Teacher + Love

As a child, August was the month where I felt a sense of pure freedom. With school a whole month away, my friends and I spent our days biking through quiet streets, eating ice cream at Homers and on the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan. Unbeknown to me my teachers were quietly unpacking boxes, decorating their classrooms and eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new group of students.

When I became a mom, August took on an entirely different tone. As I shuffled three children to doctors’ appointments, made multiple trips to Target for school supplies and tried, (often unsuccessfully,) to manage three different school calendars. It was not very Zen-like.

This August bears no resemblance to the past. 

I’ve been following debates about opening schools and reading responses from many worried parents. I’ve also talked with many friends who are beloved educators that have serious concerns about the quality of education that can be provided, as well as sharing their own health concerns.

Having said that, with so many children receiving daily meals at school along families of special needs children worried about set-backs, we all agree that a pause could be devastating.

As I sat down to pen my annual Zen inspiration for August, I realized that for the first time in over 25 years I’m not sending anyone back to school. My last little bird in the nest, Lucy, graduated from college and is about to embark on her next adventure.

Without a clear point of view, I consciously decided that this month’s post wasn’t about entering the debate. Rather I reached out to my friend, gifted writer and mother extraordinaire, Ann Marie Scheidler for some inspiration.  

Her thoughtful reflection is below…

The first day of school will sure look a little different this year. Rolling start-times, hybrid schedules, and ample supplies of hand sanitizers and masks are what we’ll find as the school bells ring this fall. But even with all of the concerns surrounding our children going back to school, it’s absolutely where they need to be—and this is coming from the mama who never really wanted any of her birds to leave the nest.

I have five children who are counting the minutes until classes begin—two in college, two in high school, and one in seventh grade. When the pandemic forced everyone to home school last spring, it felt like the answer to my prayers. I was ready for the busy-ness of our lives to slow down and excited to be part of their academics that I’ve so long been on the periphery of.

While this was wonderful for a while, it was truly me who got an education. I quickly learned what a bigger role being at school, with their peers, provides in their lives. Whether it be the differing perspective of a teacher, negotiating in the lunchroom with a friend, or the endless resources, carefully curated, to help them move forward with their lives—school is so much more to my children than what the classroom traditionally delivers (and don’t get my started about all they gain from competing in sports!). I could actually see the wheels spinning for my older children and the frustration begin to mount. This is time in their lives that they will never get back and they deserve to be out in the world and finding their way.

Now, even in a time of a global pandemic, our family is kicking off the school year with a new sense of gratitude for what an education outside of the home is. It’s a gift that my family certainly took for granted until it was unexpectedly taken away. So, as the new year gets underway, there won’t be tears from any of us, but a true sense of “zen” and an overwhelming appreciation for the teachers, staff, and administration who are all tirelessly working together to ensure that it can safely happen.

While I know everyone’s situation will be shaped by their personal circumstances I think as Ann Marie shared we can all agree that the past six months have opened our eyes to so many things in our lives we took for granted. One of them was the extraordinary care our children receive each day by their beloved educators.   Their devotion, expertise and guidance cannot be replaced or truly supplemented outside of the classroom environment

It’s in that spirit throughout the month of August, we’ll be celebrating all the special people in your children’s life who have offered extraordinary care during these uncertain times.  When you purchase a Zen Sampler pack include a family favorite, put Teacher20 in the discount box at checkout and we’ll include our family favorites bundle as our gift.  We would LOVE it if you could share pictures, stories and reflections on our Instagram page #weloveourteaachers.

College Bound Giveaway

In addition to our special offering, with so many college students returning to campus without a 24/7 cafeteria, Jane has planned some simple 5 ingredients recipes for the month. We are also partnering with our good friend, cookbook author and author of Mom’s Kitchen Handbook, Katie Morford, on a college, Instagram giveaway. Check us out at @thezenofslowcooking and enter to win an Instant Pot, Zen sampler pack and Katie’s college cookbook Prep!

For more words of wisdom by Ann Marie, please check out her blog: Ann Marie on the Shore.

Zen Moment

“I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. It might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.” (John Steinbeck)