11 Months into the Pandemic

Eleven months into the pandemic and we are seeing both a light at the end of the tunnel and a road block. It is very frustrating.

Ashley is back to living on campus. In the first week they have had one positive case amongst 1,215 students. Don and I have vaccine appointments scheduled -- me for a week from today, his four weeks from today. 

Nearly a year into this and indoor dining has finally increased to 35% in New Jersey. How are local restaurants ever going to survive?

I realized I miss conversations. Real, face-to-face conversations. It is rare I see people in person, and when I do we keep it short and mask-covered. Phone calls are not easy, either. They involve a complicated back and forth of scheduling a time. Enough already! Let's just talk! When I do call someone, they are too busy to talk, so it doesn't happen.

All this makes me draw further inward.

Other factors adding to feeling isolated:

1) The weather -- it has been a very grey winter with lots of snow, making the fire pit chats less appealing.

2) Politics -- Trump's acquital, though expected, was still frustrating. The case against him was terrific. Right after voting to acquit him, Mitch McConnell said he was definitely guilty and should be tried by the Justice Department. He couldn't vote to convict him because he was already out of office. He was in charge of deciding they couldn't have a trial while he was in office because there wasn't enough time before inauguration day. Meanwhile, he only needed eight days to vote in a new Supreme Court Justice, so time was not the factor.

3) Even after being vaccinated, we are still being told to stay home and wear masks, which makes this feel endless. 

I know I have a lot more thoughts on this time. I'll try to add to them later.