Return to school: A Christmas gift to parents

It is official, all children will return to school on January 10. The return to school may be the Christmas gift parents have been waiting for. After much pleading from parents, even government now says they cannot take it anymore, schools must be opened because the scientists now think there has been too much suffering from the social evidence before us, so Covid-19 or not, schools will open their doors in less than a month.

Inevitably, it should be a huge relief for those whose children have become what they do not know or understand. They can finally pack them off to teachers to correct any mistakes made while at home for too long. We had forgotten how to live with our children too long. That community is longing to have a life of its own once again. It must be happy.
Children too, must be tired of home and hoping that school begins as soon as possible. We welcome the news and teachers should be excited too, because some have missed these annoying little ones and look forward to receiving them. It has been said over and over that some teachers will not return to the classroom, but we hope there will be teachers.
 
The news of return to school comes at a time when we are preparing to celebrate Christmas, that time of the year that you find things to be grateful for no matter what. 
After the last two years have been full of uncertainty, most people are just grateful to be alive. It is easy to resign, to just wait for the worst to happen. Yet, keeping hope alive and being patient always makes the load lighter. Those who have had dreams and worked hard towards getting them know first-hand that it is never a straight path and there can be frustrations. My motto at school was ‘never give up’, so it always helps to keep that in mind.
The beauty of life is that, with all the difficult stories we hear and read, there are also stories of blessings.

There are some that are grateful for incredible opportunities unimagined and achievements beyond their wildest dreams. There is that friend whose contract ended because funding was not available due to Covid-19, only to find a better job in a nice city. There is the sister who lost a job only to rise stronger. And a mother full of joy for a daughter’s achievements. 
Every day presents opportunities to see how great the Lord has been inspite of everything, in the face of never ceasing threats of new variants of Covid-19 and other health risks ever present. It is wonderful to know, that great things still happen no matter what. There will still be children being born and bringing joy to families, promotion of good people at work, and even new job opportunities.

Seeing people count their blessings, always makes you feel blessed. Christmas is my favorite time of year as I get to also celebrate my own birth and the surprises that come with it. My truly wonderful little sister, a true mastermind, and associates often ensure I have a celebration whether I want it or not. After warning them that this year I do not want any surprises because I would be busy, they decided to bring the celebration forward, in a true definition of thinking outside box. 
What a joy, to count yet another year, to know how much the Lord has been good to us. It would help for all of us to spend much of year and especially December counting our blessings - giving thanks for being alive, for having a job, having children, even just being with family and friends and all the good people around us.

This Christmas, I pray and wish that all the readers who take time to engage with my ideas, to write back from time to time letting me know their favourite articles, and those who simply seek advice, get their hearts desires. 
Christmas is that time to count your blessings one by one, and to forget the things that do not pass for a blessing. If you do not have your own blessings to count, be happy for others and count their blessings and sing joyful, joyful with them. It begins to feel truly amazing just seeing the possibilities that exist by only counting the blessings of those in your life.

For most of us, it is a miracle that we are having another Christmas because we have gone through incredible losses, that led to other losses, and still, we must count our blessings.  
For those who have known desperate and defeated moments in the last two years, or even before these Covid-19 times, may the gift of Christmas reassure you that there must be a better plan and clearer path to a more wonderful life ahead. Enjoy the gifts of the season.

Ms Maractho (PhD) is the director of Africa Policy Centre and senior lecturer at Uganda Christian University.                       [email protected]