A full circle 'round the sun
And we're still doing this thing
Trying to fit square pegs into round holes
Trying to maintain a sense of normal
When normal died an agonizing, public death last year
Keeping small children indoors, on screens, for a year
Taxes sanity for every family member
The kids are stir crazy and so am I
I’ve been able to see them all day, everyday for a year
See their growth physically and emotionally
Guide them more than I would have been able to before
I have also watched us all struggle to focus on school
With two-dimensional teachers trying to illustrate a 3-D world
On screens where glitches are common and staying attentive is taxing
Where friends aren’t friends, and discipline a suggestion
How will the kids remember these times
Will they see it as a blessing or a loss
How will they tell their own tales of this lost year
Will they consider the year a loss at all
Or the time they got to spend everyday with each other
And their parents
Only time will tell
Soon we will emerge again into a new and changed world
We will learn to navigate
We will learn a new version of normal
Though I am exhausted beyond reason
I am grateful for this year with my children
I know I haven’t always been my best nor have they
But we’re all, relatively, unscathed in the grand scheme
As the weeks of school dwindle down,
The weather warms and the days lengthen
We work for the finish line where we will celebrate that we all survived
This extraordinary year as a family and weigh our success by our efforts
And not our results
-gws
Words Wishes and Wisdom 