Covid-19 has made tremendous changes in the life of anyone with school age kids. For the past few months my secretary, Kim Rembis, has been bringing her daughter to work. Molly, who is in kindergarten, sits next her mother and follows class on her own tablet.
Having Molly in the office has been a blessing to me. When she first started remote learning, Molly was shy. She didn’t say much, but would hold her mother’s leg and shyly smile at me whenever I tried to talk to her.
However, as time has gone on, we have become friends. Sometimes Molly has played peek-a-boo with me through the mail-slot in her mother’s office, and sometimes she has slipped hand-drawn pictures through the mail-slot in my door. At home, her mother tells me, she sometimes calls me “Uncle Mike,” a nickname that I will gladly claim.
My favorite time of day is 1:00 when school comes to an end. Every day I can hear the children loudly bidding each other goodbye before the teacher shuts down the link. They remind me of a flock of geese preparing to take off, wings flapping strongly, feet slapping across the surface of the lake, voices honking encouragement to one another. “Bye! Bye! Good bye! Good bye, teacher! Goodbye, Kiesha! Bye, Molly. Bye!”
In not too many years, Molly will be taking off into the sky. On that day, I hope that she will be surrounded by her family and friends, all honking their encouragement to her. But instead of saying goodbye, we will be saying, “Fly! Fly, Molly! Fly!”
Musings and Wonderment 