Dear State Government,
Please lay off scrambling school
administration.

Dear School Administration,
Please back off of your tired teachers.

Dear Teachers,
Please chill out on the online assignment
expectations of students and parents.

Dear Parents,
Breathe. No one can do everything.
Remember that as afraid and frustrated as you be right now, your child is too, but they don't understand why.

Dear Students,
Things are crazy, huh? We know it is
scary and weird and nothing feels
normal. But give yourself a break. We will
get through this together.

Friends, everyone is struggling and, a life lesson from the epic wisdom of my dad--Crap rolls downhill.

So when the government doesn't know what to do but they feel pressured by the public, they push school administrators to perform so they can justify that they've done something.

When school administrators need to produce numbers or pass rates or proof that they are performing, they put pressure on their teaching staff.

When those teachers become unsure how to reach students who don't learn best online, don't have access to the internet, or are worried about those who are going hungry or are forced to stay in abusive homes, they feel like they are failing. They become stressed, but have to assign things as proof--to justify their work.

As the parents of the students attempting to learn in this new way battle kids who are afraid and frustrated, we become overwhelmed. We scroll social media and are assaulted by the things we aren't accomplishing, what we aren't cleaning, the crafts we aren't completing. We become short-tempered with our kids and annoyed with the teachers who assigned what feels like busy work.

Our students are under social pressures to stay connected when forced apart. They feel like they are missing out while being required to complete assignments with little to no prior instruction. They are missing out on sports, dances, dates, and graduation.

So what if we all took a breath?

What if we all stepped back and decided not to pressure each other anymore?

What if, instead of looking down our noses at the next person beneath us, we outstretched our hand, helped to lift them up, and joined arms to work together.

We are all afraid, unsure, and anxious.

No one has all of the answers, but together we can help each other feel less panicked, less alone, less inept, and more capable of making it through.

Join me for more hard parenting truths from the trenches.