In the coming weeks and months, we will return to our classrooms, offices, or random spots in the school created as our offices. This year, unlike years in the past, we will likely spend less time excitedly picking out a “back to school” outfit. Instead, we might wear something we don’t care about, and can easily change out of in our garages to throw in the laundry with our masks, before entering our homes to hug our own children. Or, we’ll take our commutes to our home offices, and greet students we’ve never met before through a screen.

This is only of the many changes in our careers. What seems like overnight, we went from educators in buildings, to online instructors, innovators, and essential social emotional support staff.

And we will enter the schools, if we physically can, because we are educators, and protecting children is our passion. We have been expected before to physically stand between children and harm, and we will tackle this pandemic too. We will take our temperatures in the morning and drive to work, scared of what we will face, because we know that sitting at those desks 6 feet apart are little faces who are longing for the familiar structure and social communities of school.

But let’s remember, as sit, symbolically, between our students and our own families, to put our oxygen masks on first. Because times are tough, and they will probably get tougher. We must protect our own mental health. How can we do this?

–Let’s check in with ourselves and others. I have a big emotions chart I use for my students in every group. Out of routine, one of the first things we do each day is an emotional check in. It gives me a way to support them, but it also gives them insight into their own emotions. We need to do this too. How am I doing today? Am I feeling strong, like I can take on the world? Is it one of those days where anxiety just seems to lie there in my soul? If I know this, I can get through the day knowing what I need to do to protect my own mental health.

-Bring the positivity. It times like these, I find it helpful to find a concrete way to recognize the good. At some times in my life, it’s been to recognize 3 things I’m grateful for each morning, or sharing the “pit and peak” of our days as a family at dinner. Other times, having a dedicated physical space in my room or office, where I hang pictures of my children and sweet notes students and parents have given me, helps my positivity. No matter how small the ritual, let’s take a minute for positivity each day.

–Draw the line. I don’t know one educator whom hasn’t struggled with boundaries at one point in their career. When distance learning arrived and suddenly the lines of home and school became almost invisible, it felt almost impossible for our work not to seep into our personal lives. But, there are are simple things we can do. Setting specific work and home times is helpful; set up actual timers in your phone to remind you. Instead of scheduling in work time, schedule in family time first. If you can, use a separate computer or separate work space for work, so you don’t confuse the two, and you can physically “step away”. Do whatever you need to do to ensure that you aren’t working during all of your awake hours.

–Acknowledge the situation we are in. When our students experience a sickness or trauma, we don’t expect them to return to a classroom the next dat and immediately be their old selves. Together, collectively , we are experiencing a global pandemic, and that is anything but ordinary. So, we shouldn’t expect ourselves to act like nothing is wrong, should we? Let’s give ourselves time to adjust to this period in our lives, and allow ourselves grace , to make mistakes, and spend time missing the “good ‘ol days”. Our kids won’t be ready to dive back into academics on hour one, so let’s not put that pressure on ourselves either.

–Give yourself a gift. When friends and family experiences new babies, losses, or general tough times, we often gift them something to make life easier: a warm meal, a gift card, a short visit so that they can get their mind on something else. Ask yourself, if a friend came to you today and asked, “What do you need?”, what would you say, and how can you give that to yourself? Maybe it’s an hour of peace in your household, maybe it’s a break from the news or social media, maybe it’s getting dinner delivered or feeding your kids PB&J for dinner once a week, reaching out to someone to talk to, whatever it is, gift yourself as you would someone you love.

So, whenever the time comes that you walk back into your school building, or log on to a live classroom chat, don’t forget to take care of yourself, first. Put on your own oxygen mask, and then conquer the world.