Behind the Masks

Today I am grateful for the colleagues, students, and parents that are part of the school community I work in. I am also grateful for Grandma's chocolate star cookie recipe. Both of my grandmothers died by the time I was five, so my memories of them are minimal. The recipes are memorable though. 

We ended our semester at my school and now have a couple of weeks off. A much needed and deserved break. They always are, but especially so in this time of COVID. We were in-person a vast majority of the time these last months. It has been a grueling grind on the one hand and some semblance of normalcy on the other. 

The mix of emotions about it all run a wide range, and are one of the sources of exhaustion I am feeling. Another source is the daily toll of wearing masks. I am a firm believer in masks and I commend all of our students and the faculty and staff for just making them a part of our days together. 

You do get used to them. But they do wear you out over the hours. I can't imagine what it has been like for health care workers who have to garb up in full PPE every time they work. 

Masks and shields were the norm and I know it made a difference in keeping people safer. It will remain the norm for many months to come, and we know we can do it.

What I really missed as I got to know our many new students, and welcomed back our returning students, were the smiles behind the masks. You could sometimes see those smiles in their eyes. but not always. And there were often days, as I passed others in the hall or sat in a physically distanced conversation with them, that I am pretty sure I saw tension, fear, and tiredness in those eyes too. 

As a counselor and a listener, I rely heavily on facial expressions. I listened more intently to tone of voice and observed more closely the nonverbal cues too. I could look at students' pictures in our learning management system and see their whole face. It often surprises me how different someone looks without a mask. 

Behind the masks. Behind the plexiglass. Behind the mixed emotions. We have still managed to connect. 

It has been a different sense of community this fall, but still a school community that made a significant difference in a significantly different time.