Then yesterday I decided to get my hair done and go to Costco since I actually have to eat and have no food here, and I get a nasty comment that I did not publish about how I am being irresponsible.
My hairdresser is a single mother of two. Her kids are going back to school because she has no financial option. She shared yesterday that a customer of hers responded very negatively that she will not be keeping her children home and the customer would not be returning. Wow.
Let me offer a few things from my perspective. We each need to choose how to live our lives in a socially responsible manner. I wear a mask 100% of the time I am in public. I wear a mask in my home if a worker is here. I have not been in a restaurant since March, nor a bar or movie theater. I grocery shop once a week and only at stores like Costco and Publix that require masks, sanitize carts, etc. etc. When I meet neighbors here, we have been outdoors and 15 or 20 feet apart. The Happy Hours here are in a driveway outdoors with chairs 6 feet apart.
BUT, I choose to go to HomeGoods one time a week and I wear a mask. I get my hair done once a month - my stylist has left her salon with other stylists and has her own place and we are the only people there and we are both masked. And at my nail salon everyone has masks, gloves, and there are plexiglass dividers. It is a huge space, and they space appointments far apart and I am usually the only customer. I need this self care for myself and I am supporting two small businesses of people I care about, each with young kids to support.
This pandemic is not going away IMHO. This will be our lives for a very very long time. Each of us has to make decisions for ourselves and our families about how to live. If my leaving my house a handful of times a month for non critical things offends you, so be it. I have ZERO health problems, I wear a mask in public always, and have hand sanitizer everywhere that I use all the time. Stop trying to shame me and for God's sake not folks like my hair stylist who is the sole support for her family. It would not be safe for her family if the kids were home schooled but they we are homeless and hungry either.
Well, I got that off my chest. I think each of us has to decide what is right for us. I do not mean this to include not wearing masks and pretending this does not exist. But I think this is a balancing act. I have a friend back in NOVA who is a divorced single older guy. He has not seen his children or grandchildren, he has all his groceries delivered, he only goes out for walks at night. And he is a very social person. IMHO he will be physically ok but not mentally. But as I said, let's try to support the path each of us chooses to navigate these insane times we live in, provided we are being socially responsible with masks and social distancing. This is not school. There is not only one right answer.
