Morning! I wondered if we could talk parent to parent for a min. Or caregiver to caregiver? B/c we’re kind of going through the same thing here, just in our own ways. Idk about you, but I’m finding that, as if the world wasn’t hard enough to guide our young ones through, 1/
it’s getting to where you can’t look left, right, or straight ahead anymore without running into more bad news. And it’s one thing to navigate and try to make sense of it all for ourselves, but we’ve got children, spouses, extended families, and more in tow. 2/
Take my dinner last night, for ex. My 16yo, through tears, shared her thoughts about George Floyd. Now, with me not having a background in counseling, I thought the only thing I could think, “What would @LisaLujanCPESC1 (our school counselor) do?” Seriously. 3/
I could hear Mrs. Lujan say, “Let your child lead the discussion. Be honest, listen, answer the questions she asks.” I followed the advice to a T. It’s not comfortable to see your child cry. I let her anyway. It’s not natural to hear her questions w/out solving them, 4/
I stayed quiet anyway. I wanted to say, “It’s ok. The world is full of good. You will make it a better place.” Instead, I listened. And as she asked question after question and her voice rose and fell, and while I had no control over the direction of the conversation 5/
-which, in itself was scary- something happened: my younger daughter, usually quiet and reserved, spoke up. As I sat there, the two of them connected on a level so deep, it never would have happened if I had given into my parental desires to lead them. 6/
And all of the sudden, the two little souls talking and asking questions together under my husband’s and my watchful eyes *created* meaning and understandings that they needed most. All my husband and I did was make sure everything was accurate 7/
And no fears got out of hand. Without my meddling, they lifted each other. I wasn’t expecting that, and it lifted me too! 8/
Mrs. Lujan was right, “Let them lead the conversation.” And I would add to that: *have* the conversation. My daughters may be teenagers, but younger children are picking up information too. There’s a lot going on out there. 9/
Since we can’t see inside their minds to know what they’re catching onto and how much, I think we are safe to say they are hearing or overhearing or seeing something, and there’s a good chance that ‘something’ comes along with questions. 10/
Questions, worries, fears, confusions all bottled up inside come out in some way, whether we expect it or not. If not through talking, maybe through behavior, possibly through withdrawing, any number of ways. 11/
This is hard. We are traveling through together. We’ll do it, we’ll get to the other side. And truthfully, it’s quite likely we’ll be all the closer to each other when we make it. 12/
Feel free to reach out to us for support and thoughts on getting through hard times together. Mrs. Lujan is happy to help, and we have other staff with expertise as well. 13/
FCPS also has resources at the ready to help, fcps.edu/blog/introduci… 14/
Take care, friends. We are all in this together. We will make it through. ♥️ /15
@threadreaderapp pls unroll
