Barbara’s Bulletin #3: Trying to Explain

It has been pretty easy to teach Adam all the things he needs to do to protect himself while all of this has been going on. He has learned to cough and sneeze into his elbow to stop germs from spreading. He thinks using hand sanitizer is fun. He willingly washes his hands or “scrubs them up” as they say in his preschool.

It hasn’t been easy to explain why we must take all of these precautions. We tell Adam that people are getting sick. We tell him that he has to be careful so that he doesn’t get sick too.

We aren’t ready to tell Adam that people are dying from this disease. His recent run in with death was when Babs Senior’s 19-year-old cat passed away right before Christmas. I’m not really sure that Adam understands the concept of death.

Adam already knows that things are changing. He can’t go to school or any of his favorite places. We aren’t bringing him along on shopping trips.

Some days Adam is frustrated. He cried when we told him the library was closed. I’ve been trying to offer alternative outings. We’ve spent time having picnics at the beach.

I feel like Adam and Lydia are missing out on their childhoods. I think about all the time that’s going by that we will never get back. I know that all this distance is the only way to protect them from getting sick, but I worry about what it’s doing to their emotional well-being.

Hopefully we will figure out how to find balance in the face of this virus.

Xoxo

Babs