How Baby

So… how are all my fellow parents of school-age children doing right now… because it’s Not Great, Bob over here.

We’ve been faithful mask-wearers for months now, so the depth of despair I felt the first time I saw masks branded as ‘back-to-school supplies’ was… surprising. There’s something uniquely disheartening about scrolling through childrens’ masks, knowing that in a few short weeks you will be sending your kid into a place where she requires a mask.

My heart aches. It’s bad across the board for everyone. Momo’s school district is only offering full-time in-person learning, assisted home schooling, and straight-up homeschooling – I was really pulling for a digital option like we had for summer school, and I still live in hope, but… time’s running out for the people up top to change their minds before school starts.

What’s going to happen over the next month or so is like a constant droning stressor in the back of my brain. After six months of living that social distancing life, this is what’s made me start having panic attacks again. I can feel my carrying capacity for all of life’s other stresses shrinking. Any happy times I feel are because I’ve momentarily forgotten that we’re in a wholeass pandemic, and it always creeps back in.

There’s no punchline! It just sucks! I’m metaphorically holding all your hands as we look at each other with the silent wide-eyed scream of people who have no good choices.