I was going to write a long post about how I have felt and thought over the last couple weeks, am feeling now. With 2 vivid examples of what the children have done that show what I will have to deal with constantly. And 2 scary examples of outcomes of when I’ve been isolated in the past. But it comes down to this:
1) I am a raging extrovert. Which means I NEED to interact with people in order to recharge. Make no mistake, I’ve said this for years: Interacting with a computer (or mobile device), that interacts with another computer (or mobile device), that interacts with another person, is NOT the same as interacting with that other person! I can not recharge from that!
2) My primary love language is touch. Which means I NEED to be near people in order to be happy. There is no artificial substitute. I’ve tried many times over in my life.
So when I continue to go in to work at the office, try to have play dates so *I* can have social interaction, or whatever else, it is NOT just because I think I’m young and healthy enough to handle COVID-19. And it’s not because I don’t understand the reality of what’s happening in the world today.
It is because I know myself. And I would rather be mentally and emotionally well, than physically well but otherwise withering the slow agonizing death that is social isolation. I might have made it through 2 weeks, or possibly even the hell of 3 weeks. But 8 -12 is impossible. The well-being of myself, and therefore also of my children, is a stake. I am not over exaggerating.
I will not risk others without explicit permission from said others. I can absolutely abide by the 6 foot social distancing rule and get the interaction I need, and have been doing so! You can judge me all you want for my decisions during this pandemic. But I will be looking out for my own health as much as I look out for the health of others in this. You just don’t know what it’s like to be me. For the small amount of people who are like me, it will not “be okay” under your lock downs and quarantines. No matter how much virtual content, or “here’s how to survive” guides, or spend time outside, or gratitude journals, etc you throw at us. Those just show how deeply you simply don’t understand.