By Donna Ashworth
People will not ask the children of 2020 if they caught up with their studies.
They will not ask them what grades they made, despite the year off school.
They will ask them with wonder ‘what was it like?’
They will ask them ‘how did you cope?’
‘How did you feel?’
‘What do you remember of those days?”
They will listen in awe to the tales of clapping on doorsteps for the medical workers.
They will sit open-mouthed to hear of daily walks being the only life we saw and how much we missed human contact and gatherings.
They will be amazed to know about empty supermarkets, online concerts, birthdays spent on a screen and a life lived inside.
They will listen, then sit back with amazement and say, ‘Wow. You went through so much.’
So think about what you would like your children to take away from this whole year.
Tell them they are not behind.
Tell them they are not missing out.
Tell them they are extremely special indeed and they will be forever made stronger by this unique time.
Tell them catching up is not even a thing because they have grown so much in so many other ways.
Remind them too of the fun stuff, the family jigsaws, the window rainbows, the zoom bingo.
The feeling of safety and togetherness amidst the chaos.
Let them take that thought with them through life.
Change the narrative now and it will travel far.
Tell the children they are not behind.
They are special.
They are special.
❤❤❤
Donna Ashworth is the author of ‘To the Women’ and ‘History Will Remember’
