I bought school supplies today because the aisles were full and I wanted to feel normal.

I wanted to buy a non-essential that is perhaps the most essential thing we need: tools for education.

Last year it was impossible to find construction paper and crayons, but this is a new era. One where we sit and wait and see.

So I bought the highlighters because I still have hope.

I have hope that one day my children will fill their backpacks to the brim with these supplies. That they will share their markers with their friends and come home and share their day with me.

I have hope that one day there will be packed lunches and assemblies. That there will be recesses without masks and children who can freely hug their teachers again.

But until then, this box will serve as a reminder that school was never just a place to learn, it was a space to be loved too. And I can do that. Until we return, I can give my children what they need to gather and grow.

I can teach them that everything is going to be okay.