Are Your Kids Happy with No School Until May 4? [POLL]

The date in which this madness all started is up for debate. For some, it was when sports were canceled across America. The next day, the concerts were canceled.

For me, though, my serious social distancing really began on March 13, the day SouthCoast schools sent the kids home for the weekend, then promptly announced that they were closing for a week. One by one, they called the radio station and announced the coronavirus closure.

My kids were thrilled. Not comprehending the full gravity of the situation, they rejoiced. This was better than any snow day. It would take a blizzard of historical proportions to close schools across the entire state for one solid week. There was cheering and dancing with the announcement. The mood was almost holiday-like.

The week-long closing didn't last very long. By that Sunday night, the governor announced that all schools in Massachusetts, public and private, would be closed until April 7. My kids couldn't believe it. I would describe their emotion as reluctantly happy. Their initial reaction was excitement, but I think deep down they knew that this was no snow day. This was serious.

It was unheard of to close schools in three-week blocks. Who knows if that's ever happened before under any circumstances?

Over the following days, as the first week melted into the second week, conversations started to shift to whether or not they'd be going back to school at all this year. I could tell that my daughter was having reservations. She had unfinished business to attend to at school. She had spring sports that she wanted to play. What started off as a fun week off had now morphed into something more. It was starting to affect her in other ways, and both kids started to see that the reason schools were closed was serious.

When news came down yesterday that schools would now be closed until May 4, there just wasn't much joy at all. For the first time throughout this whole ordeal, my kids expressed that they really did want to go back to school. They took the news as a disappointment. I don't think they're alone. I feel like kids are starting to do the math and wonder if they have attended their last day of school for this grade.

Could it be possible that they left school on March 13 and won't return until the fall? I don't think that is as crazy as it sounds.

At this point, there's not much that would surprise me.