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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
The Coronavirus has profoundly affected my life in the past week. I found this sign in the woods. It’s the corrugated version of a flag I had ordered. So for a while we had both the lawn sign version and the banner version outside of our home. I should order a t-shirt version, too, because this small rectangle holds the basis for what I believe. I will not willingly interact with, or do business with, anyone who doesn’t believe—and vote—this way. Our country is so divided, and I’m feeling it. The Coronavirus is the hallmark of the dividing line. Mask it or casket. No one should have the right to willingly endanger other citizens, and I’m afraid that the leadership of this country has abdicated its position in the most dangerous possible way—all because the White House resident does not believe that lives of others matter. He — and his VP in last night’s debate — demonstrate an inability to listen to women. Their actions define those who do not have their income levels as illegal. They certainly are not listening to science. Love and kindness are not even part of their vocabularies. And it is causing me heartache, and probably affecting my blood pressure. I cannot believe we have come to this as a nation. Our Constitution does not seem to mean anything. I want to call someone, but there is no adult who is in charge at this time. My heart breaks for the career workers at the White House, who are not only exposed to this deadly virus, but are now bringing it home to their families. The utter selfish power grab of the GOP could kill us all. The covidiot-in-chief will stop at nothing. And so I helped get several hundred Reclaim the Vote postcards into the mail. I have made a countless number of masks. I have made political contributions. For every small thing that we have done from this household, this administration and its minyans put up more barriers to democracy. The governor of Texas has ordered just one ballot dropbox per county, meaning that more than one million people will have just one place to bring their early ballots. It isn’t fair, and it shouldn’t be legal. The lives of Americans, and the life of America depend on a Supreme Court that is no longer fair, nor balanced. There will be desperate people. There will be deaths. And I cannot do enough on my own. I don’t know whether I need to psychologically drop out of the news cycle, or jump in with two feet. Either way I am overwhelmed with a citizen’s smallness in the face of reality. I used to feel pride in my participation in the political process. As a woman facing open misogyny, a Jew in a time of rising anti-semitism, a compassionate person concerned with all human rights, I will vote for the policies that defined this country—and fear that the unity of these United States has been corrupted for generations.
October 8, 2020
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
The coronavirus pandemic has not affected my life much in the past week. My mother was placed under hospice care Friday, February 26, so I took vacation and drove 500+ miles to be with her Sunday, February 28. Sunday night, I stayed with my son and daughter-in-law. Monday, I drove to the facility where Mom lived. Mom was unresponsive, but occasionally opened her eyes when I touched her and spoke to her over the next four days. I barely slept on my brother’s couch that was too short as thoughts swam around in my head at night. I went to my parents’ home Tuesday afternoon and bagged up the rest of the stuff left on shelves and in drawers. I did this to feel useful instead of just sitting with Mom as she slept. Wednesday, my sister-in-law and I threw a lot of Mom’s stuff away, donated items to the activity director for game prizes, and gave her clothes to a housekeeper. I went to the funeral home to make arrangements. That night, I met a friend for dinner at a local restaurant. My friend remarked that nobody was wearing a mask and the place was crowded. Thursday, I sat with Mom. From the first day, I noticed when Mom opened her eyes, they were gray. Mom had brown eyes. Since she was unresponsive, I spent time working remotely while sitting with her. I planned on leaving Friday morning and got the call around 6:30 that she was close to passing. My brother and I sat with Mom until she died. The whole process of her dying was very peaceful. She was sleeping from the first day I was with her until she passed away. I am glad that she went in the manner most of us want to go… in our sleep. I got into my car to leave and watched Canadian geese land on the roof of the facility where Mom was. Seeing them sitting on the rooftop gave me comfort with the thought that Mom had left the building and was free to fly away from the misery of this Earth.
March 14, 2021