The Coronacation Diaries, Episode 36

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

Every Struggle is Real, But Not All Struggles are Equal 

I've been painfully aware, as I write these blog posts, that things I am trying to make light of can actually be really painful for other families. It's hard to find the balance between flippant sarcasm (my specialty) and tone-deaf cruelty (my fear).

I thought about writing a blog post today pointing out the ridiculous amount of money I am spending on groceries (now that all 4 of us are eating 3 meals a day at home); I spent $440 at Meijer today to try to keep my family fed for the next week or two...and yet I know that $440 would have had to have lasted an entire month for a family on SNAP, before the additional food assistance enacted in Michigan in March of this year. Even now, the max payout for a family of four is $646/month, which we probably spent, pre-quarantine, at local restaurants every month just on beer.

And as I've repeatedly ranted about the picky eaters in my family, I also know that there are people out there, both friends and strangers, who are desperately ill and would love to be able to eat again.

When I gripe about my kids always bickering and taking up too much bandwidth and slurping (dear God, the slurping), I also know that dear friends are struggling with infertility and treatments being put on hold.

When I complain about the weather and the snow and the lack of sunshine, I also know that so many people, including people I love, are living daily in physical and emotional fear.

When I mock the people in my house for their idiosyncrasies, and whine about them ALWAYS BEING IN MY SPACE, I also know that some people --many people-- are having to shelter alone and are desperately lonely.

When I revisit a post I started (but never finished) about gently trying to teach my Boomer mom (WHOM I LOVE! I LOVE YOU MOM!) how to use Google classroom, I remember that my best friend is on FMLA as she takes care of her own mother who is getting weaker by the day; my other friend who lost her dad just one short year ago; another friend who lost both parents on Christmas day last year; another friend whose dad died of COVID-19 just a few weeks ago; my cousin, whose mom is not yet out of the woods.

I am so blessed with privilege, with health, with a paycheck, with family. I started writing this series of posts because I was procrastinating from the academic writing I needed to do, and because it was a way for me to try to find the humor in each day and to not let these days go to waste.

I only hope that my posts continue to entertain. I hope that they don't cause pain. 

Much love to you. 

Wash your hands. 

Be well.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash