Back to School with Patience. Flexibility. Grace.
– By #MillerSD
When we think of back -to-school, we don’t think of Valentine’s Day. Usually, our first thoughts are when summer is about over in August and buying school supplies. 2022 has different plans for Miller School District. This unusual back-to-school season, I want our entire community to pack three school supplies; Patience. Flexibility. Grace. Last week, we got a message from the Miller School District asking to be patient while the school comes up with a plan. Let’s give them that respect.
These are extraordinary times. Our school and entire community was shaken by something that we haven’t experienced before and will change our daily routine and our community for a long time. This is a tall order for a community and we all need to step up. The most important thing we can do for ourselves and our entire community during this very stressful time is to be patient, flexible and have grace for everyone. This is not the time to judge and criticize the school district, teachers, or staff on how fast we get back in our school work but rather give grace as we work through a community crisis during this time of uncertainty. This is the time to teach our kids and community how to adapt in stressful situations that we have zero control over.
Stress uses up a lot of energy. Many feel unfocused and unproductive. Allow yourself to dial down your expectations of yourself and others a bit. It’s okay and normal to waver around as you try to adapt to new circumstances.
Give our entire community the patience, flexibility and grace we all need. Acknowledge it, allow it, and release self-imposed guilt or shame. Grant yourself permission, space and all of the time you need to feel your feelings. Offer gratitude for all that is not lost, because that explosion could have been so much worse. Offer gratitude to our school staff, the students, the area churches, the volunteer fire and rescue crews and everyone else that had something to do with getting everyone out of the schools and the daycare on 2-2-22.
I’ve heard some say, “It doesn’t even look that bad from the outside. Why aren’t they in school?” Remember that things aren’t always what they look like and there are deeper issues, much like we never know what someone is going through. Someone might look ok on the outside but inside they are battling something much deeper. Our school experienced an explosion with deep and complicated issues. Let’s give our school the time it needs to get safe, clean, and ready for the years to come.
I urge our entire community to practice patience, flexibility and grace with our current situation. This is a wonderful opportunity to teach our future leaders what coming together for a community really means. And what community loyalty really means.
Go Rustlers! Have a great rest of the school year.
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