Empress of Dorsa update:
Total words today: Haven’t started
Manuscript total: 135,852 (about a thousand words fewer than Princess of Dorsa)
I was just reviewing the list of things I was grateful for in my Thanksgiving post, and I got to the last item about none of my family or friends having COVID-19.
Well, I have to update that now. Both my parents came down with coronavirus a few days before Thanksgiving.
The good news is that they both seem to have mild symptoms, so I will continue to count my blessings for that and remember all the families who have not been nearly so lucky.
It does bring up the puzzle I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since I moved to southern California, though — I am an only child, and my aging parents live 3,000 miles away on the East Coast. Of course, even if I bought a plane ticket and went out to be a part of their care, there would be absolutely nothing I could do about their situation.
That seems to be the anthem for 2020 — “absolutely nothing I can do about this situation.”
I’ve noticed how tired we’ve all become.
Tired of seeing cases skyrocket. Tired of the deaths. Tired of restrictions — especially distance learning. Tired of weighing social plans against the risk of infection. Tired of hearing dismal unemployment and eviction numbers. Tired of… well, just tired of all of it.
So tired of it I can’t even muster the energy for one of my usual rants, such as the ones I wrote early on in this pandemic. You know, back when we thought we’d be washing our hands of all this (no pun intended) by mid-summer.
I’ve noticed I’m not the only one who’s tired. People used to make songs and jokes about lockdown back in our more innocent early days.
One of my favorite ongoing jokes is the YouTube series “Explaining the Pandemic to my Past Self” —
I notice this last one she did was early October, though. Maybe even she just got tired of the joke.
Speaking of things I’m tired of:
Adventures in Distance Learning, part Whatever
Yesterday, when the sixth grade English teachers met to plan, one of my colleagues apologized at one point for being so negative and said she was feeling “adrift and depressed” with regards to school.
At some point during every school year, she admitted, she always has a soul-searching moment when she wonders “Have my students learned anything at all this year?” But I think she probably eventually answers “Yes” most years (she’s a good teacher, don’t worry). This year, though, I think all of us answer that question a little more like:
“…”
Meanwhile, with San Diego / most of California back on the “purple tier” of restrictions, I would guess there’s not going to be even a whisper of going back to school in person until at least February-ish. That’s my prediction. Let’s see if it turns out to be right. I hope not.
I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m in support of the restrictions that keep us safe. But the damage that is being done here… to the economy, to education, to people’s sanity…
Well, anyway.
That’s all I got. Here’s hoping your own friends and family are safe and healthy.
Please wear a mask. And I know you’re tired of everything, but please, please, please keep yourself and others safe by not doing things like going to birthday parties or holiday get-togethers. We’ve got to bring the numbers down.
4 Comments
Sarah · December 3, 2020 at 4:12 pm
Hey you… You summed up what most people are feeling I think…. Well, in those countries that didn’t get on top of this virus before it took hold and got everywhere. I’m relieved that your parents are not too bad with the disease… It seems a lottery who gets really ill with it, even in high risk groups. My parents live in Spain, so it’s virtually impossible to get to see them right now… I’ve hardened myself to the high chance of never seeing them again… Which is…. not great.
They are beginning a mass CV19 vaccination programme here this week, so hopefully that will let us get back to normal and put this year down to experience. Those who live to tell the tale obvs.
My former teaching colleagues are really struggling, as are pupils… Schools are sort of back, but they are running at about 25% absences due to +ve tests etc… There’s been no clear leadership about exams and league tables and such… To encourage you tho, my niece told me the other day about how much she has lived for the contact from teachers. So, I’m sure your pupils are learning and appreciating your efforts. Plus, you’ll be vital in helping them recover to a ‘normal’ life later. There’ll be a lot of mess to clean up… You have a post Trump dystopia, and we have a post Brexit disaster looming… Yey! Take care, and thanks for all your writing keeping us entertained. 🙂
The Real Person!
Post-Trump / post-Brexit dystopia… I am very interested in this topic, which you might have picked up on from my Patreon short fiction for October. I know it sounds morbid or potentially overwrought, but I’ve been listening to a podcast called The Fall of Rome which approaches the “Decline and Fall” of the Roman Empire as a multi-century event. I imagine that the changes would have been so incremental for so long that no Roman citizens would have realized they were living through “the fall of the Roman Empire,” you know? I wish I could live long enough to see what historians make of this era we are living through a hundred years from now, and if it’s the “beginning of the end” of… well, I don’t know what exactly, but something.
Anyway, take care! Stay warm and dry up in the Lakes! I’m cozy here in Southern California. I imagine the climate isn’t too different from Spain…
Lillith · December 9, 2020 at 6:56 am
too tired to make this post pretty, it’s 2 am on a school night, avoiding a mental breakdown (goodbye to aforementioned sanity) by writing a few scenes for an original story (yes I actually do those sometimes), thought I would check in.
Tired is something I can greatly relate to, I’ve been taking part in activism, mutual aid, attending public committee hearings (3 hours yesterday, mind you). I’m also getting tired seeing the people around me go further into passive white liberalism (*cough* I love New England), and I’m getting even more tired watching my health worker parents look like they’re going to fall asleep on their feet sometimes.
On the bright side you and Joslyn can relate in wanting to be 6 feet apart from your loved ones but having to be miles and miles away. And much like the series you mentioned which I myself have watched, I’d like to just tell my past self “hey you did a really good job hanging in there. Don’t die, the bar is that low.”, would you like to tell your past self anything?
The Real Person!
Hmm, tell my past self something… You mean my past your age self? That one is easy. I would tell myself, “Be kinder. You’ll regret being a brat later.” I’m sure you’re not a brat like I was, though. I’m not sure what I’d tell my past 20-something or 30-something self. Probably something like, “Hold up. Think this through. Trust me, it’s not going to turn out how you expect it to.” But I suppose we could tell ourselves that at any age and be right, couldn’t we?
Anyway, I applaud your activism and your idealism. Keep up the good work.