Yesterday I noticed the across-the-street neighbors’ babysitter was back. I’m sure some folks are judging. I am not.
We’ve been looking for someone to come a couple hours per week ourselves and she just showed up this morning.
Yes, we realize COVID cases are hitting record numbers in the US, there’s no vaccine, and nothing is really better at all. And we’re not Trump supporters, anti-maskers, or deep state believers. We’ve done everything “right” throughout the pandemic.
But our mental health is also at record lows. My wife’s in particular. We’ve been with our (almost) two-year-old and (just turned) four-year-old since March with ZERO help from family. It has been incredibly trying.
We’re at a point where everyone needs to start deciding what their personal risk tolerance is, measured against their other needs. Some people need to provide for their families, so their taking the risk of going back to work. That trade off is easily understood and widely recognized.
But I don’t see as many folks talking about the mental health implications of quarantine and lock downs. It’s easy to judge others because it’s so difficult to empathize with everyone’s individual situation.
I hope everyone continues to hang in there and find ways to cope. Here’s to a better second half of 2020.