We’re done! Just Kidding!

We’re done! Just Kidding! June 12, 2020

Filed under: Coronavirus Chronicles,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 8:18 pm

I spent months pouring over our district website to confirm the date for the end of school. Many school districts in our state have extended their school year through June 19th and I expected ours to do the same. However, when I couldn’t find that information anywhere by the end of May, I stopped checking. This means that I had been hyping up June 11th as the last day of school with my kids. We had special plans, special food, special gifts to celebrate. I took the official last day of school photos and shared them on social media… and then I got a message from a parent informing me that our district was going to the 19th and another homework packet was expected to be given out this coming Monday. I asked where this information was shared and I was told at the end of the last robocall. I don’t receive the school phone calls and my husband missed that information when he took the call. I’m a little frustrated that there was no letter from the district on the website or an email explaining this change to the calendar. Owen’s teacher didn’t mention this change while sending her weekly assignments.

As an Enneagram Type 1, I strive to do everything right/correct. I have been the champion of the homework packets, we didn’t take Spring Break because I thought the endless free time with nowhere to go would be hard on my kids, we’ve done 13 full weeks of school at home and I was ready to celebrate right alongside my kids. I quickly took the pictures off social media because I didn’t want people to think I was blowing off the last week of school. This situation was embarrassing and frustrating. I’m not upset about another homework packet or that school isn’t officially done. It’s not a big change for my kids since we plan on doing workbooks over the summer. My big issue is the lack of communication took the wind of my sails. We still celebrated with the boys, but it wasn’t the same level of joy that I had been hoping for. Now that I’ve processed my frustration and embarrassment, I’m choosing to look at next week as a chance to continue celebrating the end of the school year. Let’s make the party last longer!

Even though the school year didn’t officially wrap up this week, MOPS & MOMSnext did! Monday was a big day for me as I met with the ladies through our online Facebook group and a Zoom call in the evening. This year certainly didn’t end the way I had expected, but I am thankful for how things turned out. Our online format allowed ladies to connect with the large group and expand their relationships outside of the 6-8 ladies at their table. We saw new relationships form and a deeper sense of connection come from our online experiences. One of my favorite things about the last meeting is our group picture. Since we couldn’t take a group picture this year, I asked the ladies to send me a photo so I could assemble a collage. I’m so happy with how the picture turned out! I prayed over each lady as I assembled the collage and it made my heart happy to celebrate that each one was a part of our group. Community matters and in a season of separation, MOPS & MOMSnext has kept me grounded in my community. It is easy for me to turn inward and focus on my family during this time, but MOPS & MOMSnext continually brought me out of my shell and reminded me to think of others.

On Tuesday, I filmed a Bible lesson to be included in our upcoming VBA. My hubby and his team got creative and transformed VBA into a home-based experience. Families get all the supplies from the church and then videos will shared to walk them through the VBA experience. Jeremy was able to film many of our key kids leaders so this experience will be unique to our church and local area. My boys froze in wonder when they saw their Pre/K teacher on the preview. While I didn’t want to be on film, I was reminded how much it will mean to my Wednesday night girls and the kids that I hang out with at children’s church. They haven’t seen me in months. I haven’t been able to teach them in a classroom environment. While it was a stretch for me to teach on camera, I am hopeful that it will encourage our kiddos.

My adventures on Wednesday took me up to Olympia for an appointment and errands. For the first time in months, my boys stayed home with my mom while Jeremy and I went out alone! It was our first date in what feels like forever! We grabbed Red Robin to go and went to Target and Costco. I’ve been dreaming about Target for months and I was so hopeful that it would fill a void in my heart. First of all, we were on a time crunch so the experience was rushed and secondly, the vibe was weird. It wasn’t the shopping experience that I had dreamed it would be. I was bummed about that, but I was still thankful for the opportunity.

And now on to today – the final part of this update! Owen was given an award for most improved in math from the school. His math abilities surprised me this year. He surpassed all my expectations. By the middle of the year, he was confidently doing first grade math. It was mind blowing for me since I struggle with math. The award was given to Owen outside of the school by his teacher and the principal even came out to say hello and congratulate Owen. The smile on Owen’s face was worth the outing even though there was a fair amount of shyness as well. To wrap up the day, we celebrated my mom’s birthday! It’s a special treat to go over to Grandpa & Grandma’s house since we didn’t go inside each other’s homes during the stay-at-home order. Now that we are entering new phases in our state, being able to see our people and visit their spaces is a fun treat!

Wow! That was a long update! It was a big week, though. Lots of ups and downs. Lots of good things. Lots of good work. I look forward to fully, wholly, and completely celebrating the end of the school year with you all next week! Stay tuned!