What Will Our Children Remember About 2020?

We’ve never experienced anything like this.

All over the country schools and businesses have closed. You can’t go out to eat. Churches have moved online. Professional sports are cancelled for the foreseeable future. And tens of millions have lost or are losing their jobs.

And, of course, Covid-19.

We’re still at the tip of the spear, so to speak, which makes it hard to say what is going to come of all of this. But already the changes have been dramatic and profound. And as a parent I’ve been thinking about how all of this must look through the eyes of my three young children. To them Spring Break started on March 6th and never ended (though as of last week our eldest has started “distance learning” through his school).

What will our children remember about this year?

Here’s what I hope they remember:

I hope they remember that they saw their parents A LOT. Their house became a school, an office, a church, and a playground all at once, with everyone using it simultaneously for all that and more.

I hope they remember the names of the many neighbors who walked by our front yard and stopped to chat, 6 feet away.

I hope they remember how badly their grandparents wanted to welcome them into their home and cook them a delicious dinner and let them stay and play and watch all the shows they wanted.

I hope they remember laughing with us while watching some genuinely good films.

I hope they remember that the adults in their lives did all they could to protect and support the most vulnerable among us.

I hope they remember that their parents strove to be reflectors of light and life.

I hope they remember that the adults in their lives strove to find new ways to maintain friendships and build community.

I hope they remember the way their parents prayed and walked by the Spirit.

I hope they remember every time they made each other laugh and smile.

And I hope they remember that although so very much changed, the important things remained the same.