We are a week in and I’m floored by how quickly the boys adapted to masks.
I have to admit. I was super nervous. I watched all the parody videos and laughed and cringed at what my boys might turn the masks into. I also worried about them being scared or nervous or upset about it. I worried they wouldn’t be able to recognize the new friends they’d meet and this would make finding new friends difficult.
And I know we are only one week in but… I don’t know, the last five days have brought me hope. And I’m clinging to it.
We have a couple routines already. I give them their masks before we exit the car and we all put them on together. I think it helps them see mommy is wearing one too. I remind them that we keep them on over our nose and mouths and try not to touch our faces and wash our hands well. And then we go inside.
At the end of the day we walk to the car masked and I ask them to put their masks in the dirty mask bag and sanitize their hands (they still feel very cool that they can grab their own sanitizers from their lunch boxes). And then we head home together.
It’s amazing how quickly it’s all felt like routine.
I also have noticed that they still cry, laugh, show excitement and wonder behind the masks… and I can still recognize all those emotions in them. It’s in their eyes and their body language. It’s still in their voices.
I know the level of comfort of sending our kids out in the world right now varies. I know that I still have a lot of nerves myself. I also know that I very much enjoyed not putting masks on them at all for 5 months while I kept them at home.
But I wanted to share with all of you what I’m feeling after this week – the kids, they’ll be alright. We parents, we educators – we will be alright too.
There will be many bumps in this road… but we are not traveling alone.
My prayer this morning is that God may help us take the leap and believe that we will be okay whatever road we are on. May God remind us of the epic imaginations of children that will help them navigate this new adventure. And may we know deep inside that Your boundless love will shine through any distance marked between us.⠀
