Thursday, October 22, 2020

CoViD-19 San Diego County | Poll Safety | It's Okay To Say No | US Reports 100k "Excess" Deaths | Close Contact Redefined

Billy Eilish at Soma. Eilish is doing a livestream this weekend for $30. (Taken 11.17.2018)

It's been another low-key week around my household. Nova and I are slowly working through Interior Design Masters on Netflix, and the other night I binged Social Distance, also on Netflix, alone while everyone slept. It was actually pretty good. Every episode is a separate story so you don't have to watch every episode or in any particular order. Now I'm starting Grand Army The only time I left the house today was to drop Nova at derby. We took the dog so she could run around at Chollas Lake, but we kept it short because a sign said the gate gets locked at 6pm. 

There's a lot of reading to take in today, but the summary is that COVID numbers are up, people need to maintain vigilance, voting is going to be super safe but your polling place won't be the same as in normal times, the WHO didn't say we shouldn't have lockdowns, and the US has had 100,000 "excess" deaths, which means it's possible that COVID or COVID-tangential deaths (like people not going to the doctor or hospital for necessary treatments) are underreported by 80,000-100,000. Also, Dr. Wooten explained that we were moved from 7.1 to 7.0 because the state had counted two cases that were actually prisoners who are supposed to be excluded from the data. 

Thursday is gonna suck because of the confirmation and debate, but we'll get through it and keep chugging along as we must. Maybe I'll get outside a little bit more and skip the news altogether. 


The other day, a friend of mine invited my family to an upcoming weekend gathering. I love them very much and want nothing more than to hang out, but none of their gatherings are ever small, and I've been seeing photos of their kids intermixing maskless with numerous households every day. I had to politely decline. Earlier this summer, the mom of one of Nova's friends got all snooty with us because we wouldn't let her go to their house for a playdate. We haven't heard from them since. This came in my email today and I thought I'd share because as the holidays come, this is going to happen more and more, and you should know it's okay to say no.  

Jennifer Ritchie 'the parent whisperer’ best-selling author, and  Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC)  spent more than a decade helping countless parents navigate parenthood and health challenges, including nursing, postpartum, illness, mental state, and overall PARENTHOOD: 
As parents, we all want what’s best for our children, and ultimately that should be to keep them safe. But really, WHY is It harder than it sounds? And why it’s OK to say NO. 
  • Don’t Buy into the Telephone Game. ‘Orders’ during the pandemic are ever-changing, and confusing for anyone. Keeping up with all the press conferences and CDC guidelines is not easy. It’s really becoming a game of telephone, from one friend to another who missed the conference. At the end of the day, make your own executive decision for you and your family and do your own research if needed.
  • Dealing with friend/family barriers. With the upcoming election, there are already barriers and eggshell walks when views are different in your friend/family groups, add a pandemic to it. Not every parent is doing the same thing right now. Some parents are getting kids back into school, some parents are homeschooling. Some parents are still practicing strict social distancing, and some parents are keeping their kids home. All decisions being made have the best intentions, but if you do not agree with another parent and their choices, that’s OK. 
  • Covid Peer-pressure is a thing. There are many parents being peer-pressured to do what they are not comfortable doing right now. New moms especially, it’s OK to stay home in your bubble, enjoy the time with your family, do not feel pressured to expose you and your family to anything if you do not feel comfortable, It's OK to SAY NO.
  • Getting a Cold Is OK. Right now, everyone that coughs, sneezes or has an unexpected runny nose seems to get banned. Kids get runny noses all the time. This is their way of building an immune system. We cannot add more stress to our lives thinking the worst, the more positivity we have during the circumstances the more better chance we have to stay strong through it all. Try not to overreact as that affects everyone around you. Now is best to get yourself and your family healthy, so put all the extra love you can into living a healthy lifestyle. 
  • Take Advantage of a Quiet Holiday Season. This is the one year that you actually have an excuse to get out of family functions during the holidays, so take advantage. Everyone will still be there, when you decide to make decisions in your own time.
As parents for our children, stay safe, stay smart, and know it’s OK to just say NO.

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