The 2020-2021 School Year
Work-parenting, the flow between 24/7 working and parenting, has been weighted differently throughout my years since giving birth to our oldest daughter at the age of 26.
At 42 with four kids ranging from 5 to 15, work-parenting is more real than ever. Thank you Covid. (~To be read sarcastically~)
Until last week, I was holding out hope that Fall would look more traditional with our four kids, ages 5, 7, 13 and 15, all being loaded up on to their public school buses at 7:35am (even if they needed to wear masks).
But as July 2020 wraps this week, I’m trying to define what our life will be like this fall without that.
David and I attended the Thursday school board work session for the public comment part. He was one of the registered 35 speakers to speak for 2 minutes.
Upon arrival, we found signs saying no more than 44 people could go in, so I had to stay outside.
Thankfully a friend showed up, and we caught up about the state of the world outside the building. Every single person there wore a mask the whole time no matter what they were there to represent.
Red Shirt = Virtual Only “Until Safe” (about 20 people who chanted loudly)
Green Shirt = ReOpen VA Schools (about 55+ parents, teachers, bus drivers, doctors, etc. looking for solutions and trying to talk over the yelling)
I was there to advocate for reopening, but didn’t have any green.🤷🏼♀️
As we were talking, I was approached by a women in red who asked me a few questions about what I thought regarding schools in the Fall (before I knew she was with the news!). Then she explained she was with Chanel 8 and asked if she could interview me. Why not?!
She wanted thoughts about challenges we faced in the Spring during quarantine with trying to work full-time with four kids, one being deaf and hard of hearing, why I supported kids going back to school, etc. (Note: A short clip made the evening news, but I can no longer find it.)
After that, it didn’t make sense to stay outside in the heat, so I got a ride home with my friend.
We streamed the live session the whole drive home and pulled over to listen to David give his two-minute speech to the school board because the road we were about to be on is known for poor cell service.
I could tell he was nervous, but he crushed it. People applauded. They went on with the speakers.
It became apparent that the School Board was ignoring him and the other green-shirt speakers. The Board's pre-written closing speeches all fell in line with the superintendent’s previously shared recommendation to "go virtual.” There was no new thinking or additional consideration that happened that day for the board members. Sigh.
Goodness knows going back wasn’t going to be “normal,” but the CDC recommends the country reopen schools and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends schools safely reopen and well… something just isn’t adding up.
So here we are - looking at options I couldn’t have fathomed 5 months ago - like much of the state of the nation and world. #covidgoaway
I am grateful everyday to have a work-from-home friendly career in marketing, so in some ways there hasn’t been too much of an adjustment. However four kids home all day starting in March has felt like a never-ending fake summer that came early and without the typical childcare/ summer activities we count on to keep our kids entertained.
The constant work-parenting flow I’m trying to navigate daily.
My days since March have been filled with back-to-back Zoom calls with clients, helping our kids stay occupied without becoming screen zombies, getting them on school Zoom calls during the week of Spring when our school district decided they’d try and support online education, nonstop preparing of meals and snacks, breaking up little normal family tiffs, etc.
I just keep thinking we can do this a little longer until it goes back to “normal.”
But last week when the school board for our county in Virginia announced their recommendation of a 100% virtual fall semester, at minimum 9 weeks, with no detailed plans mentioned about “how” they planned to execute this, it became clear we could no longer sit back and wait for someone to save us.
With Henrico School Board (and much of the nation) deciding that “it’s not safe” for kids and teachers to return to school due to COVID-19, parents are faced with figuring out how to “do” this new life.
THIS IS THE NEW NORMAL, at least for a while.
Today Google announced they were extending their WFH policy to help people plan.
“To give employees the ability to plan ahead, we are extending our global voluntary work from home option through June 30, 2021 for roles that don’t need to be in the office,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai said.
And our school is looking 9 weeks at a time?
The endless texts and phone calls from friends and parents of my kids friends. So many people trying to figure this out for their personal family needs. It’s WILD what creativity and ideas are happening from micro-schools and study pods to homeschooling and “gap” years.
I have been doing a lot of thinking around creating a beautiful and fulfilling life for our family without the traditional constructs of the society we have been leaning on our whole lives.
The top 3 items on my brain include:
Education: Helping each of our kids progress appropriately
Mental health and holistic physical wellness: Supporting age appropriate needs
Work: Providing consistent income through our “independent economy” careers
David and I are starting to think strategically about what we want our family life to be like now that it’s clear the traditional system is abdicating its responsibility. From daily group mindfulness meditations and outdoor exercise to supplemental tutors for all our kids, we are trying to look at every challenge as an opportunity.
It’s felt horrible being mentally pushed around by the constant fear from the media and its echos into every conversation I have with anyone.
Yes - COVID-19 is scary and horrible and needs a solution, but I’m 100% certain there is also political agenda driving the constant fear drip.
Fear is addicting and molds minds - that’s why our news has been using it as a weapon for decades now. (And why I don’t watch it, much like Tim Ferriss’ “Low Information Diet” explained in the 4-Hour Work Week.)
So, now I pray for patience with myself to let this be a living example of tapping into the work-parenting flow that’s right for our family. Finding silence in my mind to hear God and the Universe vs. the constant chatter of the world around me.
May I tap all my mindfulness practicing for the past 7+ years to let this experience be a “WIP - Work In Progress.”
(Note: “WIP “was what was physically stamped on drafts of print ads back in the day when the advertising creative process had a “traffic department” manually walking around the printed ads to be reviewed by the team before sending to the client for review. Oh 1999, so much has changed!)
Until I get some more ideas to share… Be a WIP.
Lotsa love,
Leah
