I have updated this blog once in the last year. ONCE. Why, you ask?
Because COVID.
Because kids.
Because life.
Mostly because I have been choosing to spend what little free time I have these days on ME, doing puzzles and reading a lot of books. And of course relaxing with Mark watching every episode of Parks & Recreation on Peacock (can we get some new commercials though?).
Every day I wonder if it’s the day I am going to lose my shit. I have an ongoing joke with my husband and friends that today just may be the day that I run away from home! With a honey badger newly-turned 5 year old and a mouthy 7 year old who is learning swear words (not from me, shockingly), as well as increased roles & responsibilities within Moms Demand Action & Everytown for Gun Safety, I feel the need to relax and turn my brain off more frequently.
No longer do I have the days where my kids are in school and I can sit leisurely at my computer with a cup of coffee (or let’s be real – set up with my headphones in a coffee shop in between work outs and errands). No longer do I have that delicious freedom where I can turn my kid radar off (unless of course, Noah’s preschool calls and I have to pick him up and take him to the ER because he cut his chin open on the playground, but that’s another story). The radar is always on these days.
For a short stint, we tried sending Adam to virtual school camp, but unfortunately that situation didn’t last long. Our kids need more structure than that. So back home with me he came, chiming in on nearly all of my Zoom calls, to ask me for another piece of candy or gum, or to tell me that he doesn’t want to do any more school activities.
I can’t say I blame the kid. He is on his iPad constantly. If I can’t sit through an hour long Zoom call without quickly checking my social media or my e-mail, how the hell can I expect him to sit still? It’s maddening. While I understand the predicament that we are in at this point, I have to say that I agree with something I read just the other day that begged the question – why was it ok to open bars before opening our schools?
I get it. We are asking a lot of our teachers, and heaven knows they are grossly underpaid. But haven’t we been asking a lot of so many other members of our community, and those folks haven’t had a choice but to go back to work?
I realize that this is getting controversial. This is not how I intended this blog to go. Or maybe it is. I am just one exhausted mother out of many, who has put her career on hold to take care of her children. That said, I know that I am totally blessed that we can afford for me to stay home. My heart aches for those who are struggling right now to put food on the table. Women held every single U.S. job that was lost in December of last year – a total of 140,000 jobs. All because we are the main caregiver to our children during these uncertain times. A time when schools are closed and many cannot afford other options, and employers are not as understanding as they should be. It makes me irate.
What I ask of each and every one of you reading this to do is to GET YOUR VACCINE when you can!! The benefits far outweigh the risks. Take it from Dr. Delicia Pruitt, the incredible Saginaw County Health Director who filmed herself Live getting her vaccine. She did indeed have some side effects from it, although not everyone does. Regardless, it is extremely effective in protecting us all from the virus! I can’t wait until it’s my turn for the vaccine.
Until then, I will relish in the fact that my kiddos are having a sleepover at my in-laws for the first time in over a year, thanks to the vaccine. Thanks to science.
And I’ve made it through another day without losing my shit.