Well, here we are again. I am not quite sure what day of the week it is just yet but it’s another eerily familiar day in July of 2020. We are still in the middle of a pandemic. We are still watching too much television. We are still eating a lot of junk food and I am still trying to figure out how school is going to actually happen in the middle of all this mess. I also still have a headache from devouring the entire internet and ever changing information about the restart of school this Fall. There’s a lot to process right now and we are trying to do it in a world that feels so very unfamiliar to us. The future is not as certain as it used to be and we are often looking at people differently than we did before. It’s isolating and scary. And just when I find myself at the end of my rope, I realize my nine year old son is watching my reaction to “The Facebook” and taking cues about how he should be responding to the world right now. So I close the laptop and we watch an oddly interesting cartoon show about amphibians together. We need a distraction.
I bought tickets for a drive-in movie tonight because I needed to try and find something to look forward to this week and to cheer up my girl. I’ve had to tell my 11 year old, Bella, that she can’t go to many gatherings this Summer. I try to be reasonable and let her see friends if the group is small and they can social distance but that isn’t always possible and not everyone is in our situation. Sometimes I think having a Mom with health issues during a pandemic must be the worst thing in the world for a child entering middle school. Social relationships are often so awkward and complex at this age and Bella is a sweet but often very shy little girl. In the last few months, she had to say goodbye to elementary school from afar and miss out on all the fun end of the year events most 5th graders get to participate in. She made some friends she really cares about this year but hasn’t been able to spend much time with them.
In the beginning, I tried to explain to the kids that we are following guidelines to help stop the spread of the virus and to keep ourselves from getting infected. And we did see most people we know also following those guidelines back in the Spring. But now, I know it seems like a Mom-made prison for them when they see so many people they know carrying on with life as usual. What my children don’t know is that my doctor told me that she is afraid I would have a very difficult time surviving COVID-19. My kids probably suspect this even if they won’t tell me. They’ve seen me struggle since I had cancer with all the side effects from radiation and chemotherapy. That is our normal and has been since they were very small. Some of my favorite things about them are a direct result of this experience. They are so kind, so empathetic and care deeply about people. But I also know that worry of “what if something happens to Mommy…..” lingers under the surface. And I stay up late at night worried about it, too. I always will.
I see my youngest child regressing in some ways right now. He hovers like a shadow, needing to be in the same room with me at all times. I admittedly get cranky with him sometimes tears start flowing. We all truly need space from one another but we don’t know how right now. Emotions are more tender and fragile than they’ve ever been. Lots of time is spent just snuggling and our sofa is the center of life a lot of times. I wish I knew the answer to all of this but even with all my education and experience, I don’t have the magic key. I have been reading more about child regression during pandemics and found some helpful information here.
I also see myself getting very angry lately. And that is the hardest part for me. I can see and read too much about what other people are doing and I feel frustrated, hurt and honestly jealous sometimes. But then I remind myself that I need to take a deep breath and practice a little more empathy. Does that mean I agree with what some other people are choosing right now? No. But it does mean I will actively try to put myself in their shoes and let go of taking things so personally. Most of the time people really are trying their best and we need to remember that. We don’t know what their life looks like from the inside.
When students come to see me who are feeling so frustrated with people and situations beyond their control, I ask them to take a deep breath and explain how they are feeling. I reflect and let them know that I see and acknowledge that frustration. Then we discuss what we can and can’t control in the situation. For some students, it helps to see this on paper. I often use a worksheet to help them work through this. Once we identify what we have control over, we then discuss how to deal with these uncomfortable feelings and create a list or “toolbox” the student can use when feeling overwhelmed. The list is written on that same worksheet. You can find it here.
Many people who work as counselors find it much easier to help other people and not themselves and their own family members. I think this is because counseling is like holding up a mirror to help another person see the answers they already have within themselves. It is much harder to do that for yourself. But I am going to try a little harder. I am going to try to judge a little less and connect a little more with my children right now. The other night, I turned all the electronics off and just played cards with them on the porch. A storm was coming and it was fun to remember how much I used to love watching storms as a kid. It also helped me forget the stress of pretty much everything going on in our world right now. I don’t have all the answers to any of the bigger problems but I’ve discovered this week that redirecting and connecting made me feel better and it made my kids smile a little more, too. And that’s definitely a win.
School Counselor Mom 