Pandemic pandemonium

“Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.”
Rev. Dr. Lynn Ungar

I should be working right now. DH took the LO out for a few hours so that I could catch up with a few things after working full time, maintaining a household full time and parenting full time this last week amidst the pandemic.

But I can’t focus. These last few days have been trying, with difficult decisions to make every day. Go to the store or shop online? Bring the LO or leave her at home? Go outside even though it’s raining or stay inside and watch TV? Work some more or play a little longer? Fight or flight? So, having to worry about what other people think or feel about my decisions is the last thing I want to stress about right now!

I never was “the popular girl”, and I know that I don’t share the popular public opinion right now. But you know what? I am ok with that. Everyone has their own ways of dealing and coping with things, and right now this world is very new to all of us and no one way is the right way! While I am not afraid of this pandemic as others are, my views and actions have changed over the last week and will likely continue to over the weeks to come. We are sanitizing, washing, disinfecting and social distancing as much as we can. But, complete social isolation? We are not fully there yet.

For one, my mental health can't take it and I've worked really hard to get that back on track, so I am not about to let it slip now. Also, while I am forced to work from home because my offices are shut down, DH isn’t so lucky and he is still going into the office most days, while working from home the rest of the time.

In fact, lots of people are still going in to work, we aren’t under complete quarantine!

And you know who else is going in to work? Small business owners. Some seasonal, like our favorite ice cream parlor whose owner is currently only paying himself and no employees because he fears he won’t make rent for the full year. Others who are recent immigrants who keep their restaurant open with family working round the clock because they cannot afford to pay their bills if they stay at home. Our small consignment shop, currently bringing in 50-100$ a day, who wants to close but their landlord won’t let them even though what they are bringing in doesn’t even cover the salary of an employee for the day.

I agree that as a community we need to come together and take proper precautions to stop Covid-19 in its tracks. But I also believe that we should be supporting the smaller businesses around us that are facing more than health risks at this time. Not McDonald's, not Wal-Mart, not Costco; the little guys, the mom and pop shops, the corner stores and so on.

We all come from different walks of life, have different concerns and situations in our circle; I actually do understand that. To be honest, I’ve seen a lot of people doing a lot worse than I have in the last week, and I won’t judge them for their actions because I don’t know their reasons behind them. But, because others were not so understanding, I removed some of my social media posts this morning and turned comments off for others. I will continue to do so until the crazy settles down.

As always, I’m not perfect, and I don’t pretend to be. But before you judge me, make sure your own hands are clean.