WE DON’T GIVE UP
by Angie Williams
We’ve relied on the wisdom of Fred Rogers quite a bit in recent months, and it seems we aren’t quite done with it yet. It is hard to be a human right now. We are in the midst of very stressful times; we do not know when the public health situation will get better, and we have so much work to do to make this world a more just and equitable place.
If Mr. Rogers were still with us, I think he would remind us that we must allow ourselves to experience the dark emotions that the current circumstances bring about (“Anything human is mentionable, and anything mentionable is manageable.”).
And he would also tell us, as he did in one episode of his show, that the one thing we must not do in the face of challenge is give up.
“Real brave and strong people are able to cry when things are hard. But the one thing they don’t do is give up. They don’t give up because they know that there is so much that’s good in the world. They keep trying, and learning, and looking, and listening.”
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Mr. Rogers
This may be easier said than done depending on the day, so we hope that you are finding time and space to take care of yourselves in ways (perhaps through nature, music, art, cooking, exercise, or meditation) that give you the emotional energy to press on. For me, it is helpful to name and then focus on some of the things that we must not give up on in order to make it through difficult times:
We don’t give up on gratitude.
We don’t give up on caring for one another and for ourselves.
We don’t give up on joy.
We don’t give up on hope.
We don’t give up on listening.
We don’t give up on curiosity.
We don’t give up on kindness.
We don’t give up on love.
In addition to dealing with our own feelings, we know that children may be picking up on some of the stress that is in the world. If you have concerns around this, please feel free to reach out to your director or your child’s teacher with any ways we can support your child during this time. At EFC we are grateful to give children opportunities to learn and grow in an environment focused on the values listed above.
