In 20 years time.....

                
People will not ask the children of 2020 if they caught up with their studies.

They will ask them with wonder ‘what was it like?’ They will ask them ‘how did you cope?’

‘What do you remember of those days?’ ‘Were you fearful or hopeful?’

They will listen in awe to the tales of clapping from doorsteps and balconies for the medical workers.

They will sit open-mouthed to hear of daily walks being the only life we saw, and how much we missed human contact and gatherings.

They will be amazed to know about empty supermarket shelves, online concerts, birthdays spent on a screen, classes followed on our IPads through Zoom and Skype, and life lived inside.

So think about what you would like your children to take away from this whole year.

Tell them they are not behind. Tell them they are not missing out.

Tell them they are extremely special indeed and they will be forever made stronger by this unique time.

Tell them catching up is not even a thing because they have grown so much in so many other ways.

Remind them too of the fun stuff, the family jig-saws, the window rainbows, the zoom bingo, the feeling of safety and togetherness amidst the chaos.

Tell them how much fun it was for the children to try to bake something together.

Tell the children they are not behind. They are special.

Tell them again and again that they are special.