The Pandemic is Almost 2 and We All Have Feelings
Friday marks the 2 year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic.
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Do you remember where you were roughly two years ago, just before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 an official pandemic on March 11th, 2020?
I don’t think I do.
This Friday, it will be two years since we have lived in this pandemic. In this “unprecedented” time as people have said time and again. As someone who had a baby during this time, I am filled with all kinds of feelings of fear and relief and trauma and lingering anxiety and… who knows what else.
Deep down inside, I know that I am not okay. And I know that we — all of us — are not okay.
Parents are not okay. Mothers are not okay. Children are not okay.
Sure, some people are feeling better. For some of us, we’re fully vaccinated and our kids are vaccinated and we’re ready to move on in the world. Some of us have recently had COVID during this latest surge as the Omicron variant swept the world. But even if things are better for you today, two years of fear and anxiety over the uncertainty of everything is still likely weighing on you.
This collective trauma isn’t going away any time soon, which is why I asked on the Pandemic Mama Instagram and my own personal Instagram how we’re all feeling about this 2 year anniversary… Here’s what you said:
“How has it already been two years?”
“Like it exposed to many other issues on this planet. It’s a terrifying time to be alive.”
“Um… are we entering World War III?”
“Numb”
“Exhausted. Protective of my baby who still isn’t eligible for a vaccine.”
“More burned out than ever.”
“It’s the worst 2-year-old that ever existed.”
To be honest, I also can’t quite believe that it has been two years. How has the world changed so much and so much has gone on in such a short time?
Becoming a parent during the pandemic likely has a lot to do with these feelings, too. Before I gave birth, many people told me that you don’t really know what it’s like to parent until you’re doing it. They told me how having a child feels like seeing your heart walk around outside of your body. They told me that the hardest parts of parenting are so much harder than I could ever imagine but also that the best parts are so much better than I would ever think was possible. That last one is especially true.
But experiencing all of these changes while also living during a time of heightened stress and anxiety is painful. Often, I can’t tell whether my stress is related to the pandemic or parenting or something else entirely. That’s why the best description of what we’re all feeling right now is this:
*insert rage and grief screams here*
So for today, I leave you with this: If you need to cry or you need to scream or you need to eat a lot of candy (what, just me?), then do it.
Even though it feels like this is almost over, it’s not. The thing I hear over and over from pandemic parents is that they’re frustrated because the world seems to have moved on and completely forgotten about them and their vulnerable children.
That’s a terrible feeling, I know.
So scream, cry, eat, hug your babies, and do whatever it is that you need to do this week to get through it. For now, that’s all we can do.
On Friday, tune in for Episode 2 of Season 2 of the Pandemic Mama podcast. We’ll be hearing some updates from past guests. They will share their own thoughts and feelings on this, too. And you might even hear a bit of hope. Stay tuned!