6+ months in, we have adapted. We visit (younger) family after quarantining for two weeks. Oldest is in school for now, and so long as there are months here and there of social interaction we can hold out til next year. We are developing a group of families with children the same age as our youngest for socialization outdoors and that has been nice. We do distanced outings and have done one trip, taking precautions like leaving the rental house empty for 24+ hours and spraying things down. We try to put a fun occasion on the calendar every few weeks so the kids can have something to look forward to. It could be a holiday, birthday, trip to see cousins, apple picking, anything. As long as there is a horizon it keeps them positive.

There has been a lot to juggle with both of us working, but we are grateful for our health and each other. I try to look at is as an adventure. My kids are relatively young so these are the years to build family memories anyway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take a look at the NYT graphs of infections and deaths. You don't have to be a great genuis to clearly see that we have gotten much better at treating Covid. At this point, much of the hysteria regarding children is purely political. Nothing to do with facts.

That, and people have learned from the New York's disastrous response to tightly lock down nursing homes. Excess deaths for the USA are pretty close to normal now.

What happened in NYC was a perfect storm of it landing in the most densely packed city in the US when we did not know the best practices for treating the virus* and it was a lot easier for the hospitals to be overrun. Even still the hospitals were overrun in Florida/Arizona (aka places where a lot of seniors retired) because both States abandoned quarantine and the cases skyrocketed.



Because doctors have a better understanding of how to treat a lot of people who would have died or not dying but instead they're just stuck on life support for weeks or months.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m more cautious that “just mask up and live with it.” My grandparents survived the nazis for four years and lost their teen years completly hiding and starving in the hills, but then spent 60 years married and built a fortune we are still enjoying. From them I learned it’s important to hide until the coast is clear even if it takes years. They both lost many friends to bombs or executions btw.

This post makes ZERO sense.

I think in this analogy, Covid is the nazi regime and we are the Jews. If we wait out the Holocaust, we can enjoy many good years. Kind of an alarming metaphor, but I’m glad PP’s grandparents survived something much more horrific than Covid and had happy years thereafter.

I think this metaphor vastly overstates the risks to most people. The Nazi regime was horrific.

I also think it does a disservice to those are *are* most impacted by COVID not to surge resources to them. People who are not high risk don't help by pretending they are.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m more cautious that “just mask up and live with it.” My grandparents survived the nazis for four years and lost their teen years completly hiding and starving in the hills, but then spent 60 years married and built a fortune we are still enjoying. From them I learned it’s important to hide until the coast is clear even if it takes years. They both lost many friends to bombs or executions btw.

This post makes ZERO sense.

I think in this analogy, Covid is the nazi regime and we are the Jews. If we wait out the Holocaust, we can enjoy many good years. Kind of an alarming metaphor, but I’m glad PP’s grandparents survived something much more horrific than Covid and had happy years thereafter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just not worth it. Covid isn’t bad enough for this.

I disagree. I am doing everything I can (within reason) to avoid contracting it/spreading it. Watching the President gasping for air after receiving the best care possible lets me know covid is not nothing.

Uh, where did you see that? He's 75, obese, and out of the hospital in 3 days (and working while there, so not exactly incapacitated).

Dp, but he was clearly struggling to breathe in the video released last night. Painful to watch and I detest Trump.

That's what I'm talking about. He has a "mild" case and the best treatments, doctors, monitoring, etc and his breathing reminds me of the last days of life of my uncle, who died from ALS.

Link?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take a look at the NYT graphs of infections and deaths. You don't have to be a great genuis to clearly see that we have gotten much better at treating Covid. At this point, much of the hysteria regarding children is purely political. Nothing to do with facts.

That, and people have learned from the New York's disastrous response to tightly lock down nursing homes. Excess deaths for the USA are pretty close to normal now.

I am so tired of this, When this happened the virus was new here. They did the best they could. They had Trump stopping them at every turn making it harder and harder to get good factual science. Blaming them is not going to bring anyone back we need Trump out period.

Start blaming the correct person Trump. He's spreading the virus like candy and if you don't see that good luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just not worth it. Covid isn’t bad enough for this.

I disagree. I am doing everything I can (within reason) to avoid contracting it/spreading it. Watching the President gasping for air after receiving the best care possible lets me know covid is not nothing.

Uh, where did you see that? He's 75, obese, and out of the hospital in 3 days (and working while there, so not exactly incapacitated).

Dp, but he was clearly struggling to breathe in the video released last night. Painful to watch and I detest Trump.

That's what I'm talking about. He has a "mild" case and the best treatments, doctors, monitoring, etc and his breathing reminds me of the last days of life of my uncle, who died from ALS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m more cautious that “just mask up and live with it.” My grandparents survived the nazis for four years and lost their teen years completly hiding and starving in the hills, but then spent 60 years married and built a fortune we are still enjoying. From them I learned it’s important to hide until the coast is clear even if it takes years. They both lost many friends to bombs or executions btw.

This post makes ZERO sense.

It actually makes sense. A few years laying low is a drop in the bucket vs dying.

Anonymous wrote:Take a look at the NYT graphs of infections and deaths. You don't have to be a great genuis to clearly see that we have gotten much better at treating Covid. At this point, much of the hysteria regarding children is purely political. Nothing to do with facts.

That, and people have learned from the New York's disastrous response to tightly lock down nursing homes. Excess deaths for the USA are pretty close to normal now.

We've stopped all close contact activities and only visit homes of those we know have been as quarantined as we are. Even then, it's for short bursts - not dinner or hanging out, more just dropping off/picking up things or short visits. I don't think I've used a bathroom other than mine until this past weekend when I was forced to travel.

We won't go to movie theatres at all and we're still not back to church. We are starting back in-school week after next though, so maybe we'll start doing other things as well.

I also don't expect a vaccine soon. We are being as careful as we reasonably can. For us, that includes outdoor playdates and face to face school, both with masks. We have been to the doctor and dentist, and seen grandparents who are local. We're going to the store more casually now rather than waiting until we absolutely have to (as we did in spring). No restaurant dining or plane travel. DH and I are fortunate to be able to telework most of the time, though I do go to the office periodically.

I consider the above "living my life." I don't think masks are a big imposition. Limiting our travel is unfortunate because my family lives far away, but it seems necessary. We will deal with remote schooling when it happens. I worry about how to have my kid burn energy in bad weather, but maybe we will just suck it up and be cold outside.

We are in private this year (in person) and generally living life outdoors, and taking some extended (month long) trips to switch things up. Next year I will have 2 in school so am considering homeschooling and having a nanny that takes them to activities during the day. All predicated on my job continuing remote.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just not worth it. Covid isn’t bad enough for this.

I disagree. I am doing everything I can (within reason) to avoid contracting it/spreading it. Watching the President gasping for air after receiving the best care possible lets me know covid is not nothing.

Uh, where did you see that? He's 75, obese, and out of the hospital in 3 days (and working while there, so not exactly incapacitated).

Dp, but he was clearly struggling to breathe in the video released last night. Painful to watch and I detest Trump.

Anonymous wrote:I’m more cautious that “just mask up and live with it.” My grandparents survived the nazis for four years and lost their teen years completly hiding and starving in the hills, but then spent 60 years married and built a fortune we are still enjoying. From them I learned it’s important to hide until the coast is clear even if it takes years. They both lost many friends to bombs or executions btw.

This post makes ZERO sense.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just not worth it. Covid isn’t bad enough for this.

X 1000000

We aren’t in DC.

We are back to normal, as much as is allowed. The risk is so small, and even if you get it it’s really NDB.

Agreed.
PP who said they 'heard from NIH that this is the new normal' - what is? Where? Only in the DC area? Does no one see how that makes zero sense? Other areas of the country are having school without issue. Or is the 'this' you refer to wearing masks?