FYI There's Still a Pandemic

2020-current

The years we shall never forget, the years that we started homeschooling our kids, more working from home and spending more time with our families. When planning a vacation became impossible without jumping through loops to make sure you are cleared for air/boat travel.

We also learned to cook more at home, maybe pick up a hobby that we had been interested in for more years than we could really count.

When turning on the news was a buzzkill, or even reading news headlines became an annoyance rather than informative. It was/is the same bullshit day after day. Some days it feels like a dystopian future read about in a book, or watched on an episode of Twilight Zone.

Yet here we are, almost two years later and the 'pandemic' is starting to shift from a physical one to a mental one. People are losing their minds (mine included), we are struggling to plan vacations, to plan weddings, places are short staffed for one reason or another. These are the long term affects of societal strain, of not being able to live the lives we had before. The struggle to adapt to what is now normal, where vaccination statuses and political stances are now the basis of many conversations.

"How are you doing?"

"Meh."

'Meh' became the norm, it was a perfect in between for all feelings. You could feel alright or you could feel like downright crap, the thing about meh was that it was an umbrella term that didn't really elude to how you were feeling at all but it was still a legitimate response to the question. At that point in conversation it became how well you could read body language, how well you know your friends, family, or colleagues to know how they were actually feeling.

For the first time school districts excused the absence of my daughter for a 'mental health day.' I never thought that would be a thing but I'm glad it is, before I quit my job I had to do this for myself as well. Some days we just can't put on that mask (literally) and push forward and that (I'm sorry to say) is what happening to the world currently.

How I grew up there was an expectation to 'put on your big boy pants and get the job done.' This phrase became very outdated for me. No one in my family had been through global pandemic, no one I knew grew up with lockdowns, quarantine, etc. This was new for everyone. I still can't believe I quit my job, I couldn't do it anymore, for the first time I wasn't strong enough to keep facing the populous anymore. I have always admired myself for having a tough shell, being able to suck it up and do what needs to be done but I cracked, my shell full on broke and everything I knew shattered and not enough glue in the world could put it back together.

Having to reevaluate how my kids would do school, the uncertainty of jobs that I thought I would always find myself doing (mainly retail or frontline because I actually enjoy customer service). All the sudden those jobs seemed impossible with a fractured shell...and I know I'm not the only one.

My family and I are vaccinated, I thought post vaccination was the downhill slide but we still feel the same. Nothing has changed. Places are still short staffed, people are still struggling mentally and financially, we still see hospitals struggling to keep up with everyday problems on top of COVID cases.

This has never been a United States problem, this is a worldwide problem. It can be scary to see how other countries are dealing with their own surges, some European countries did various forms of lockdown and mask mandates, even singling out unvaccinated to stay in lockdown, even mandated vaccines! I can't say this wouldn't have happened if we would have been more adamant about safety in the first place. If the entire world would have been on the same page and not made it about a political agenda just maybe we would have had an easier time with all of this.

It is important to move forward knowing we are in a mental pandemic now.

It is important to feel the feelings and let them wash over you.

It is important to know you are not impervious.

It is important to take care of yourself before anyone else.

It is weird now, it's weird to not wear a mask, it's weird to make plans to go out with friends or see concerts, comic cons, and other various multi person gatherings.

Most importantly, please be respectful of those who choose to still wear a mask or practice extra caution, you don't know their story. You have no idea the people they may come into contact with or what their reasons are. We have enough mental strain in our everyday lives to be picking on people, live and let live!

Things I've learned:

1) A pandemic with social media is a cluster fuck!

2) Take time to space out on nothing. That's right enjoy staring off into space!

3) Know that you did your best (doing your best) in a situation you have never experienced before, that most of the population hadn't dealt with before. You did great!

Don't forget the lessons you learned, these last two school years (yes because we are always students at life) were harder than many things we've been dealt in our short lives.

Go forth!

Choose happiness!

Be kind, more than anything, rudeness and impatience gets you nowhere.