Stuck In a Moment

Thought Tornado

I’m sitting on the tile floor, while my daughter plays in the bath, and the Sing 2 soundtrack blares from my phone. My little one is asking me 10 questions per minute and my thoughts are fragmented. There’s a tornado inside my brain. Every now and then, a thought escapes like a couch flying through a window or a car being thrown across a field.

Get Yourself Together

Now, the five-year-old is rapping Drake and inadvertently pouring water onto the floor. Scarlett Johansson is singing “Stuck in a Moment”. Suddenly, I am hyper aware of the floor beneath me and the weight of my body by its every fiber. You’ve… got… to… get yourself together, you got stuck in a moment… and you can’t get out of it.

Yup. I sure did. I am so sick of the poor management surrounding COVID. I’m beyond exasperated by the level of mistrust I have for the powers that be, and the monumental divide that has been created among humanity. I’m watching supposed adults scramble around like headless chickens, making up rules, changing them rapidly, and confusing the hell out of themselves, and the people they are supposed to be leading. Oh, and also arguing like hormonal teenagers or reckless 2 year olds.

Children-1, Adults-0

Children are missing school while they are healthy because they’ve been exposed, even if over 10 days ago, to a positive case of COVID. Children who are “allowed” around other people are being forced to wear masks, including toddlers. A 3-year-old I know just had her first experience wearing a mask due to the first years of her life being lived in quarantine. As you can imagine, she wasn’t a big fan. And based on how the person in charge of her childcare acted last weekend, she might as well have been a walking spiked protein herself.

“You CANNOT ride the slide until you put your MASK ON”. I’m sure this statement made perfect sense to this tiny little girl. Full blown panic mode led to texts and phone calls to managers and parents. The situation catapulted said 3-year-old’s elder sister to read the room, absorb the stress, and act quickly to convince her baby sister to trade masks. Also masking her anxiety, the 9-year-old negotiated calmly and effectively. Older sister- 1, adult childcare provider- 0.

Wait, What?

At some grocery stores and other establishments in our valley, masks are required for entry. But if you choose not to wear a mask, no one will say anything to you. At others, it doesn’t matter. At restaurants, you have to wear your mask to your table, but as soon as you sit down, you can take it off. Because germs stop spreading when you sit down to eat.

At the schools in our town, though, kids have to be masked all day. Oh wait, they can take them off during lunch, while sitting together. If you are a teacher, and you are vaccinated, it doesn’t matter if your spouse is sick with COVID, you can still come to work. But, your kindergartener cannot come. They have to stay home. They are unvaccinated. Vaccinated people get sick with COVID, too, though.

To gain admission to a popular club in Aspen, all you need to do is flash your vaccine card. But at the sold out, $500 per ticket Diplo concert a couple weeks ago, COVID ran rampant among its vaccinated audience members post show.

Cue Olaf

Suddenly I hear Olaf singing “this will all make sense when I am older, someday I will see that this makes sense…one day when I’m old and wise I’ll think back and realize that these were all completely normal events!” It’s like Disney KNEW when they released Frozen II in November of 2019 that we would all need a good dose of sarcasm.

People don’t treat each other like people anymore. Fear runs rampant and distorts our view of our neighbors. Politicizing arguments divide people into islands so far apart, no bridge would be long enough to connect them again.

The Dunning-Kruger Effect

I can’t help but feel like the scientists, health providers, and other “leaders” at the front of this pandemic are falling victim to the Dunning-Kruger trap. I am currently reading “Think Again,” written brilliantly by Adam Grant. In the section that he discusses the Dunning-Kruger effect, he states:

“As we gain experience, we lose some of our humility. We take pride in making rapid progress, which promotes a false sense of mastery. That jump-starts an overconfidence cycle, preventing us from doubting what we know and being curious about what we don’t. We get trapped in the beginner’s bubble of flawed assumptions, where we’re ignorant of our own ignorance.” (Emphasis mine).

Well, I’d say that about sums it up. So, while I wait until humility cracks its whip on the CDC, the President, Dr. Fauci, and the self-righteous know it all’s I feel surrounded by, I suppose I’ll wash my hands and drink lots of clear liquids. I’ll send my kids to school, welcome their friends into our home, allowing them to make memories where they can see each other’s smiles, and enjoy meals together at a table free of prejudice and full of free flow conversation and laughter.

And if the night runs over

And if the day won’t last

And if your way should falter

Along this stony pass

It’s just a moment,

This time will pass.