Mental health has fallen out of the focus of politicians and the news media again. Yes, it's very important to get the vaccine to everyone ASAP and, all of the disenfranchisement and racial disparity in our country should be in the spotlight. However, literally, everyone needs mental help with the prolonged abnormal life we have all been living for a year. According to Dr. Fauci, things might be closer to how they used to be by August. Of course, the global warming winter storms in states like Texas that aren't prepared for weather conditions like that slows shipments and deliveries of everything down - regular mail and highly sensitive packages like the vaccine. Supposedly, we might have a normal Christmas. Ugh.
I've noticed that in our household, pandemic life has affected me the most. Our daughter goes to private school and has been attending face-to-face the entire year. They started at the usual time in August and have had a regular holiday schedule all year. There are restricted gatherings at lunch, recess, Mass, and aftercare, but she still gets to see friends and have a semi-normal routine. My husband has had almost no change in his daily routine briefly when all of this began. At my office, we have split staff so that if there's an issue, contact tracing will be easier. That makes communication between my assistant and me challenging and at times very frustrating. I also prefer to work in my office and not from home. I need that separation of space, but also don't have the space to set up an office at home.
Being at home more allows for getting more chores done during the week instead of on weekends, but I also feel like I am doing more than anyone else that lives here, and harbor resentment sometimes. When my family members seem not to notice, I get more aggravated, which leaves me not enjoying our time together like I should. Lately, I feel like that's more the norm than not, and that's not good. What all of it boils down to is that regular people like me - some boring white lady who is still securely employed, don't have to worry about eviction, or starving for food, and doesn't need to homeschool her kid, still needs mental help.
It's not just the chores and project weight I feel so often that's getting me down; I haven't seen my friends in person in almost a year. Sure, there have been a handful of times that I have had a lunch date or even gotten a drink, but other than getting together with family over the holidays or chatting with a coworker in the hall on days that I'm in the office, I am now a homebody. That's a stark contrast to pre-pandemic me, and against my nature. My best friend and I have literally not seen each other since last March and we only live ten minutes away from each other. We talk on the phone once or twice a week, but it's not the same. We need to go out to lunch or dinner and have a few drinks together without the interruptions of call waiting or curbside pickup on the way home from work.
Lastly, while I believe it is important to sanitize and be more hygienically responsible than we all used to be, even just for allergy's sake, I am tired of wearing a mask. Don't worry - it's not something I'm going to stop doing until it is deemed safe by the CDC or a trusted expert, and I'm not joining the "you're taking away my personal freedom" club by any means. It's like wearing a winter coat and layers at this time of year or even carrying a purse. It gets annoying after a while.
