Day Fifty Six. Got an email and some answers yesterday. Been wondering for awhile where she’s been. She doesn’t always love playing school and she generally procrastinates, but she always gets her exceptional work turned in on time. But she’s been missing in action the past few weeks, and though I figured there was a good reason, I didn’t expect what she finally revealed to me. Her mom’s cancer is back. My heart sank. And it continued to sink as she went on to apologize for her missing work, promising me that she wouldn’t use her mom’s health as an excuse, that she would get it done and turned in. But that won’t happen. I won’t let it.

I excused her from all the missing and remaining work for the semester. I told her that an “A” had already been indelibly stamped on her transcript and that if she went on to do it, she would be wasting her time. And, I meant it. Every word.

She has already proven herself this year. And I told her as much, explaining that doing or not doing the work would matter little in the grand scheme. And right now, life has thrown her something that requires more attention than the trivial tasks I have assigned during this distance-learning experience. I am more worried about her well-being than her demonstrating proficiency with our priority standards. There are greater priorities. Far greater.

I cannot change her situation with her mom. I can change her situation with my class. Her (necessary) absence from my class these past few weeks tells me where her focus needs to be. And that’s where it’s been. That’s where she has been. And that’s just where she should be. And I want her to remain there unfettered from the guilt of missing my class. She is needed elsewhere. And I want her to be present, fully present–there, where her absence would matter more than it does in my class.

Happy Tuesday, all. Take care of yourself and each other.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.