“We are still social distancing.”
I feel like we need t-shirts with those words emblazoned on them. Especially now, as the world seems to be going back to normal. I’m just not there yet. Maybe that’ll change in a month or two. Maybe it won’t change for a long time.
Either way, that’s ok.
We started homeschooling a couple years ago, and what I’m feeling now is very similar to what I was feeling then. A little left out, a little unsure of my decision, a little worried that my kids won’t have friends…
As it turns out, my worries back then were for naught (as they often are) because my kids still have friends, and so do I. It may take more effort (and now more creativity on my part) but it can be done. Even while homeschooling. Even with COVID. Zoom playdates, social distanced playdates, pen pals, Google Hangout, Google Meet, Google Duo (can someone please explain the different between those??) – we’ve done it all and will keep doing it for the foreseeable future.
At first, when the world started opening back up, I felt a little awkward. I guess I can say I almost felt pressured into doing activities with other people, since get-togethers were happening that I was invited to – but since other people weren’t staying far apart from each other – I just wasn’t comfortable attending. I felt nervous that I would be left behind while everyone else moved on with their lives.
And then I stopped for a moment.
I sucked up my breath, reminded myself that I’m an adult (which I do way more often than I thought I would at this point in my life), who made a conscious decision I don’t need to be embarrassed about, and told myself I could tell other people the same.
And I feel much better.
When I’m in a potentially awkward situation, I just say, “we are still social distancing” and leave it at that. No explanations. No talk of who is making the right call and how many cases there are in Florida currently.
It turns out the trick is owning your decision, which, coming from a lifetime of indecisiveness, is decidedly (pun intended) new to me. I know that we are all doing what is best for our families in the moment, and that none of us have to explain our decisions. One way or the other. We don’t need to disclose information about who in our family is high-risk nor do we need to encourage others to take the same stance as us, whatever that may be.
Let’s agree on one thing – we are all in this together, and are coping in our own ways. And that’s ok.