I took this photo on 17 April 2020. This is a park bench in Albany's Washington Park urging people to "spread random acts of kindness." In the first weeks of the pandemic, a lot of similar messages were painted or chalked onto sidewalks and other surfaces. These messages of hope and solidarity marked the first few weeks, or even first couple months, of our experiences. Then people seemed to grow weary and more pessimistic by summer. I write this on 16 March 2021.
March 17, 2021
Tough week. My mother-in-law decided to prolong her stay with us because we didn’t know the kids would be able to return to school, both of them having been sick at the end of last week. Announcements that restrictions would be eased again, as cases are rising and people stop caring. I feel like it’s going to be a long winter. I just want my kids to be vaccinated so we can feel safer again. One of my husband’s cousin got COVID and her boyfriend too. Everyone seems to have given up where I am, although if you look at other countries ahead of us, you can see that cases have been surging… it’s just discouraging. I caught whatever cold virus my kids had and out of caution I preferred to cancel my birthday celebration with my parents. It’s also awkward because I don’t feel comfortable being indoors with my sisters who’ve resumed their lives and go out a lot and mingle. Please, get us the COVID kid vaccine asap!!!!!!!!!
November 9, 2021