Our family is at the end of the extra cautious spectrum for this pandemic. How about you?

We do socially distanced play dates and visit my parents in their backyard, six feet apart. We disinfect our groceries and have a waiting area for Amazon deliveries. Of course I don’t love it but if we don’t do that, my mind reels with what ifs.

It’s October and our California school district still isn’t sure when they will offer in-school learning. It doesn’t matter for us though; in July we decided our kids would do their entire school year (5^th and 6^th grades) remotely. We had to make a decision and at the time with the information on hand we had to make a call. We couldn’t imagine that we would be in a place where the school and the community would be in a position to open safely. More importantly, would we as a family be ready? We have certain privileges for sure. My husband always works remotely and the silver lining of me being laid off in August is that I am available to help our kids when they need it.

Social media emphasizes the filtered, curated, and posed parts of our lives. I do it too. I know it also drives me crazy, so I really limit my time on the platforms, and I try to share things that are less than ‘perfect’. Who needs that anxiety?

I read about families in other parts of the US and world where things are almost back to normal. New Zealand sounds amazing. I’m envious. I see people, especially friends and family, in areas where cases of COVID aren’t declining in the US and they aren’t taking it seriously and it upsets me. Wishing it away or just being over it doesn’t make a virus disappear.

Plus, we each have our own battles, challenges and anxieties that just come with every-day life. It’s hard. But we will all get through it. If you’re also still being careful while it seems like everyone around you isn’t, know that you’re not alone.