miss out on.  The field trip to the community garden, the firehouse, the sugar shack, etc.  He won’t get to have his grandparents come to school for grandparents day.  There won’t be a Halloween parade.  No Thanksgiving feast.  No holiday concert.  But, he won’t know any better.  I think I’m more upset about all the things he will miss out on.  He won’t really know he’s missing them.  

However, we did have an amazing meeting with Hayden’s principal and assistant principal.  We wanted to make sure the school knew what to expect when Hayden showed up to school in a dress.  I love how accepting they are of Hayden before he has even stepped through the doors to walk to his Kindergarten class.  Every child who walks into a school building comes in with different likes and interests.  And what better age to start embracing everyone’s differences than at five?  I know Hayden will be in good hands, even though everything is so different this year.

The one thing I can do to make this school year feel somewhat normal, is let him shop with his grandmother to get new school shoes.  So that’s what I did.  I let my boys pick out their new shoes and pick out some school supplies as well.  We at least had this one semblance of normalcy.  Even though this school year is going to be completely different, the boys can wear their new shoes on the first day of school.  So you can bet, when Hayden steps foot on that bus for the first time, he will be wearing his new Elsa shoes.