When I was a freshman and sophomore in college I used my older sister's ID to get into bars. Shocker, I know....I am probably going to hell for being a precocious, rambunctious, totally normal young adult. Anyways, there was this one amazing spring night at the end of my sophomore year and everyone was out. My sister was finishing up and still on campus and wanted to go out, and I wanted to go with her. In true sister form though, she just HAD to go to the hardest bar for an underage drinker to get into, despite my efforts to go elsewhere we ended up there. The door guy was friends with my sister, I showed up with my sister and her old ID. Shannon looses her fake ID. Said sister laughed in my face and continues into the bar. However, on her way into the bar she turned around and said something that I literally think about on the regular. "Shannon, you are not 21. There are just somethings that you can't do sometimes. This is one of those times." Now, to her credit, she did get the ID back and I passed it down, along with eventually mine. It was a right of passage, but that is not the point. The point was that, god I hate to say this, she was right. Sometimes we just cannot do things we want to do. Sometimes, somethings can't happen because of situations that are beyond our control (like now) and sometimes the situation just doesn't apply to us, or it is the wrong time. So, I just want to throw out that reminder. Sometimes you cannot do the things you want to do, that is life. It sucks, but it equally applies to everyone, even Veruca Salt.
Why am I saying all this? Why am I talking to y'all like I would a petulant teenager? To be frank, it is because some of you are acting like petulant teenagers. This situation ABSOLUTELY sucks. I get it. I haven't worked since March 17th and holy shit that is a long time. I still can't even get unemployment yet, my husband hasn't worked either and his unemployment claim is being held up, god knows why. It is scary, it is horrifying. We are spending an infinitely more amount of money than we are taking in with a mortgage, student loan payments, and now the fact that we have to pay for all of our healthcare. God, these times are beyond terrifying. But, BUT, this pain is going to be temporary. We are being asked to sacrifice. Sacrifice money, sacrifice senior graduations, sacrifice HAVING to go golfing, sacrifice HAVING to get our hair done, going to parties, sacrifice HAVING a normal life in anything but normal times. God, IT SUCKS. Here is the thing though....it sucks for all of us, because we are all sacrificing, it is not personal.
I hate having to say this but we do live in a society. In a civilization. When we give up living solitary lives and create governments, create systems, and institutions we basically have to participate in the trappings of said society. Sacrificing in times of crisis is not giving up freedoms and for the love of God is not anything new in this country. (Could you imagine mid-WWII people just giving up sacrificing because it was hard?) It is participating in a society where we are NOT the sole beneficiary of all the perks that come from living in groups. Now, I have a background in history and have worked in the construction industry my whole adult life. Some of the things I am not familiar with are, oh I don't know, virology, pandemics, epidemiology, infectious diseases, and the like. While is absolutely sucks that I cannot work, that I am hemorrhaging money, feeling the stress and anxiety that MILLIONS are feeling around the world, I am not going to throw caution to the wind and tell the experts to shove it. Just like I am not going to cut my own hair. I am not going to start my own basement bar. You get what I am saying? Just because you don't like the advice, just because you don't like the rules, just because you don't want this to be happening, changes nothing when it comes to doing what is right. I get that you are in pain, but, we are all in pain. I know everyone wants to go back to work, but I am not an expert in this stuff and the odds are, NEITHER are you. Those guys (the experts) say chill out. Chill the f*** out, we are ALL experiencing something similar and not many of us are experts in how to deal with this. Sacrificing means that you realize in the course of your life you impact MANY people, this time is not different. Sacrifice a little bit longer for those people who have to take care of the sick and bring that exposure home to their children. I would love to go sit outside at a bar and have a drink, but you know what? Sometimes there are just things I can't do when I want to do them. That is how life works, what makes you think it is any different for you? During a global pandemic no less?
