School’s out. Parents: we made it.
And for some of us, only just barely.
This piece originally appeared in The Swampscott Reporter on June 17, 2021.
Across much of the Commonwealth, this week marks the end of the school year.
Educators and principals: we salute you. You have been our children’s heroes for the past 15 months, your profession transformed into frontline service out of necessity, often without the same support other essential frontline workers received. We thank you for your service. We hope your summer gives you the rest you deserve from a relentless school year.
Parents: we did it. We made it to the finish line.
School’s out for summer. Just this past Tuesday, the State of Emergency officially ended, another important milestone as we emerge from the pandemic. With businesses fully reopened, masks largely no longer required, and a majority of the Commonwealth fully vaccinated, the start of summer vacation feels like a welcome relief for many families, especially after 15 months of disrupted learning and living.
As the mother of an eight year old, the relief feels at once immediate and overdue. The prospect of summer camp feels substantially less intimidating and uncertain than it did last summer, instead offering far more predictability than was even…
