I love to crochet.

When I was 11 or 12, one of my babysitters taught me how to do a simple single-stitch – easy enough to duplicate and use to make blankets and scarves. I was hooked (crochet pun for the win!) and over the next few years, I made enough blankets and scarves to drown in.

It wasn’t until quite recently – woohoo, lockdown activities! – that I learned how to branch out from the single/double stitch blanket/scarf creations and start making little hedgehogs, rabbits, and Among Us and Hollow Knight toys.

During our (all-too-brief) time as a school on campus, I started a crochet/knitting club for middle and high school students. We were able to spend several sessions creating, chatting, and genuinely enjoying one another’s presence.

Unfortunately, we had to continue most of our spring semester online. We still meet for club online, but crocheting with a video on while you’re all in your own little spaces just doesn’t have quite the same feeling.

Anywho, last year we were also on lockdown when we said goodbye to the kids, but restrictions had loosened enough that we could do a drive through at the school where we could at least wave signs and say goodbye. With that thought in mind, I learned how to make tiny crochet octopuses and thought I’d make some for each of my students in the club. The octopuses were created, but…it is highly unlikely that we’ll be able to do any sort of goodbye for our students this year.

It’s a hard pill to swallow.

Yesterday was our last day as staff members to be on campus (our students have been online for weeks), even though we still have about two and half weeks of school left. K4/K5 have been able to come onto campus during this whole current MCO, but that too came to an end with this stricter lockdown. I knew I had one last class with them and I already had more octopuses than I knew what to do with, so I decided to give one to each of them.

They were a hit. More than I anticipated…and probably should have prepared for.

Octopuses flew across the library. Hacky-sacked their way to a classmate. Spun around in a dance. Crowned the top of a child’s head.

“I have named mine Octopee!”

“Mine is Mugnus!”

“My favorite animal is an octopus!”

“No it’s not! It’s mine!”

And as I bid them all a farewell and congratulated them for persevering and being just the best students ever, I felt my heart warm with gratitude that at least I could say goodbye to this one class, this precious group of students, these delights.