Member-only story
If a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Then I’ve got plenty of them
September 1, 2021
This morning, I dropped my daughter off at school — her first day back after learning from home for the past year and a half. As expected, cars lined up along with the school busses on the quiet, narrow streets behind the school’s playground, where we were all instructed to arrive.
Shortly after finding a parking spot a block away, Lily and I walked to the playground, where a long line was forming — we were all waiting to be allowed (or should I say, “welcomed”) in the school. This year, the rules have changed. As an adult, I am no longer allowed in the school during morning drop off nor in the afternoons during pickup. I am, however, allowed inside during the day if I need to pick up my child, and even so, I have to go through a complicated check-in process with the office.
We didn’t always operate this way. I praise the school system here for doing what they can with what they’ve got — which, at this point, was a lot of excited kids and parents. Except we cannot see each other’s full faces because we’re all wearing masks. I took my phone out of my purse and asked my daughter to pose for a picture. She grumps at me behind her mask, saying that the sun is directly in her eyes. Still, she resigned herself to posing for another picture.
