Everything About the Upcoming School Year Feels Wrong

Our Keepsake Journal is Here! 🎉

Everything about the upcoming school year feels wrong.

We’re approaching the final stretch of summer, but plans haven’t been finalized.

Not for our families, not for our schools.

Most of us haven’t an inkling as to how we should proceed.

Nothing feels right.

Keeping schools closed feels wrong, but opening them feels equally wrong.

Sending kids to school during a pandemic feels wrong, but so does keeping them home.

The idea of our kids wearing masks feels wrong, while the thought of them NOT wearing masks feels wrong.

RELATED: As the School Year Nears, Nothing I Choose Feels Right

Social distancing within the walls and halls of school feels wrong, but so does allowing them to socialize normally.

Risking the physical health of teachers and students feels wrong, but so does risking jobs, educational needs, and emotional well-being.

Some of us have strong opinions about the decisions that need to be made, but many of us just feel paralyzed.

You’re not wrong if you decide to send your kids to school this year.

You’re not wrong if you decide to homeschool your kids this year.

You’re not wrong if you decide to proceed with some combination of the two.

You’re not wrong if you haven’t decided what you’re doing yet.

You’re not wrong if you start down one route and end up on another.

You’re not wrong if every decision you make is last minute. Or if you change your mind. Or if you just don’t know what to do.

RELATED: Pediatrician’s Viral Back-To-School Advice is What We All Need Right Now

The only thing that’s wrong is tearing down another parent for the decision they make. Or choosing to respond to another parent’s decision in a derogatory or demeaning way.

The only thing that’s wrong is the belief that you have all the answers, because I’m telling you—NO ONE has all the answers. Or that your decision is the only right one.

We all have a decision to make and many of us aren’t sure what our final one will be.

But at a time when everything feels wrong, we can be people who make it feel a little more right by refraining from judgment and harsh words. We can make it a little more right by recognizing that different kids, different families, different people have different needs. We can make it a little more right by being supportive of our fellow parents and the teachers who have been tossed into a situation they never could have been prepared for. We can make it a little more right with kindness, compassion, and understanding.

RELATED: I Bought School Supplies Today, Please Don’t Judge Me

We can make it a little more right by praying for wisdom and guidance. By using discretion before opening our mouths. By recognizing that not one of us is actually in control.

Everything about this school year feels wrong.

But we can make it a little more right by choosing our words wisely and making sure our actions are woven with grace.

P.S. These times are confusing not just for parents, but for our kids, too. The Coping Skills For Kids Workbook is a great tool for helping them work through their big emotions.

Recommendations in this post contain affiliate links. Her View From Home may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase.

This article originally appeared on Facebook

So God Made a Mother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Order Now

Check out our new Keepsake Companion Journal that pairs with our So God Made a Mother book!

Order Now

So God Made a Mother's Story Keepsake Journal

Her View Shop

Jenny Albers

Jenny Albers is a wife, mother, and writer. She is the author of Courageously Expecting, a book that empathizes with and empowers women who are pregnant after loss. You can find Jenny on her blog, where she writes about pregnancy loss, motherhood, and faith. She never pretends to know it all, but rather seeks to encourage others with real (and not always pretty) stories of the hard, heart, and humorous parts of life. She's a work in progress, and while never all-knowing, she's (by the grace of God) always growing. You can follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Having Kids Shows Who Your Real Friends Are

In: Friendship, Motherhood

Mother and child walking through forest, color photo

Any mom, typical or special needs, will tell you having kids is the fastest way to tell who your real friends are. When your child is born with special needs this process becomes even more severe and obvious. At first, people visit and want to hold the baby, but once the delays kick in slowly people start to pull away. Disability makes them uncomfortable. That’s the truth. They hope you won’t notice, but you do. Honestly, most stop trying altogether. It’s not just friends who act this way either, sometimes it’s family too. That hurts the most. As a parent...

Keep Reading

Hey Mom, It’s Okay Not to Be Perfect

In: Motherhood

Mother with head in hands and child jumping on couch nearby

Have you ever walked into a room, to an event, or a meeting, where you immediately felt out of place? As if you had come into a foreign space where you were not worthy, or just didn’t belong among the other mothers in the room? Maybe you were not dressed the part. Your hair may have fallen in messy strands around your face, or you may not have taken the time to put on a full face of makeup as the other women in the room had. Maybe your clothing choice of the day was just not quite as put...

Keep Reading

Dear Child, You Are Not Responsible for How Anyone Else Feels about You

In: Kids, Motherhood, Teen, Tween

Teen girl looking in the mirror putting on earrings

Dear kiddo, I have so many dreams for you. A million hopes and desires run through my mind every day on a never-ending loop, along with worries and fears, and so, so much prayer. Sometimes, it feels like my happiness is tied with ropes of steel to yours. And yet, the truth is, there are times you disappoint me. You will continue to disappoint me as you grow and make your own choices and take different paths than the ones I have imagined for you. But I’m going to tell you a secret (although I suspect you already know): My...

Keep Reading

Now I Know How a Mother Is Made

In: Motherhood

Husband, wife, and young son, color photo

It’s been almost three years now, but I can still remember how your 8-pound body felt in my arms. Night after night as we tried to sleep, I remember your sounds, your movements, and your tiny hands. I gave it my all but still felt I fell short. You see sweet little one, you may have been brand new to this world, but so was I. The day you were born, a mother was born too. Things didn’t always go according to plan. It’s hard when you try your best, but you just can’t get there. So many new things...

Keep Reading

I’m Praying for My Teenager in These Challenging Years

In: Faith, Motherhood, Teen

Teen boy holding a smartphone and wearing headphones

In my mid-40s, I began to long for a baby. We didn’t get much encouragement from friends and family. My husband is a high-functioning quadriplegic, and I was considered way too old to start a family. But our marriage was stable, we were used to obstacles, we were financially prepared, emotionally experienced, and our careers were established. I began to paint my own sublime mental portrait of parenting tranquility. What could go wrong? At 48, I delivered a healthy baby boy, and he was perfect. We adored him. The baby we had longed for and prayed for, we had. And...

Keep Reading

Going to Church with Kids is Hard but We’ll Keep Showing Up

In: Faith, Motherhood

Going to church is hard with young kids. It used to be something I looked forward to. It’s something I’ve always valued deeply and needed desperately. It’s the one place that will always be home regardless of what location or building it’s in or what people attend. Church is my sanctuary. But it’s become a battle with the kids’ resistance, my tired mind and body, and my lack of ability to actually listen to the sermon. Going to church is hard with young kids. It’s become normal for me to lie down in bed on Saturday night thinking, with dread,...

Keep Reading

When Motherhood Feels Like a Limitation

In: Faith, Motherhood

Twenty-one years ago, my husband Troy and I welcomed our first son into the world. Two years later, I gave birth to another boy. And again two years later, and again two years after that. A fifth boy joined our family another two years later, and a final son was born 11 years after we began our parenting journey. If you were counting, you’re not mistaken—that’s six sons in just over a decade. We were overjoyed and more than a little exhausted. I remember feeling frustrated with the limitations of the little years with young children when I was a...

Keep Reading

I Obsessed over Her Heartbeat Because She’s My Rainbow Baby

In: Grief, Loss, Motherhood

Mother and teen daughter with ice cream cones, color photo

I delivered a stillborn sleeping baby boy five years before my rainbow baby. I carried this sweet baby boy for seven whole months with no indication that he wouldn’t live. Listening to his heartbeat at each prenatal visit until one day there was no heartbeat to hear. It crushed me. ”I’m sorry but your baby is dead,” are words I’ll never be able to unhear. And because of these words, I had no words. For what felt like weeks, I spoke only in tears as they streamed down my cheeks. But I know it couldn’t have been that long. Because...

Keep Reading

Round 2 in the Passenger Seat is Even Harder

In: Motherhood, Teen

Here I am, once again, in the passenger seat. The driver’s side mirrors are adjusted a little higher. The seat is moved back to fit his growing teenage limbs. The rearview mirror is no longer tilted to see what’s going on in the backseat. Yellow stickers screaming “Student Driver,” are plastered to the sides of the car. The smile on his face is noticeable. The fear in mine is hard to hide. These are big moments for both of us. For him, it’s the beginning of freedom. Exiting the sidestreets of youth and accelerating full speed into the open road...

Keep Reading

Here on the Island of Autism Parenting

In: Motherhood

Son on dad's shoulders looking at sunset over water

Hey, you. Yes, you there: mom to a kid on the spectrum. Well, you and I know they’re so much more than that. But sometimes those few words seem so all-consuming. So defining. So defeating. I see you when you’re done. That was me earlier today. I had to send a picture of a broken windshield to my husband. I prefaced the picture with the text, “You’re going to be so mad.” And you know what? He saw the picture, read my text, and replied, “I love you. The windshield can be fixed. Don’t worry. Just come home.” I think,...

Keep Reading

We're All Doing the Best We Can

Living

We're All Doing the Best We Can

So God Made a Student

Kids

Everything About the Upcoming School Year Feels Wrong

Nothing feels right.

Some of us have strong opinions about the decisions that need to be made, but many of us just feel paralyzed.

We all have a decision to make and many of us aren’t sure what our final one will be.

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Check out our new Keepsake Companion Journal that pairs with our So God Made a Mother book!

Her View Shop

Having Kids Shows Who Your Real Friends Are

Hey Mom, It’s Okay Not to Be Perfect

Dear Child, You Are Not Responsible for How Anyone Else Feels about You

Now I Know How a Mother Is Made

I’m Praying for My Teenager in These Challenging Years

Going to Church with Kids is Hard but We’ll Keep Showing Up

When Motherhood Feels Like a Limitation

I Obsessed over Her Heartbeat Because She’s My Rainbow Baby

Round 2 in the Passenger Seat is Even Harder

Here on the Island of Autism Parenting

Previous Post

Next Post

You May Also Like