Quarantine, Week 7 | Hitting Reset

Do you ever wake up and sense the day isn't going to be great? Something feels off, and you're in a funky mood for no particular reason? That happened to us last week. 

The kiddos stayed up way too late the night before, and I naively thought that meant they would sleep-in later the next morning. Nope, I was wrong. Their internal clocks had them up at a normal time, and both were in quite the mood from the start. We all woke up with little patience, lingering frustrations, and a crummy attitude. 

Sibling battles started soon after they left their bedrooms. There was yelling, button-pushing, all the things a sibling could do to annoy you. I intervened, and by 10 am, we were all in tears together. People were sad, frustrated, and confused. We took a few minutes for ourselves to cry, scream, lay in our beds - whatever made each of us feel better. Once we were calm, a family meeting was declared.  

We talked about our family meltdown and discussed how each of us could have handled the situation differently. We agreed to hit reset on the day. We would all try to be helpful, kind, and use a normal speaking voice to each other. The kids promised to use their words and not our actions. I apologized for raising my voice and having little patience. 

As our family meeting adjourned, I reminded them of our mantra, "we're all on the same team." Walking out of the room, we all felt a little better about the day ahead.

I'm surprised this multi-level meltdown hadn't occurred sooner. These kiddos have been in our home for 50+ days, which is longer than most of us ever have. They can't see their friends and extended family in-person, and the joy and excitement of video chats are dwindling. They miss going to school, sitting in their classrooms, eating hot lunch, playing at recess, and the distinct smell every elementary school has. 

Last week, their school had a parade. Families were invited to drive through the school parking lot to see teachers and staff that were strategically spaced 6-feet apart from each other. They were so excited to see familiar faces in-person, even if it was out the window of our car. The entire time, Harper and Emmett had a perma-smile and their little hands waved ferociously. 

The parade was emotional. Happy and sweet to see the excitement on all faces, big and small. But sad too, that the school year has ended this way and the future is unknown. 

But one thing was undeniable, the love and support. It 's what keeps us going, gives us hope, and gave our kids and the staff a sliver of normalcy I think we all needed. 

As the school year wraps up in the new few weeks, my heart continues to ache for the seniors, retiring staff, teachers, school staff, and all our students. They don't get to hit "reset" on their school year like we did that day. They've been forced to adapt to this new style of teaching, learning, and mourning the life events they expected to experience. 

So, what do you say we hit reset for the rest of 2020? 

Until next time.

The Helleen's