Spring break for our house was fantastic. The kids rotated through grandparents. We had a family movie night. The weather was perfect for lots of time outside on skateboards, scooters and swings. We ended it with swimming, a kindergarten play date, and a kid-friendly dinner. In my bubble, all was well.
Outside my bubble many were also having a great time, but others we know are hurting deeply. A parent at our school loses her husband to cancer. A key staff member is going through the same, drawn out, slip away, pain. This year our school family has already taken so many hits with student illness, parent hospitalizations & surgeries, and the loss of a sibling in the adoption process to another family. Yet, for the sake of our children, we keep smiling, waving, and moving forward. Privately, the adults gather to express their anger, pain, and ugliness...but we keep a cocoon of warmth, safety, and happiness around our kids. They aren't fooled, but it does help them stay focused and move forward. They have each other, and us, to turn to and sort things out. The younger kids lean more on us, the older, on each other. We know this is life, but we wish we could shield them from this side of it just a bit longer.
Today is the first day back at school. Somehow, it seems appropriate that it is raining. Everything is muddy, but when the storms clear, the blooming flowers and green grass are back again.
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