A Big stays connected despite big obstacles

Since we’ve been out of school, connecting with my two Littles has not been as easy. It was very difficult in the beginning to find ways and times to connect with my Littles.

To add to the challenge, we really struggled to get in touch with the second Little’s parents to get consent to continue communicating and figure out our options for that. It’s also more challenging to schedule the time to reach out and communicate with them about when and how we will connect. They aren’t checking their emails the way we do as adults, so it’s hard to get information to them in a timely manner. Whereas when we were in school, I could remind them in the hallway or pick them up easily.

Connecting with teachers and other support staff about their progress has also been an adjustment. I have to make more of an effort to reach out to teachers to see how my Littles are doing and what I can support with. But even then, supporting virtually and explaining things is a challenge. Then there’s so many distractions from parents, siblings, and pets in the background that it’s hard to focus on school subjects with them virtually, and it’s really not what they want the focus of the conversations to be.

However, there have been a lot of highlights during my time working with my Littles electronically. I find it to be a highlight just that I can be a consistent person in their lives even when I’m not physically there.

We’ve also managed to do some cool stuff like show and tell. My Little always talks about her animals, and since we are able to Zoom, she was able to show me all of the animals at her house and I showed her pictures of my horse. We shared pictures and I saw the animals through her video, and we talked about each one’s uniqueness.

My other Little has not been as responsive with his emails and offers to Zoom together. However, he will email me occasionally to give me an update about what is going on at home.

It’s difficult with that one because I know he needs someone to talk to consistently and I want him to realize I can still be there. However, I can’t force him into chatting with me and I’ve had to respect that. I just really wish we were in school still so I could chat with him more easily. I know that he knows I’m here for him though and he has that space to chat, so that’s what I remind myself matters.

Overall, it’s been quite the adjustment but I’m so thankful we have the technology to still stay connected with our Littles. I enjoy the consistency as much as I hope they do.