COVID CHRONICLES Day 11
YES! You Should be Wearing a Mask!!!
Tuesday, March 31
It was inevitable there would be a down day SOMEWHERE along the way. Today was it. No surprise, really. It was the day after my birthday, so a natural letdown. I was up late the night before playing “MLB The Game” on the PS4 (our nephew had an extra unit and he took me through getting it set up). Lisa had a bad night of sleep and was “sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Neither of us was great company, nor did either of us have much capacity to provide support to the other. Each of us had our moments over the course of the day.
Eventually we stopped, clarified what was going on with each of us, and what we needed. We ate dinner together and watched a couple of episodes of Schitt’s Creek (we’re in Season 4). Then we gave each other space and grace. She went to her computer and I went back to the PS4. We stayed connected, checking in with each other periodically. She went to bed early and I again stayed up too late.
But here’s the point. It was FINE. It’s part of two people in an intimate relationship living in close proximity. Because we’ve put in the work — both with ourselves and each other — we manage to work things through pretty quickly, always to return to a place of love, compassion and non-judgement. But part of it is we’re a good fit for each other at this stage of our lives. Four months into our relationship, we traveled together for a month, both as a couple and with a group of her work colleagues. By the end of that, we knew our lives would work together. And they have!
WARNING: Tone change ahead.
One of the things that put me in a bad fracking mood was reading about the discussions happening around whether people should be wearing masks when interacting with others. The short answer is, YES, you should wear a mask. Why? Watch these two videos.
For more, see Day 7.
Here’s what’s infuriating to me. When deciding whether to recommend this, or make it a formal policy, the CDC and California’s Governor’s Office among others are being forced to weigh whether thoughtless, mindless people (my phrase) would use wearing masks as an excuse to stop social distancing, and therefore be a deterrent. The other issue is whether those same people would find/buy/hoard masks needed by medical professionals and other at-risk workers, when a simple covering would do.
Add that on top of the utterly irresponsible leadership of some states — let alone the federal government — and it’s difficult not to feel moments of despair about the state of our country and all of humanity.
Bitch, bitch, bitch. Rant, rant, rant.
Ok, I’m done.
If in doubt, please cover your mouth and nose. See NY Times story on sewing your own mask.
