“Let’s get real for a minute.
I have two, school-aged children. They WANT to go back to school.
So, let’s say I send them back. Well, now I’m selfish.
Okay, so I keep them home. Well, now I’m depriving them of a proper education.
Okay, so I’ll send them… but, we have to skip the family Thanksgiving, the family Christmas, and the birthday parties. Because my children, AT AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM, will come into close proximity with 20 other children per day. But, I have two school-aged kids, remember? So, that’s 40 students… 40 DIFFERENT FAMILIES, and we have absolutely no idea what precautions they’ve been taking through all of this. I obviously can’t expose my family members to 40+ other families, so we skip the holidays.
Well, now my kids are upset. They miss their family members. They miss the celebrations.
So, I’ll just keep them home.
But, I have a 7-year-old who struggles with her reading, and I’m not an educator.
I have a 3-year old at home who doesn’t understand zoom meetings and tight schedules, and just wants to play with his siblings.
I’m a third shifter who will try her hardest and sacrifice much needed sleep to make sure her kids are logged into the classroom on time. But, I’m human. I will fail sometimes.
I don’t want to take that mental health risk, so I’ll send them.
But, now I’m greedy and don’t care about the teachers.
My child has a fever. Maybe COVID, maybe not. Do we have to keep him home for 14 days and quarantine now? Oh, a classmate tested positive? So, my whole household has to quarantine? Now my husband and I both have to take off work and lose out on pay? Oh…
Well, I’ll just keep them home.
But, even though I work, I work nights. My husband is gone all day. All of their education will fall on me. I don’t have the support system to lend a hand. To help them learn. To occupy my 3-year old so I can focus on the other two.
So, maybe I’ll just send them.
But, what if they get sick?
What if they bring it home and give it to their little brother?
But, what if I keep them home and I fail?
What if her reading doesn’t improve because I don’t have the patience and the skills she needs? What if she falls behind and gets held back next year? That’s on me.
What if their friends judge them because of a decision I made?
What if I keep them home, and they hate me for keeping them from school structure?
But, what if I send them, and they get this disease and hate me for how sick they’ve become?
Hug a parent who has school-aged children. We could use a little extra love right now.”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Ashley Leggett. Do you have a similar experience? We’d like to hear your important journey. Submit your own story here. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.
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