Cabin Fever
John Pozza
As an admitted extrovert, I am personally struggling with having to stay indoors the past week or so for such prolonged periods of time. I need to be connected to people and places in person – not virtually. Phone calls and texting are not the same.
For that, I take after my 89-year-old mother in California. Mom is at the Trousdale assisted living facility just outside San Francisco in Burlingame. The Trousdale is currently on lockdown only allowing working staff into the facility. No visitors are allowed, including no family visits.
My younger sister, who lives nearby, normally visits Mom daily, and often takes her out for lunch or dinner. The only way my sister and I can connect with her is by phone or Skype. It’s just not the same, and my mom frets over it.
I also fret for my sister who, as a pediatric oncology nurse, is one of those essential workers at the Benioff UCSF Children’s Hospital in San Francisco. Even though visitors are currently not allowed to the hospital, she has to work next to other essential medical staff, most of whom do not know if they have the virus, as they have not been tested.
For me, my normal outdoor outlet has been hitting the trails to either walk or ride my bike. Now even that has taken a backseat due to a sudden dip in temperatures.
Just prior to all of this, I was down south enjoying a beautiful week-long winter vacation with snowbird friends in Myrtle Beach. This was before the pandemic was declared. Had I known what was about to happen, I would still be there.
Just looking out to see and hear the ocean every day, taking walks on the beach, riding a bike to explore new places, shopping and eating out took my mind off a lot of other things. Corona virus just three weeks ago was almost an afterthought.
But while away, I admittedly started to miss home and working with my adorable kindergarten kids at Clarion Limestone. When I returned to their classrooms, they all welcomed me back with open arms offering plenty of group hugs. Imagine that!
That lasted just two days. Late Friday afternoon, after I had already left school for the weekend, the Governor announced that all schools would be closed for at least two weeks, and possibly longer.
It’s bad enough that in today’s age of having to be “socially appropriate,” many schools do not allow teachers or support staff to have contact with children to give them the affection they need and don’t often get at home.
Now with the COVID-19 pandemic, it saddens me more knowing that these same children have no idea when or if they’ll be able to return to school. I miss them all dearly.
Because teachers and support staff at CL all feel the same way, the school is now organizing a time to drive our cars to some of the neighborhoods where our students live, honking our horns. It’s a small gesture of appreciation to show how much we miss them, and are thinking of them and their families. We, of course, will all continue to practice social distancing ourselves, and stay in our cars, which will be occupied only with people who live in our own homes.
Let’s all do our part to stay safe, to be patient and to give each other the encouragement we all need. In doing so, we can all eventually return to the life we knew, sooner rather than later.