Skipping Childhood

Today is the one year anniversary of when everything changed for us, pandemic wise.  On March 12, 2020, the school system announced that children would be going home early on that day and would have an extra day and second week of spring break.  That soon turned into another extra week.  And then closed for the rest of the school year.  In person worship was suspended; no Palm Sunday processional, no Easter Egg Hunt, no Sunday School or sitting together with Granna in church.  Evie's summer camps, which looked to be a fun mix of theatre, dance, sports, and nature learning experiences, were canceled.  Our summer plans revolved around fixing our backyard and deck to be more welcoming for us and any guests as we started eating more meals outside for a change of scenery, and having my parents come over so we could see them safely outdoors.  Playdates finally came in July, with reminders that we can't get too close to each other and had to stay outdoors.  Then came the announcement that school in the fall was delayed by 3 weeks, and then that it would be virtual.  A year ago today, Evie and I went to the zoo to enjoy our extra spring break day, not knowing the extent of the change and how long it would be....

Now that we've been living like this for a year, I still wonder how this will ultimately change the "pandemic kids".  Will they feel more grateful for the rest of the lives for friends and travel, for the simple unmasked shopping experience?  As adults, will they be less likely to talk to strangers because, when they were children, strangers were potential infectors?  Will this year+ of having almost no playmates make them grow up faster and abandon pretend games, or will they stay childlike a little longer because their childhoods were put on hold?

I hope we have done right by Evie, in keeping her home.  She certainly doesn't want to go back to school, and that's probably our influence, talking about how scary COVID is and how we don't really want her going into buildings with other kids daily until she has had the vaccine.  I hope we've provided enough playdates...  I know we have increased her screen time exponentially...  She is still her sweet and wonderful self, and has handled this situation of isolation much better than I would have been able to.  I'm grateful for that.  As more and more adults get vaccinated, I am getting more hopeful that we're on the downhill slope of this and that maybe by the fall, we will feel like she can attend school in person and can have some semblance of normalcy.  

This morning, Evie spent her first time alone with Granna and Grannadaddy since our trip last summer.  I had a date with a friend for an outdoor chat, and Seth had an appointment for his first COVID shot, so Evie got to go with Grannadaddy to get donuts and enjoy being around her grandparents.  She told me how satisfying it was to get to be with them.

This week, I had "the talk" with Evie about how your body changes during puberty, in part because I noticed she was a little sweaty and smelly - her sweet baby sweat now has odor - and in part because when we were at our playdate last weekend, the other moms were talking about how they knew women who had never been told about puberty and what a shock it was to them when suddenly they started their cycles and thought they were dying.  So, I figured I would introduce the topic.  Evie took it well, but then she started tearing up.  I said, "Are you okay, what's wrong?" and she started crying and said, "I just don't want to grow up.  I don't ever want to have to move away from you and Daddy."  I told her, "I can't stop you growing up, but you don't ever have to move away from us.  You can live with us for the rest of your life, and you'll be my baby even when you're 70 and I'm 100."

I am always blown away when she says she doesn't want to grow up.  I couldn't wait to be older, to get to do more things...  Evie seems to be perfectly content exactly where she is and I don't know that I've ever heard her say she can't wait til she's old enough to do this or that.  She is a wonder...

We went on an evening stroll Wednesday, since the weather was nice, and she spent a good time skipping.  Do you remember how much fun skipping was as a kid?  I had forgotten until she reminded me....

Seth and I skipped along with her for a ways.  We admired the lighting choices on different people's houses.  We tried to coax outdoor cats to come over for pets.  We enjoyed just being the Mayne party of three, walking around our neighborhood.

And then, like I do every night, I snuck in after she was asleep to kiss her cheek and look at her sweet face.  She is always cuddling a stuffed animal - that night it was Black Footed Ferret aka BFF.  Being the mom to this innocent, precious child is the most amazing blessing.