Recently I was reading through a chat thread where parents were sharing their fall school decision for their incoming kindergarteners. Someone was looking for feedback on what parents were doing with this bizarre year of COVID. They wanted to know if parents would be sending their kids to school in person, distance learning, or homeschooling them.
Having a child starting Kindergarten, I was feeling the same sense of uncertainty. What's the right decision for our family?
Same Storm, Different Boats
One mom shared a very encouraging email where she validated the inquiring mom’s feelings and hesitations about what decision to make for her child. She summed it all up by concluding with the phrase “same storm, different boats.” We are all in the same storm during this season of COVID, but we are all living in and navigating different boats of family circumstances.
Every Family is Different
As we embark on a new school year, I think this is a great perspective for all of us. We are all in the same pandemic storm and yet the story, scenario, and details are varied for each of us. Each of our boats contains unique personal struggles, decisions, and dynamics that cannot (and should not) be compared to other families' boats. Because when we try to compare, generalize, or determine anyone else’s situation, it can lead to being judgmental or hurtful instead of supportive and loving.
So here we are, about to proceed with a year of anticipated, inevitable, foreboding changes that may or may not lay ahead of us.
Sounds fun, right?
Grace and Understanding
Through it all, I pray that I will express grace and understanding to the people around me. I pray that my words, emotions, and interactions will be loving and gentle.
I mean after all; we are all in the same storm but it in different boats.
