Back to School 2021...Could it be Hopeful?

How do we feel going back to school this year? Great question! And just in case it matters, I think what I feel might be a new feeling...It's one I truly haven't ever had heading into a school year!

As I reflect back on last year at this time, I remember feeling fearful and uncertain about what the pandemic may have changed about the experience we had all taken for granted every other year. But it wasn't until the end of the school year prior, that we realized for the first time how things so mundane or so ordinary could all of a sudden be changed, upended, and disrupted. And the fear going into last school year was very real. What would it be like wearing masks every day? Would it be better to online school from home or handle all the COVID restrictions as they would unfold? How long would the restrictions last or would we end up at home again?

But we survived last year. And just like we were able to make it through the pandemic, we were able to survive the coming back and reintegrating with massive restrictions. Was it easy? No. Would we have chosen it the way it unfolded? No. But we survived.

So as I head into this coming school year, I am realizing that I feel hopeful. Despite the uncertainty COVID cases increasing or not, despite the change of schools for my little one, and despite the lack of assurance in what this school year looks like, I feel hopeful.

Why? I think simply because 2020 did truly offer some clarity on how I see things (get that 20/20!?!?) All joking aside, after surviving the school year that ended abruptly the prior spring and then the restrictions we faced to be back in school last fall (never dreaming those restrictions would actually last the whole school year), I am faced with the realization that we did it. We survived what we may have felt was too much, too overwhelming or too hard!

So as we head into this school year, I feel optimistic and hopeful. I think we can handle whatever comes our way. And I'd like to think it surely wouldn't be harder than what we have already faced, right?!

I'd love to hear what others think! Have you gained any personal clarity about what you might truly be able to handle? Do you sense some optimism or hope in your family or child? Please comment below, as I love hearing other responses!

I read in one of Brene Brown's books the other day about how facing difficult things can actually help our children. To spare them from challenges can rob them of learning how to overcome and be hopeful. Yes, that is indeed true. So if we are looking for the silver lining, we have learned to be grateful for the school years that are pulled off without a hitch (now that we've experienced otherwise) and hopeful that we can handle whatever the new year brings!

Think we better start preparing, go do our fun back to school traditions, and set off on a strong positive note! If you'd like to learn about some of our back to school traditions, you might like to visit this Best Ever Back To School Traditions blog post or you might be interested in learning about The One Tool Every Family Needs Going Back to School.

Here's to hope...and a great school year!

Jami