You’ve probably seen the meme I’m referring to with the headline of this post. It’s definitely been … an experience, this return to full-time in-person learning. I’m definitely glad my kids are back in school, but sometimes it feels like I’ve traded one set of challenges for another. If you’re struggling, you’re not alone. If you’re doing great, by all means, share some golden tidbits with the rest of us, because it has been quite a ride so far!

Honestly, I was excited about all three of my angelic (*cough*) boys being in school full time this year. My five-year-old started kindergarten, so I was especially excited for him and relieved to know that I wouldn’t have to balance his school day on an iPad with my work, calls and meetings! I feel for those of you who did just that when schools were closed last year. Shoutout to our Marketing Manager, Noor, who did this all of last year with her son!

My oldest, who is in fourth grade, first joined in-person learning at his current school last year. Because of the extra precautions and the part-time in-person schedule, parents never got to visit. It felt great to finally go to his school for the first time this school year and connect with the teachers and administration in person. It was also extra special to visit my kindergartner’s school and see him in class, since we were this close to missing out on that experience.

Now here’s the thing: Schools opened, but COVID didn’t go away. It just mutated and continued its rampage. Unfortunately, my family and I experienced this first hand when my husband came down with sudden cold symptoms one night. I was a little concerned but not totally, since we’re both vaccinated. My children, however, are all under the age of 12, so they are not. The next day he felt dizzy, and by that evening he had tested positive for COVID. The following morning was the start of our two-week quarantine.

Things started off SO great with my mute button betraying me on an early morning zoom meeting. Yelling across the room, and apparently into the ears of my colleagues, demanding one kid be nice to his brother, was not embarrassing, not at all. At least my camera was off. By the time our quarantine was over, I had lost my sense of smell and my sanity. Alhamdulillah, my sense of smell eventually came back. Yeah, that was a tough chunk of time.

And although this school year has been better than the last, it isn’t without its challenges. If a student in our district has any COVID symptoms, they stay home and so do their siblings until they turn in a negative COVID test. So when my nine-year-old woke up the other day with a stuffy nose and a minor cough, I found myself sweating it out in the CVS drive-thru, trying to wrangle some swabs up the noses of a four- and five-year-old. I wonder how often we’ll be doing this once Chicago’s brutal winter takes over, but I’ll find out soon enough.

As a bonus, we have also been dealing with a bus driver shortage, something I’m sure many parents across the country can sympathize with. During unexpected mornings and afternoons, you can find me sitting in an incredibly long car line wrapped around the entire neighborhood, dropping off or picking up one of my sons. We then race to pick up my preschooler while my oldest gets dropped off at home by his bus.

I morphed into a logistics manager while figuring out three schedules at three different schools along with the ever-changing procedures surrounding COVID.

Mind you, this is in addition to my full-time work here at Haute Hijab, where I am the CX Manager. If this pandemic has taught me anything, it’s how important it is for companies to be flexible and have family-friendly policies as the norm, and not just during pandemic times. Grateful to HH for being ahead of the game on that one.

And, this has taught me even when things get tough, there is always a silver lining and pockets of joy. Although my husband and I both got sick, it worked out so that when he was down I was doing well; and when I was barely getting out of bed, he was on the upswing – so we were able to hold down the fort and pull through. It was also nice to see neighbors, friends and family come by and drop off food and groceries.

We both have our jobs, and my kids are doing all right back in school. I know many kids across the country are struggling with the return back. So, I have much for which to say, Alhamdullilah.

This school year is far from perfect, but I’m so glad the kids are back in school and I have much respect for the teachers and administrators who are doing their best to teach our kids (many of whom are struggling after so much time at home) and keep them safe. I hope this school year is going well for you and your family, Insha’Allah.