This week marked back to school for thousands of children and teenagers all across Ireland.
And just like normal years, the days before school went back were filled with excitement, tinged with a little nostalgia that summer has come to an end, and normality is about to commence once more.
However, this year is not like other years. Not like any other year any of us have ever had.
This year, our children are going to school – or going back to school – in a world that looks and feels anything but normal. Where we don’t really know what to expect or what will happen.
But we send them back – knowing they need it – and have longed for friends, familiarity and actual teachers. Packing those school bags for the first time any new school year always tugs a little on our hearts, and this year, especially so. And so when I came across this poem that Irish mum Aoife Driver had written, it seemed to sum up so perfectly how we all felt this week:
Her text in full:
‘Twas the night before school
When all through the house
Not a creature was stirring except for this spouse!
Schoolbags sat by the front door with care
She had bathed the kids and blow-dried their hair
Lunches were made and shoes had been shined
“I hope they don’t catch it” raced through her mind
The children were sleeping fast in their beds
With dreams of reunions with all their friends
Where classes are bubbles and tables are pods
Their safety in the hands of the “government gods”
When down in the kitchen arose such a clatter,
Husband ran down to see what was the matter.
Away to the kitchen he flew like a light
His wife sat crying at the table
he knew something not right
“I want them to go but I want them to stay
I want this bloody virus to just go away” ?
For the first time in months her bubble had burst
She thought she’d feel happier but now she feels worse
The ‘what-ifs’ were racing around in her mind
Her husband hugged her and tried to be kind
We’ve waited for this day for schools to reopen
But the mixture of change and fear had her quite frozen
She feigned a smile and sipped on her tea
And persuaded herself “I’ll have more time for me”
But six months have passed
The country none the wiser
Schoolbags now packed with masks and hand sanitizer
But this is a good thing, for schools to reopen
The children deserve it, its what they’ve been hoping
Children of Ireland have shown such resilience
Positive attitude and absolute brilliance!
You might feel nervous or perhaps feel okay
To release your babies back to school today
But whatever you feel know it’s not for forever
We’ll get through this and we’ll get through together ❤
