Needless to say the first day of school was not how I pictured it\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What I pictured: My lipsticked self happily dropping off the kids at school. High-fiving the other moms at the playground while the kids frolicked in the grass. Then I\u2019d go for a run, write a chapter, read a book with my coffee, and attend to some client work, before returning to school to pick the kids up, eager to see their smiling faces again.<\/p>\n
The reality: A sea of masks at the school yard, where I could hardly recognize a friendly face. I stoically patted my kids on the back as they lined up according to socially distanced markers, telling them everything would be great. Then I promptly drove home and spent the rest of the day crying and grieving the first day of school we didn\u2019t get.<\/p>\n
How would my eldest son make friends at his new school when he couldn\u2019t see people\u2019s faces? How could my daughter, on her first day of Junior Kindergarten, feel safe and secure when she couldn\u2019t even see her teacher\u2019s smile? And thanks to the staggered re-entry, my twins too were missing the reunion with so many of their friends after months of social distancing.<\/p>\n
I was crushed. And I said so, all over social media and in my various groups of friends and family on Whats App, text, Facebook and Instagram. I knew I wasn\u2019t alone and we didn\u2019t have to suffer in silence.<\/p>\n
I received an outpour of support. Moms who sent me virtual hugs and agreed, \u201cThis totally sucks\u201d and \u201cMe too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some non-parent friends had great advice. \u201cThink of this as history in the making. Your kids are experiencing a first. They\u2019re making history!\u201d One friend shared.<\/p>\n
\u201cMasks show we love each other. It\u2019s protecting ourselves and others. It\u2019s an act of love,\u201d another shared, reframing mask wearing for me.<\/p>\n
At the same time, thanks to the staggered re-entry, the kids were still at home. Going to school one day while their friends went the next day. When would I finally get my me time?<\/p>\n
I threw up my hands and chose to give myself grace. This is not the time to kill it at work, I decided. Me and my passion projects would just have to wait a little while longer.<\/p>\n
And that goes for academics too, I decided, as I watched my distance learning parent friends go through their unique challenges. Kids have enough curve balls to deal with right now without having to stress over their lessons too.<\/p>\n
So this year, I\u2019m choosing to not get hung up on grades and what is learned this year in class. We are all\u2014including teachers\u2014just doing the best we can under the circumstances.<\/p>\n
Maybe the real lessons this year don\u2019t come from textbooks and software programs. Maybe the real lessons are staring right at us, crafted by a worldwide pandemic while protesters take to the streets and wildfires send people from their homes.<\/p>\n
Maybe, this year, it\u2019s Emotional Literacy we need to focus on.<\/p>\n
Emotional intelligence\u00a0(also known as EQ) is the ability to understand, use and manage your emotions\u00a0in positive ways to communicate effectively, empathize with others and defuse conflict.<\/p>\n
Emotional literacy\u00a0refers to the ability to express one\u2019s feelings. A person with well-developed\u00a0emotional literacy\u00a0is able to recognize and respond to the\u00a0emotional\u00a0states of others.<\/p>\n
What if this is the year our kids master both, creating a whole new generation equipped with more EQ than any generation before it? What if this is the change the whole world has been waiting for, and it just took a pandemic for us to create the time and space to dedicate to it?<\/p>\n
As far as subject matter goes, I can\u2019t imagine a more useful skill set or knowledge base.<\/p>\n
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