The lil one drew that picture when she got home to us last Monday.... (notice the eye patch daddy is wearing - grinning) - we got hugs and more hugs - the whole atmosphere felt warm and fuzzy........ on Monday.
I know I have kept you all pretty much updated on the home schooling we did .... the interesting thing for me was the lil one thrived on the work/schedules! In fact over the 4 days she was with us -- she only watched about 2 hours of television... and didn't whine or complain once. I am so impressed with her teacher who has encouraged all the kiddies to write to her ... upload pictures of what they are doing etc to her facebook page. The lil one uploaded pictures and news every morning ... and every afternoon her teacher would respond to her. Unfortunately we seem to be the only family taking advantage of this.......... on Friday the teacher sent me a private email thanking me for using the FB page ... saying she had approached every family but we were really the only ones doing anything. I told her I felt it was very important to the lil one to have that connection with her teacher and school.
One morning the lil one said to me 'I had a funny dream last night S..... I dreamed that the schools all disappeared and I never got to go back -- and my teacher was gone too'. We talked about it... and I reminded her that she was 'talking' with her teacher every day...... and that as much as I was teaching her now..."trust me I ain't gonna teach you forever (with a big grin). The schools will reopen and you'll be back in school as soon as this bug is gone"
Then one afternoon when she was outside riding her bike up and down our street - a group of about 4 boys turned onto our road.... the lil one pedalled like mad to get back to our house and she ran up the stairs..... I asked what was wrong and she said 'those kids came too close to me and one of them might have covid 19 S!!!' It made me a little sad ... I have always been so impressed with the lil one seeing everyone as her friend - and how easily she makes friends!! This was totally out of character for her.
(NOT that I would want her playing with kids -- just the attitude kinda threw me ya know)
I had a little talk with her... when she came on Monday she knew ALL about 'covid 19' ... I asked how much talking about covid happened at Mom's. She told me the TV was on all the time ... and not on 'good shows' but on the news. Dear God!! Talk about stress/anxiety inducing propaganda.
On Thursday the lil one said quietly -- ' I thought today was Tuesday. Daddy told me I am going to mommy's tomorrow.' (end of statement) She was watching me closely. When she does that I am never sure what she wants from me...
So.......... I said 'yes tomorrow you go to Mommy's. Were you hoping to stay here longer?' She nodded. I immediately said 'remember how we talked about missing you when you were with Mommy for those 2 weeks? Well if you stay here longer Mommy will miss you. So you will go to Mommy's for the weekend -- have fun - a holiday from school work (grinning at her again) and then come back on Monday'
She seemed ok with that.
This week has made me realize even our youngest of young have stresses and anxiety over this covid 19 -- and how important it is to try and keep their lives as normal as possible........... AND how important it is to keep the stress inducing news away from them.
Life is good when you realize .............
I'm sure they have more stress than we realize. I saw someone post, when the shut down was supposed to be two week, that the child said, "Great two weeks of not having to worry about being shot at school." But I remember worrying about the USSR bombing us. I'm sure each generation had their childhood traumas. They'll get through them with our help.
ReplyDeletePK - we are very fortunate that school shootings is not as prevalent here as it is in the US.
ReplyDeleteI have no doubt all the kiddies will get through this -- my sadness is that the innocence has been damaged -if not lost entirely
OMG at PK's comment! I am so glad we are fortunate to not have to worry about school shootings here.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely picture, that is so sweet. It sounds like you have had a great week of fun and learning together. I felt sad when I read about the boys coming down the street. It does show kids are just as anxious as us. Especially with schools closed and lack of contact with friends. think it's important to try and recognise signs of stress in everyone and, as you say, to keep things as normal as possible.
Hugs
Roz
I love how lil one looks at you with such trust, like she knows you will give her the truth. Nothing better than the look in their eyes when they know they can trust you.
ReplyDeleteI agree with PK, every generation has their worry. Too bad this one has school lockdowns, shooter drills(although not really here), and now a pandemic. I keep wondering what "normal" will look like in another 6 months to a year?
Hugs
Boo