As I sit here and write this, the count down to my daughter returning to school is on. Faced with daily earnest mumblings about being nervous about returning to school, I have taken it upon myself to dig deep, smile brightly and feign confidence that all will be fine when it comes to our kids returning to school. There has been much talk about preparing our kids for the big return, but we also need to prepare ourselves as adults too.
My mantra has become “the data shows that transmissions between children at school and going on to infect others is low”. If I say it to myself enough times then hopefully it will be true – I’m banking on the power of positive thinking here!
Blind faith
But with not much being said by our school about how things will actually go down when they return to school, I do feel like I am walking into this with somewhat blind faith. And that’s a very tall order for someone who was crippled with anxiety for the first six weeks of lockdown.
Sometimes I fantasize that maybe all of this is no longer anything to worry about. Maybe – just maybe – the article I read the other day about us almost reaching herd immunity is right. Or perhaps the notion that the strain has become less virulent because hey – a virus needs a host to survive rather than killing everyone off – may have some truth in it. Well, the latter has now been pooped on already.
Is the bubble about to burst?
I comfort myself with the fact that infection rates where we are some of the lowest of all London boroughs. But then again – we all know how quickly that can change. Meanwhile, up the other end of the country, my sister is once again stuck in lockdown in Manchester – a daily reminder of what could be once more.
I feel like I am so far from knowing that the right thing to do is anymore, and quite frankly, I – like many others – have reached Covid fatigue. I want to hope for the best, but then still fear the worst is yet to come once everybody comes back from their holidays, get back to school and start circulating en masse.
Right now, we are the perfect bubble of bliss with my ultra high-risk parents – E’s grandparents. I don’t want that bubble to ever burst, and if I’m being totally honest about it, resent being dragged back to the days of paranoia and uncertainty that the kids returning to school will bring.
Faking optimism
But for now, I’ll continue to feign optimism. Optimism that the kids returning to school will be no Covid biggie. Hoping that the coming Autumn and Winter will not be one of discontent. And all the while, I’ll be keeping a close eye on infection rates, ready to pull the homeschool trigger again if things start getting hairy again – God help us all!
How are you feeling about the kids returning to school during Covid? Can you relate to the above? Do share how you’re feeling in a comment below.
I definitely relate to your article. The reassurance is my daughter wants to go and her school has been praised for being good communicators. She was offered a place in June to return but we wanted to wait till September. We are physically ready but underneath I am anxious. I think it’s ok to feel that way and it does make you think in advance ok if she has a cough this morning this is what I’m going to do etc ..
All the best! Pallavi pallavidawson2020.blogspot.com
We need to be aware, informed, prepared, etc. Clear, accurate, precise, factual information in order to Stay Safe, Protect Others, etc.
Children are valued in our society. All ages should be Valued, Respected, Protected, etc. Luckily Education is available within our Nation. Maybe it should be more ” Equal” to take account of ‘ Equality and Diversity ‘. Also so that we all all able ‘To Reach Our Potential ‘.
‘Children are our Future ‘ , yet Children are also our present and past. The whole lifespan / age range needs ‘to matter ‘ :- Everyone Matters ‘.
Been an anxious time for parents / Carers, as :- Parental Responsibilities.
Parents / Carers need to be enabled through Honest, Accurate, Precise, Concise, Up to date Information, etc.
Respect to those who are Caring for and about others. Whether that be baby / child/ adult/ older adult / expectant families, etc.