The Money, the time and what not..
Schools reopened today after a long time - two years passed at home and last few days have been absolutely busy preparing for the school reopen. There was lot of anticipation about the online mode of education still continuing, but seems all of it is about to come to end. Unless we are hit hard again with a new Covid wave. Getting the books, uniform for them, putting up a schedule has been a tough task in last few days. We even tried to get them from stores outside, but still could not find the school shoes for my daughter. All most all stores have run out of stock, such is the demand. It appears, all parents want to send their kids to school - may be the biggest reason being taking them back to their regular life , the non-digital life. Covid changed their life a lot - what was once prohibited for them, was given on their hands - the laptop, the mobile with high speed internet. And now they don't want to give them up. And along with all the digital media, the food from Mom's kitchen in father's comfortable mess - who would not love it. But this is not the time for them to enjoy a comfortable life. Instead they need to face challenges to learn from it to make them a better person. So probably the only way forward is to go back to the offline mode - the ideal way of schooling which the kids used to enjoy before Covid. It's not easy to take all these instantly from them - with time, they will again adjust and go back to normalcy and forget about the digital life. Forcing them to leave all these comfort suddenly is no longer a choice for us - they show negative signs. They are not like us - they are a new generation. So we have to steer the situation in a little different way - make rules, follow discipline but then also give a little flexibility along with encouragement and rewards.
My daughter was pretty excited about going back to school - she loves the offline mode because she can meet with her friends. Earlier we used to call her in the morning, but today she got up first and called us - even before the alarm rang. I am sure, she will quickly leave these digital life and go back to normalcy. I have to leave her first in the morning and I thought, going little early will help me avoid the harsh traffic, but you know the first day is always challenging. May be everyone thought like that.
Some people parked far away on the main road and had to walk , such was the situation. Hopefully things will settle in few days. Coming back I had to finish my walk quickly to take my son.
He is not very excited to go back to school because he feels, online mode is better, because its more comfortable. He even wish, the fourth wave should come and they don't have to go to school :) But hey man, this is not the time for comfort. Next few years are crucial in your life and if you play with your life now, then life will play with you. We have already given you the best that we can afford. So time for you to utilize them and earn the comfort for your later life.
Good education is the biggest investment of our life today. Every parent put all their effort to give their kids the best education - something I personally consider as the biggest bet of our life. There is a saying in my place - the holy basil’s seedling spreads it’s aroma right from the first two leaves! But what if you don't have it ? I mean, if you got exceptional kids, then you don't need to worry about anything - put them in any school they will come out distinguished. But if they are not exceptional, then you still have to invest your best to make them a better person who can live their life with dignity. And its not only money, right ? You have to put your blood and sweat - the effort, the time, the discipline and what not. When they grow young, if they can proudly say, Papa, you made me what I am today, then that is our reward, right !! Parenting is such a biggest risk that we all take - for that little reward that gives us meaning to live, live for them, to live for us.
Helping them to stand on their own feet in the crowd - When I went back to bring my daughter , I was wondering where she is in this growing crowd, but she found me. We are yet to get the Parent cards that will make things better, hopefully it should come in next few days. She was tired, exhausted but she was very very happy. And she wanted a little reward, so coming back, I had to stop by a store to get her what she wanted.
I know, the lady and me have to sacrifice many things with this new schedule, but that will be temporary, until we put up a good schedule and practice that specially for this summer - since both the kids have different timings. It's challenging, but we have to surpass this and make it better - that is how we teach our kids by showing them to put effort. I would love to hear from you about your experience of this new normal - I am sure, it will be a lot of fun while I go to bring my son - the teen has got eight and half our of work at school :)
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