Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/where-joy-lives/5026158/
“Where do you see Millie going in the next year?”
After six months of working from home and caring for my kiddos due to COVID-19, I want to say, “I am hoping she will go to daycare, so I can get some work done and reclaim a little sanity!”
Knowing that my student is practicing an assessment for her child development class, I stifle the urge. Instead, I say something about moving from parallel to interactive play and lamely follow-up by adding we just want Millie to be a happy 3-year-old.
Three weeks later, we have taken a hairpin turn off the happy path and have landed in an intensive care unit with a rare brain tumor diagnosis. Millie and I relocate to another state, separating our family, so she can receive cutting-edge treatment. We are not in a happy space. The fear, anger, and grief are real. But, like so many families who have taken major detours during this unprecedented time, we have found that joy lives in many places.
Joy lives in blowing kisses on Facetime.
Joy lives in the hospital cafeteria, after discovering ruby-red strawberries bursting with sweetness in January.
Joy lives in Millie having ...