End of Year Traditions

I have all the time in the world and nowhere to go and yet won't even entertain writing about the state of affairs. Perhaps I should record for posterity how my children rallied together to make a tribe of best friends amongst themselves to make a global pandemic something they will likely remember as a weird year where their bonds were strengthened and we had unexpected fun playing more games than we ever imagined instead of the stressful, terrible reality it is.  Their perspective has kept me from wallowing and even though I can grasp the terribleness of this reality, and because of that, I will have some memories of this time that will be good. 

The school year ended with the kids not receiving 4th quarter grades, despite their deserving to be recognized for their relentless, almost entirely self-directed work.  Both exceeded all expectations and I have awarded them 100s across the board, and put all of them on the honor roll. 

Having been home for months already, I wondered if the transition to summer would still feel special, but I wasnt willing to give up traditions without a fight, so I took the first day of summer off and we made our annual "To Do List":

We are only a couple weeks in and have already made some headway, and despite this perhaps (HOPEFULLY?) being one of the worst summers I will see in my lifetime, I am happy to say the kids have declared thIs may be our best summer yet. 

I am thankful for their youth and optimism. They aren't living ignorant of the macro picture. We are talking about it all on an age appropriate level. But they believe the world will get better and their optimism allows me to sometimes believe it, too.