By Ivis Mateos.
The world as we knew it was completely turned upside down this spring. Almost overnight, parents went from being caregivers to becoming educators, entertainers, and work at home employees. The community came together – from a distance – as we all rallied to obey the “Stay at Home” orders.
It was not easy. For many, it may have been the most difficult time of your life, but, hopefully, we can all say we came out stronger as individuals and family units. My wish is that we look back on this time as a blessing, not a burden.
As our country begins to heal from the coronavirus pandemic, both literally and figuratively, now we must make every effort to see the good in all things – that includes being quarantined. That word that will forever be attached to 2020, but it doesn’t need to have a negative connotation.
The one thing humans hold on to the most, and have the greatest struggle accepting, is the loss of freedom – the loss of choice to do what you want to do and have the things you want to have when you want them. But life has a silly way of taking those freedoms from us when we least expect it. That is what happened to all of us.
As we struggled to make sense of what was happening in our world, our lack of physical and material freedoms pushed our limits and opened our minds to conceive new life lessons and opportunities. What a blessing in disguise that we could finally “see” our children. I mean really see them! With our families safely nestled together, we could watch our children while they slept peacefully, see them wake up gently and joyfully start their day – loving every minute of our attention 24/7.
This will all be over sooner than later, and before you know it, our hectic routines will return without a doubt, so cherish the memories you made and the connections you made with your children. Like my wonderful editor shared with me, it was a joy to have her college senior back home and she loved their time together knowing that when the social distancing ceased, and we all went back to our “normal” lives, her daughter would leave home to officially begin her adult life and they would never again get this type of quality time together.
So, in the future, when we reflect on the spring of 2020 as the time we sat in our homes binge-watching TV, ate two weeks’ worth of snacks in just two days, and considered putting on a clean pair of sweats as “dressing up”, savor the memories of this precious time you spent with your children. Who knows, maybe one day we will long for a “stay at home” order as an excuse to stay home from work and school and spend time together.
Ivis Mateos is a mother of two boys and has more than 24 years combined experience in educational consulting and management. In addition to earning her National Administrator Credential, Mateos has led workshops on curriculum development, teacher development, and parenting. She has been the General Manager at Tiny Planet Preschool and an Educational Consultant for Graven International Group for the past three years. For more information, please contact 954-384-4884.