Stuck in the 'in between' with you...

I'll say it: Today is a hard freaking time to be a parent. We're watching our kids sort through the many emotions and anxieties that come with a months-long pandemic while trying to meet their needs as best we can while being scared and uncertain ourselves. Some kids are taking this better than others, and my own kids are a good example of this. One has taken most of these changes in stride and the other is struggling big time. Meeting them where they are can feel like a full time job unto itself.

We are having to find a way to continue meeting our responsibilities and obligations as employees while parenting and enriching our children from sun up to sun down, as well. For some, this means finding childcare for their children so they can work outside the home and for others this means working from home with children present 24/7. My husband and I are currently doing the latter and I can attest to just how hard that can be. There is no rest for the weary in either scenario and that can feel overwhelming.

We are listening with bated breath as school reopening plans are being kicked around like soccer balls in the youth sports that our children are sorely missing. And we don't even know what to hope for at this point. Do we hope for school to open and bring a much-needed respite and reprieve to our over-stretched lives? Not really, because at what cost will that come? How can we possibly trade physical health for students, teachers and school staff for the education, stimulation and mental well-being of our children? It's an impossible choice, really, because there are no easy answers, only less risky ones. Have you ever had to simultaneously hope for everything and nothing all at once? Parents today are doing just that and it's the epitome of exhausting.

To say that this is a tough season and we're all still reeling and struggling in ways we couldn't have imagined a half a year ago, let alone this time last summer, is an understatement. When I think back to our carefree days of the summer of 2019 I can hardly believe how different life is today. This year, there are no lazy community pool days, no impromptu runs into DC to explore museums and monuments, no barbecues that go late into the night and no live music events. Instead, we spend all our time as a family unit in the safety of our home, and while that's an immense gift, it is also hard. We miss the old days and wish so badly for them to return... if only it meant we weren't wishing against something else.

So, when you're flying off at the keyboard on social media about your strong opinions one way or another, please consider that there are millions of parents sitting right where I am today: Stuck in this 'in between' space of wanting everything and nothing all at once, because we don't even know what we're supposed to want at this point. Be patient, gentle and kind. Always. 💕