"My soul is full of longing for the secret of the sea, and the heart of the great ocean sends a thrilling pulse through me." – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Today, I got a “Shot of Hope”! I got my second dose of the Covid vaccine! When I got the first one in February, there was a since of relief that the light at the end of the tunnel was getting brighter. Now that I’ve had the second dose, I’m filled with hope!
I am filled with hope to hug people outside of my household soon.
I have hope that friends who haven’t seen their parents and grandparents since last March will get to see them soon.
I have hope that Mr Kisby will be able to get it soon along with all of our loved ones!
I have hope to see people in person that I haven’t felt comfortable visiting since last March.
I have hope that LilKsby will get to safely have play dates.
I have hope to be able to travel without worry so we can show LilKsby the world.
I have hope that we will start hearing more and more survival stories than stories of death or other long term impacts.
I have hope from the “Shot of Hope” that a brighter future will be here in the next few months.
Frankly, it feels AMAZING to have so much hope! For so long it seemed like there was not light at the end of the tunnel; it seemed like the pandemic was never going to come to a state of control (a true end still seems like an impossibility). There was a time when it seemed like we were never going to see people outside of our household or travel ever again. Those times were hard, so to have hope again is an extraordinary feeling!
I hope this extraordinary feeling keeps going; I hope that I can keep from getting brought down by those who don’t share my hope. Believe me, I understand that there are people who do not want to get the vaccine. I understand that there are people who have not been as cautious as me and my family have been. I understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, whether I agree or not, in any situation. As someone who understands, all I ask is that you don’t rain on my parade of hope. For me, the vaccine gives me hope for a better tomorrow…in a couple of weeks when it’s reached the max level of effectiveness!
Once again it is time to say good-bye to summer as we return to school. No matter what your stance is on returning to school, I believe we can all agree that this has been the most bizarre summer of our lifetimes (unless your over 102 and can remember the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918). Never before have we had to consider social distancing rules when going to the grocery store; never before have we had to remember to always have a mask with us so that we can be sure to follow mandates. We’ve experienced the closure of summer activities like swimming at public pools, the switch from in person to virtual summer camps, and the cancellation of favorite parts of summer such as vacations. You always hear about how summer can change people, and I think that is more true of this summer than anyone that I’ve ever faced.
For some of us, change is a very hard thing especially when it comes to personal growth as often times personal growth is difficult. In my own life, this summer has taught me to not be afraid to stand up for my beliefs. As someone who doesn’t necessarily like confrontation, this can be very difficult. However, I’ve realized that my beliefs are important, and when I don’t let them be heard, then it impacts me internally in a negative way. This summer has also taught me that sometimes you need to tell people no even though you don’t want to hurt their feelings. Again, as someone who likes to make everyone happy, this is a difficult task. However, I’ve discovered that if you’re always a “Yes Man”, then you’re denying taking care of yourself in the process. Self care is very important! I’ve always said that if you don’t take care of yourself, then you can’t be your best self for everyone else. That’s been very true this summer!
Another key part of this summer has been the difficulty of learning how to deal with the unknown. This is the hardest for me. While I may not necessarily like to have everything planned to a T, I do like having the ability to be in control of situations. (Which is why I like to drive instead of be the passenger.) During this pandemic, there has been very little over which I’ve truly had control. I can’t control mandates; I can’t control the actions of other people; I can’t control the impact of the virus. What I can control is my response to all of those things. There have been days when my response is crying and feeling sick because of the things I cannot control. There have been other days when I’ve been able to lose myself in fun things and enjoy each moment. Most days, a combination of both happens. Thankfully, I’ve got a great circle that loves me on all the days!
As we enter the last four days before teachers have to report to school, it would be really easy to have four of the rough days. However, my plan is to immerse myself in the fun moments because come Monday, I really have no control over what happens. If the weather holds, then this means four days of splash pad time with LilKsby, reading on my Kindle, painting, and finding some activities to look forward to throughout the rest of the year (this is always a mood helper for me).
As we go into the unknown of the school year, I know I’m going to have to keep working on dealing with the unknown. I also plan to keep standing up for my beliefs, and I plan to keep being okay with saying no. One thing this summer has taught me is that LilKsby observes a lot of what Mr Kisby and I do. I want him to observe positive changes in us that he will embrace in his own life as he grows up.
First and foremost, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that your academic school year was cut short; however, I’m more sorry that you missed out on all of the extra events that school provides which you cannot find anywhere else. I’m sorry that you missed out on baseball and softball games, tennis matches, spring formals, senior proms, awards ceremonies, graduations, breakfasts and lunches with friends, and last day good-byes. How could you have known on your last day in March that you should’ve said, “See you next year” instead of “Have a good weekend”? Personally, as a teacher, I wish I would’ve said a lot more on March 12 than what I said: “Have a good weekend.” (We were on a scheduled day off on March 13 when the NTI news came.) I feel for every student who has missed out during the last 6 weeks, but for those who were somehow a piece of the Class of 2020 puzzle, here are some special notes for you.
Pre-School and Kindergarten Class of 2020: In a lot of ways you are the luckiest of the Classes of 2020. If you’re like me, then by the time you’re 30, you won’t remember a lot of Pre-School and Kindergarten. To this day, the only parts I remember of Kindergarten graduation were the blow up stegosaurus and song about PBJ. My biggest hope for you is that when you get to return to school you still have a passion for whatever was your favorite part of school. If you loved reading time, I hope you still love reading time. If you loved art or PE, I hope you are still as creative or physically active when you go back to school.
5th Grade and 8th Grade Class of 2020: Having gone to elementary and middle school many moons ago, I didn’t have a graduation ceremony when making these transitions. However, I understand why you’re upset about missing yours. First of all, you are missing out on saying good-bye to the place where you’ve grown up. For 5th graders, you’re not getting to say good-bye to the place that took you from being a little child to a pre-teen. Everything that has been so familiar to you for 6 years will be replaced with something new and unfamiliar. That’s scary. For 8th graders, you’re not getting to say good-bye to the place that took you from pre-teen to teen. Middle school is only a brief time period, but so much happens in middle school that starts to shape the person you are going to be as an adult. Middle school is a time of physical changes, emotional changes, and a lot of friendship changes yet there is still the safety net of childhood. You’re about to find yourself in a world where credits matter, career pathways are emphasized, and college is talked about from day one. I’m sorry that you missed out on two months of being the big fish in your small pond. I promise that even though you’re going to go back to being a little fish in a bigger pond, you will eventually be the big fish again. I hope that when you go to either middle or high school that you’re not scared of the change. I hope that you go into your new school with a positive attitude ready to take on the world!
Senior Class of 2020: I’m so sorry. You’ve been robbed. You’ve been robbed of experiences that you will never get to replace: prom, getting your yearbook signed, graduation photos, traditional graduation, Project Grad, graduation parties, and even a final summer of fun freedom. I know there are no words that are currently going to make you feel better about these losses, and I cannot begin to imagine how you feel about missing out on everything. I may have hated my own high school graduation (it was outside with 40 degree weather and raining, and girls had to wear see through white gowns), but there was so much about the end of my senior year that I loved. There was fun with friends that I still think of and find myself laughing about! I’m so sorry that you’re missing out on that. If I had a magic wand that I could wave and make all of this change for you, then I would wave it in a heartbeat. My hope for you is that you are one day able to look back on all this and see a silver lining. I hope that you’re finding ways to connect with your friends and teachers. I hope that you are still finding ways to celebrate victories such as earning scholarships, getting accepted to college, and maintaining desired GPAs. I hope that you know you are loved by your parents, friends, family members, teachers, and countless others who don’t even know you but are wishing you well. I hope you know that there are generous people who want to bless you if you’ll open your heart to them. I hope that you don’t let this experience negatively impact the course of your life.
College Graduates of 2020: You all are in an interesting situation. For one, a lot of your classes already do the majority of their work online even if they also have in person meetings. For two, attending your graduation ceremony is optional. (Of the three degrees that I earned, I only went to the graduation ceremony for one of them.) That said, you are still missing out on some valuable experiences during your last semester of college. For a lot of degrees, the last semester is when you student teach or do internships or field work which you’ve had to miss out on completing. This means you’ve missed out on valuable work experience that helps with your resume and post graduation job search. Additionally, you’ve missed out on a lot of the last semester help that you’re adviser can give you. For those seeking an advanced degree, you’re missing out on planning time with an adviser; for those seeking immediate employment, you’re missing out on job searching with an adviser. My hope for you is that you will find yourself successful in your next endeavor!
I want to leave you with the video that I always play for my kids at the end of the school year. I hope that you will find some advice in it that will help you in laugh or at least get a laugh.
The Great Kaysby 