2021 has not been easy. At all. We are lucky because we basically *fell* into a support system, forming a pod with two other families in the same boat. Dual-income families, with young children, trying to hold on to our jobs. We are beyond fortunate that our three families actually, truly, and sincerely, connect. During this time, we’ve bonded over birthdays, beach trips and bonfires.
But does that matter if the boat is still sinking?
Every single one of us is bailing out water, as fast as we can, for each other. But in a pandemic, I don’t think our sincerity makes much of a difference. It truly feels like the only thing to show for our efforts is a slower descent.
Unfortunately, that’s probably the best strategy as of now. Keep afloat as long as possible, in hopes of a vaccine. In hopes that we will one day return to pre-pandemic lives and schedules.
School was supposed to start partially in-person earlier this week, but instead we got 18″ of snow. That makes over two feet of snow in two weeks. I’ve lived in the Midwest for over two decades. In fact, I went into labor and gave birth during a wicked polar vortex. But honest to God, this year is total and utter bullshit. Both the first and second day of in-person learning were cancelled because buses couldn’t get through. Months and months of angst and anger shunted due to weather. On the third day, schools were open, but buses didn’t show. Jeff ended up giving a very disappointed Kenzie a ride to school.
Yes, I do rely on public school as child-care. It’s beyond childcare, in fact. It’s childcare with an education. The school district looks after my kid, and my kid learns. If you take away the in-person learning, and shift to online, my kid is still learning. Most definitely. We have an incredible, wonderful, first-grade teacher who really stepped up this year. But my daughter is still too young to learn on her own. She has to be supervised. Which is fine, and perfectly in line with intellectual development, but hey…I still have to work. And Jeff still has to work. And this whole work-life balance that we’ve been striving for these past 12 years? Laughable.
Right now, there is no such thing as work/life balance for families like us. A stimulus check is nice, but we have nothing to spend it on but debt.
I know I just had a birthday, and I got some amazing presents that did lift me up for a bit.
But it just slowed down a sinking ship.
