This isn’t difficult, Day Three

I am creating an online journal during the Coronavirus social distancing so I can look back and remember how my thoughts and actions might change during this time. This is Day Three

Monday, March 16

Several friends have asked me how our family plans to handle social distancing. What are the rules we have in place for where we are going to go and who we will allow into our house. This has been a common thread on social media, especially for those of us with teens or college students being forced to come home unexpectedly.

This is what I’ve been telling my kids:

We aren’t being asked to do something difficult.

Other generations have been called to war. People living in other countries have been forced out of their homes. We aren’t being tortured or imprisoned or hurt in any way.

We’re simply being asked to stay home. This isn’t hard.

We recognize that for many people, even in our own community, it might be hard. People who live alone. Kids who are in an abusive family situation. People who don’t have enough food to eat.

We have a large family, a comfortable home, access to technology, a freezer stocked with food. We’ve homeschooled before, so we know how to do that. We’re also a family that already spends time together. We know how to play games or do something creative. We’re good at going outside for exercise.

It’s been hard for our kids and others to understand why they should give up their freedom to go where they want because of an illness they don’t think will impact them.

We aren’t doing this for ourselves. We are part of something that is bigger than us. We talk about caring for the people around us. This is how we do it.

We stay home.

If you look at the world around us and the type of oppression people face on a regular basis, this isn’t hard.

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