I am the mom of three kids: Teddy a 27-year-old PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania, Sam a 24-year-old cook who lost his job in Germany due to Covid-19, and Molly a 13-year-old seventh grader at Sartell Middle School.
This blog is about Molly.
Molly holding her cat Poppy
I am going to share stories about Molly’s activities, hobbies, new adventures, typical school day, and connections with her friends and family. Most of my narratives will be success stories that share ideas on what to do and how to cope. Some of my accounts will be about the pain and suffering Molly encounters during isolation. Some of my stories will be from the people in her life.
Over the past year I have watched Molly grow into a healthy, young adult and I am proud of how she has handled isolating from her family and friends. The success of adolescents is critical for the future. I believe young adults have been underestimated during the pandemic and I hope to shed light on their possible resilience by sharing Molly’s story. Although I will be documenting Molly’s life, I invite readers to share their valuable and useful antidotes of the adolescents in their lives during this historical time.
Like many kids during the pandemic Molly has been distance learning since March 13, 2020. Throughout this time her school has tried several learning models of hybrid, distance, and face-to-face. On February 8, 2021, students went back to in person learning. The decision to keep her home was easy for my husband Paul and me since I work from home, and we want to keep Molly safe. When the pandemic started, we did not know what safe would be; however, now we know safe to us is when Molly gets vaccinated. In Sartell less than 10% of seventh graders—approximately 30 classmates—have been only distant learning along with Molly.