Bunker Reports: Day 9. I Think.

Well. That took a turn.

Before my otherwise sunny disposition was replaced with panic and claustrophobia, we sailed through our first quarantined weekend, sprinkling kindness by writing chalk messages on neighbors’ driveways and sidewalks. It was a lovely little project…until it rained. With our chalk messages went my optimism.

I blame the weather, but also people. Specifically, people who think they’re above this whole thing and keep advertising that fact. These are the people who continue going to the beaches and to church, who stand in lines 40 people deep for ice cream and food trucks, essentially thumbing their nose at the pesky “keep everyone alive” rules. These people, like our president, are intent on doing the opposite of what the experts suggest, arrogantly believing they’re above the pandemic and know better than medical professionals. They refuse to acknowledge there are issues in our collective existence bigger than themselves. GAH!

Okay, moving on to another thing that’s got my haven’t-been-washed-in-two-weeks sweatpants in a bunch: people using fear-based tactics to “inform us.”

Can we please compare apples to apples and stick to the facts?! If you’re going to tell me about the “unprecedented COVID deaths in Georgia,” at least remember to include important tidbits like these people all went to a funeral (lots of hugging and non-social distancing at a funeral, eh?) and “unprecedented” means three individuals.

Look, I don’t want to sound heartless, but I think we need to exercise a little caution with our words and a whole bunch of common sense when sharing and interpreting everything the media is dishing out.

Oh, and speaking of media: Facebook remains a non-expert, unreliable source of information.

Some of us experience crippling anxiety which makes all this appear twice as terrifying and exponentially overwhelming. Which is why I repeat: caution and common sense.

Having said all that, I admit: I can’t keep up with what’s considered safe and what isn’t. I’ve been in a public space exactly once in the last two weeks. It was a grocery run. Since then, #HusbandWTF has been fetching our milk and bread. That seems to align with current protocol. But, my parents have been quarantined (after much debate, AKA: me threatening to keep their grandchildren from them), and my dad comes over a few times a week to use our gym equipment. We went to their house on Sunday for family dinner. Is that bad?! We’ve also been outside with no more than three friends, going on walks, sitting on my deck having drinks. Is that bad?! We’re social distancing as suggested and no one is going inside anyone’s house or touching, but I still don’t know: IS THAT BAD?!

I’m trying to consider our mental health in all this because I’ve seen The Shining. Being outdoors and safely around other people feels necessary. Is it? Maybe I’m no better than the college kids at Clearwater Beach or those ice cream eating assholes who probably didn’t even wash their hands before they licked their effing cone!!

I don’t know.

It doesn’t seem like anyone does. This is a confusing time, filled with a lot of misinformation and uncertainties. People who love facts and want answers will go to great lengths to find anything that resembles them and I think that’s fruitless and dangerous. I’m definitely guilty of my fair share of reading, but I try like heck to balance what I read with what’s reasonable. And I think that’s what many of us are lacking right now: balance. Let’s just all agree to get our info from  the WHO and not randos on Twitter, okay?

Let’s just do better and be kind to one another. Here’s to less rain, more sunshine, and balance.

And in an effort to end this entry and begin tomorrow on a positive note, let’s all please lift our hearts and voices in a Hallelujah! for our teachers who are preparing to embark upon their first distance learning endeavor. Let’s praise these men and women for taking away the homeschooling responsibility some of us were previously stupidly excited about. Monday, March 30 cannot come fast enough. Amen.