We thought that we were safe from COVID because we didn’t have very many positive cases. I mean, as of June 1st Tuolumne County only had 4 positive cases. Back in March, CA shut down the schools and we, like millions of families state wide, started “distance learning.” My son was in 5th grade and he usually did his homework without much assistance from us.
I am a working mom and my fiancé stays home so he was forced into this new roll of being teacher. My fiancé has 2 kids but they are 20 and 21 so it has been a minute since he has done homework with his kids. Out biggest struggle with distance learning was making sure that my son was getting the education that he needed to go to 6th grade in the fall. What was the new CA standard to start middle school? We had no clue and that is frustrating for a parent.
I work for Social Services and they decided to do “shift work” which meant that we worked every other day. They split up my unit so that 2 of us were working Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and the other 2 worked Tuesday and Thursday. Yes we switched every week so that it was fair. So, not only we were short staffed everyday for a month, but our workload didn’t change.
We had more work to do because with people losing their jobs they need public assistance. My son had his 11th birthday in May and we had plans to go camping, but that was canceled. Our wedding date is Sept 12th but have put that on hold until we know more about what is our “new normal.” The hope that I have is in the people that I love. I have had anxiety associated with this Pandemic but my family and friends keep me grounded and remind me that we are in this together.
As of yesterday, 7/7/2020, Tuolumne County has 57 positive cases of COVID with 0 deaths. I know that number is small in comparison to other places. It is disheartening to see the numbers continue to grow everyday. Life will never be the same. I think people will always have this fear inside of them. To think about how uncertain the future is makes me tear up. As long as people continue to think they are invincible to this virus the world will be at a stand still.
Submitted by Melissa Weed, Tuolumne County – Sonora.