We are not okay....and that's okay.

I've had this post sitting in my drafts for about 2 weeks now and haven't gotten back to finish it. Now's as good a time as any. It's been raining here all. damned. day. It's a good, soaking rain that washes all the pollen away and hopefully will wash away all the negative feelings I've had these days.

Image courtesy of Morguefile

I'm one of the lucky ones who isn't going stir crazy inside my house. My kids are in college so I don't have to try to home school them (thank you sweet baby jeezus, I don't know nothin' 'bout no physics). My husband is working from home so he gets to deal with letting the dogs in and out and in and out (x 1000) during the work day. My co-workers are all working remotely, so I'm the only one in the office. I need access to the check book and the files, so I actually enjoy going in to work. I get to take a walk to the Post Office (where I practice social distancing and wear my mask) to get some fresh air every day.

But man, this sucks. This new normal really sucks. Wearing a mask sucks. Staying 6 feet away from people sucks. Not being able to hug my friends sucks. But guess what sucks more. DEATH!

Yup, death sucks worse than the rest of these precautions. So here's the deal: if you want to take your life into your own hands by going to get your hair or nails done, have at it.  Wanna go to a sit-down restaurant to eat? Knock yourself out. Wanna go to the gym? Sure thing! But think about this: not only are you putting yourself at risk and the lives of those around you at risk, you're also putting at risk the lives of first responders and health care workers. They are the ones who have to deal with your sorry ass when you catch the Corona and have to be treated. Is it your right? Maybe, but does it make you a selfish prick? You bet it does.

Science matters. The experts know what they are talking about. Jesus Christ, that's why they are EXPERTS. That's why they don't ask Bubba, the gun-toting, flag waiving jackass from Michigan who is protesting to reopen his state so he can go bowling with his buds. He's not an expert, he's an asshole. Listen to the experts who have been dealing with these infectious diseases for LITERALLY DECADES!!

I saw earlier that president shit for brains wants to go back to holding his giant campaign rallies ahead of the election in November. At this point, you know what? Go ahead, fucktard. Hold your rallies. Let your thousands and thousands of kool-aid drinking supporters all gather in one building, breathing one anothers' air, spewing their hate along with their spittle on to one another. Let those freak germs fly! I believe that's called thinning the herd. And while I'm sorry for all the front-line health care workers who have to deal with your sorry, stupid asses, perhaps it will shine a brighter light on what a goddamn stupid idea it was in the first place to gather together.

Do I sound a little bitter? Yeah, probably. Two weeks ago we had to cancel our family vacation to Hawaii. We were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary and my oldest daughter's college graduation. My youngest and I were planning on running a half marathon together (her first!). And we had to cancel our trip. Our hotel closed, and our flights were canceled.

So yeah, I'm a little bitter. I can't go on vacation but I understand why. It would be incredibly stupid and amazingly irresponsible of us to do so. So we are following the rules. Because that's what it's going to take to get past this round of the Coronavirus.

The one thing that I will give the president credit for is bringing Dr. Fauci on to lead this fight. It's the one and only thing I'll give him credit for. For the love of God, listen to Fauci. The man has worked with 6 presidents, Democrat and Republican. He has the nation's best interest at heart.

The bottom line is this: Yes, things suck right now. Yes, it feels like maybe our freedoms are being taken away. Yes, the rules are hard to follow. And yes, it sucks and we are not okay. But we will be. We will be fine after this. We're learning just how strong we are and how much we miss our loved ones. Maybe when this is over, we'll hug them a little longer and not take them for granted. And maybe we won't take our freedoms for granted.

Just Be Kind

Hey Snarklings. I hurt my back a few weeks ago while cleaning, vacuuming and mopping my house (I won't make THAT mistake again!) and have been dealing with ongoing pain since it happened. The pain got so bad that last Saturday I sent a FB message to a friend who is a nurse and asked if she were in my shoes, what would she do? In the time of COVID-19, I didn't really want to take a chance on sitting in a packed ER and opening myself up to the possibility of being exposed to possible carriers. But I had to do something because I was in agony.

My friend recommended going to Urgent Care, so that's what I did. I entered the building touching nothing. I approached the check-in desk and was met with a smiling young guy named Justin. He took my info and directed me to the waiting room. There were probably 4 other people in the waiting room and none were hacking up a lung or wearing a mask (the sign on the front door directed people with flu-like symptoms to please pick up a mask at the front desk). I brought my book with me because it's an Urgent Care and I fully expected to wait quite awhile to be seen. I thought this was pretty standard, having to wait at an Urgent Care.

Apparently not everyone got that memo.

A woman (let's call her 'Itchy") walked in after I had been sitting there for about 10 minutes and I heard her telling Justin that she had a skin condition. He took her information and directed her to the waiting room as he did with me. A few minutes went by and she looked in my direction and I heard her exclaim "Oh are you kidding me?? An HOUR and FIFTEEN MINUTES??" At first I thought she was yelling at me for something, but when I looked over at what Itchy was looking at, I actually saw the TV monitor on the wall showing the approximate wait time for each person. Mine was 45-60 minutes. Hers was longer. She ranted, hooted and hollered in the waiting room, then went back to the check-in desk (scratching her ass the whole time) to give Justin a piece of her mind.

Look, I get that in this time of uncertainty, we are all a bit on edge. I understand peoples' fears, but that's no excuse to be rude to anyone. I'm sorry, but if you come to an Urgent Care on a Saturday morning, you are going to have a wait. Unless you're head is hanging off and there's blood gushing out of your neck cavity, you're waiting just like the rest of us. Suck it up, Buttercup.

I was embarrassed for her. I understand she needed to be seen just like the rest of us, but that's no reason to be an asshole. We are all on edge with this COVID-19 pandemic, and I didn't really want to be sitting in an Urgent Care waiting room, with the possibility of being exposed, but the alternative is to sit in a crowded ER waiting room, and with a skin condition being her 'emergency' she'd probably have waited much longer than an hour and fifteen minutes.

Not long after her rage filled rant, a boy and his mother came in. The boy was hobbling and the mother helped him to his seat before going up to check in with Justin. The boy apparently thought he had broken his foot.  By that time, I was next to be called and I toyed with the idea of letting the boy go ahead of me, but that would have pushed Itchy's wait time back even more and I was afraid she would come over and touch me and I'd get her cooties, so I shut my mouth, waited my turn and went in when I was called.

Here's my point. Don't be an asshole. We are all worried, we are literally ALL in this together so let's try to be patient. It's only going to get worse before it gets better, so while we are dealing with this horrific pandemic, can't we all just try to be kind to one another?

After being seen, when I was checking out with Justin, I made a point to thank him for handling this madness with grace and a smile. I told him that I heard the interaction with Itchy and that I was sure she wasn't the only one to give him grief and that he was doing a fantastic job in a shitty situation.

Just be kind. It's not that hard. (unless you're the president, apparently he doesn't know the meaning of kind). The rest of us are capable, so let's just be kind.