The unsung heroes of the war are, drum roll please, the children. Really. I have five kids. Three of them are under 12 years of age. My 11-year-old is in grade 6. He started grade one wearing a mask and was in school for approximately two weeks before his class went into “bidud” quarantine. Who even knew what that word meant before 2020?

On September 13, 2020, my youngest was born. A few hours after we got home with our newborn, my grade-one kid tested positive for Covid, and the whole family ended up in ‘bidud’ for however long, according to the regulations. Meanwhile, my preschooler, who changed kindergartens mid-year, didn’t even get the chance to fit in and establish his social circle, before Zoom and a gazillion hours of screen time took over. For my grade-one child, his only “normal” year of elementary school was grade three. Shortly after beginning grade 4, October 7 happened. And things have never returned to normal since.

My preschooler in 2020 is now 9 years old, and it’s only been a matter of months since he could finally take a shower unaccompanied, because for a long time he was scared of sirens. I guess that independence has left the building again.

So where are we today.

We’re in this strange national déjà vu where the adults keep saying, “It’s temporary,” and the kids keep thinking, Sure, just like the masks were temporary. Just like the two-week quarantine was temporary. Just like the “only a few days of Zoom” was temporary. Temporary in Israel has a way of unpacking a suitcase and asking where you keep the towels.

Here’s what’s wild. If you ask our kids what they remember, they won’t necessarily give you the headline version.........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)