So, my first “real” post was going to be about the divide between librarians and library staff and the grey area of being library staff with an MLIS degree. But then today my sister-in-law texted to let us know that brother-in-law tested positive for COVID, and is very sick. So now I’ve got COVID on the brain more than usual, so gonna start pandemic blogging like a pro instead!
I’m just. I’m so tired of this pandemic. I know everyone is tired. I know many people have had it worse, lost many loved ones, gotten it themselves, suffered Long Covid. But it’s been two years, and constantly fighting my institution to get them to do the right thing. My Dean is great, and has been looking after the library employees, but the University as a whole has been severely hampering her ability to do that. I’m so tired of walking into a store in my tiny town with a mask on and getting looks from all the other fools who are too stupid to know what’s good for them and think masking up in public is a pinko-commie conspiracy to steal their manhood or whatever. I’m tired of never being able to go anywhere. I’m tired of infections disrupting my life, even though they’ve mostly turned out to be mild for everyone close to us. I’m tired of watching my sister struggle against impossible odds and our governor’s insane rules for schools, destroying her health in the process. I’m tired of worrying that my mom or my mother in law or my husband’s grandfather, who are all older and with various pre-existing conditions, will finally catch it and and get really sick. I’m tired of the overwhelming terror, thankfully somewhat mitigated by pediatric vaccines, that every time my son goes to school some little plague factory whose parents “don’t believe in masking” is going to infect him. I’m just. Tired.
_(: 」∠)_
Anyway. Where is the government help we were promised when Biden was elected? Where is the National voice of reason making decisions based on science instead of bowing to capitalist interests bent on killing as many people as possible? Where is the leadership needed to end this pandemic finally and let us create a new normal that’s better than the old?
My brother-in-law tested positive for Covid and we’ve all been exposed to him. We’re all vaccinated, and so far none of us has exhibited symptoms (though his family is all pretty sick). But it’s still an ordeal to deal with school and jobs and getting tested. Getting tested is a huge hassle. The University scaled back its testing capability, so I can no longer make an appointment to test on the same day, and getting a test for any of the rest of the family requires waiting even longer because the CVSs are overrun. Luckily our nearest CVS still has the at-home tests in stock. But of course, those are much less accurate and I’m hesitant to trust them.
The only saving grace about today is that I discovered my violet that hasn’t bloomed in five years finally produced a flower. I had given up hope of it ever blooming again, or even living, because it was in a sad state, but I did some work with it a few months ago and it has revived beautifully!
