To parents who feel they failed their children,
under the pressure of a thousand should’s.
You did the best you could.  

If your kids had way too much screen time,
and not enough time in books or in play.
Your grit was on display.

Exhausted, you bought too much fast food,
and now you’re afraid you’ve not helped them grow.
Your love is what will show.

Siblings fought too much and far too loud,
and more than once maybe, you lost your cool.
Your care is their main rule.

Money ran as short as your temper,
flooded by fears of a cold December.
Your faith they’ll remember.

Quarantine bred angst and restlessness,
and helpless, they were becoming lonely.
You brought security.  

What you see now as a wasted year,
scared to look back on as squandered childhood.
Your struggle made it good.

In a year of turmoil and discord,
a virus that scared and threatened with death.
You helped them catch their breath.

You had to quarantine and homeschool,
distanced from family while working from home.
You’re longing for shalom.

As you leave 2020 behind,
have compassion, and flee the shaming should’s.
You did the best you could.