Hello, PATH Parents!
Spring is about to be sprung, and here we are at the one-year anniversary of when the COVID Pandemic got real for us last year. A year ago in March, we all experienced a national shutdown where almost no one went to work, no one went to school, and we were required to stay inside our homes for weeks on end.
This was a historic “forced break” from the rat race of work, school, and extracurriculars that previously (and relentlessly) dominated our schedules. We had the chance to rediscover valuable things that had inadvertently fallen by the wayside amidst all our commitments and busyness. We were able to enjoy extended family time, cooking together and having family dinners every night. We were often bored, so some of us broke out old-school board games and cards and had fun being reminded of which ones of us are the most competitive in our families! Maybe some of us watched entire seasons of Netflix shows together or finally finished watching the Star Wars movies (yes, all 9+ of them)!
We savored the simple things, like getting outside, enjoying fresh air and exercising as a family in any ways we could. We also learned to appreciate things we had perhaps taken for granted before the shutdown, things like eating out in restaurants or gathering together with friends.
Basically, March was a month of uncertainty tied to a hope that while we were going through something historic (and even a little scary with all its unknowns), we would get through it TOGETHER as a family. Now, a year later, we can celebrate that we DID!
We here at PATH want to wish you a BIG congratulations on finishing an entire year of pandemic parenting! You made it through one of the most difficult years to parent, as you had to figure out your own grown-up dynamics with real-world consequences while helping your teens navigate all the changes in their world as well. You had to put on an “educator” cap, as well as every-other-kind-of-cap imaginable in this historic mashup. Kudos to you for staying the course and using resources like ours to stay encouraged and equipped! You really are SUPERSTARS, keeping it together for your families in tough times. We are incredibly proud of you and are grateful to be on this journey with you and your amazing teens!
In this together,
Lisa Raftery
