8 Billion Ones
The YOU MATTER Movement
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BACKSTORIES

Our “Backstories” share a deeper ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at some of our stories, exhibitions and experiences in the making. It gives a snapshot into the moments that collectively went into creating the work we get to do every day. Sometimes it’s a more intimate portrait of one of our team here at RB/8 Billion Ones, and sometimes it’s about one of our incredible story heroes. Regardless, it’s our way of showing you a little more transparency so you get to witness the magic in so many of these moments the way we do.

Same Storm; Different Boats

Written by Amy

Photo by Randy Bacon

Photo by Randy Bacon

The greatest lesson that I learned in 2020 is that there is not one correct answer to anything. There are a lot of correct answers. I learned that what is right for me is not the same thing that is right for you; and that’s OKAY. For the past 9 months during the Covid-19 pandemic we have all been in the same storm, but on very different boats.

Never in a million years would I have believed you if you would have told me that I would be homeschooling my 6 and 9 year old daughters. At 40, I am still learning to spell words correctly and I have no business trying to teach a child to read. But that’s where I ended up...for months. My husband and I were both working from home and I became a teacher too. The first few weeks back in April were okay. I was like, “alright, we are going to do this homeschool thing!” I tried, unsuccessfully, to organize a learning pod. I worked as diligently as I could with both girls on their schoolwork- we did the worksheets, we Zoomed, we figured out the learning apps, ALL OF THE PASSWORDS (if you know, you know).

By May my kids quit wearing pants. At some point during the Fall semester I also quit wearing pants. We completed as much of the school work as we could, but this was especially challenging with my headstrong and “spirited” 6 year old. One day we were trying to complete an assignment and she was kicking and screaming...and I quit. I told myself that as long as we read one book together a day she would be okay. From that point on we didn’t do any more homework. So yes, my first grader basically dropped out of homeschool this year.

I came to the realization that the most important thing for my family during this time was to keep us happy and healthy. My kids were anxious and stressed. I was dropping balls all over the place. I acknowledged that this pause in traditional education would be temporary and tried to quit comparing myself to the super moms that I saw on social media. I took a lot of walks with my kids. We met our neighbors. We had “music class” nearly everyday where we danced and sang in our living room. We did a lot of home economics- aka folding laundry. We read books and built forts...so many damn forts.

I can’t tell you how much respect I have for our teachers- they truly are rockstars. You think your Zoom meetings are bad? Try leading a zoom call with twenty 6 year olds. I have been in awe of the patience, creativity, and perseverance of our teachers. A lot of hard decisions were made this year by education leaders and my heart goes out to you.

Photo by Randy Bacon

Photo by Randy Bacon

Photo by Randy Bacon

Photo by Randy Bacon

Photo by Randy Bacon

Photo by Randy Bacon

It’s January and I feel like the waters around our family boat are getting calmer. Most of us have started wearing pants again (not every day...but almost). The girls are back in school 4 days a week and they are happy and thriving. 2020 taught me to slow WAAAAAY down and take a breath. It forced me to learn to communicate better with myself, my husband, and my kids. I learned to be kinder to myself and lower my expectations. I learned a lot about letting go of what was outside my control and to have faith and patience. Most importantly, I learned that we can love each other when we don't agree with each other because the boat you are in looks very different from my boat.

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