Kristin's Kinders

“If you want happiness for an hour — take a nap. 
If you want happiness for a day — go fishing. 
If you want happiness for a year — inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime — help someone else.” 
Chinese Proverb   

On the eve of Mother’s Day weekend, I think it only fitting to acknowledge and honor our local mountain mamas and all they’ve endured throughout this crazy year. Reflecting back on my own mama tribe, as well as the Truckee Mama tribe as a whole, I am proud to consider myself among this group of women. No school? Fine, we’ll create a pod. Work from home, they said? Sure, these mountain mamas said, let me get my child started on this Zoom call, on my hip, in the crib for a nap, etc., and then I’ll power through what needs to be done.

“We are so lucky that we got so much extra time together this year.”

These are the words of our seven-year-old daughter reflecting on this crazy year we’ve had.  As I look back on April 2020 to April 2021, I can see the good as well.  Relationships that were scattered and surface-level with staff and families have become much more authentic and ‘down to the bone’ so to speak.  We’ve all had to ‘pivot’ until we are dizzy, and the result of that creative, in the moment mindset has had many positives.

I see resilience demonstrated in TDRPD’s theme of #MountainForward in the preschoolers I have the delight to work with every day. A year ago, when my biggest disappointment I imagined was being closed for St. Patrick’s Day and missing the leprechaun mischief, I could not imagine the resilience that would be required of me, my staff, and the local community to get through a pandemic. As the months wore on, and I began to provide Circle Time to my students virtually, I was delighted and surprised to see young students’ daily ability to focus on positivity, and human connection.