“No matter WHAT happens today, we aren’t cancelling our trip to Oregon, right?”
It was the third time my son had asked this nonsensical question. We were almost late for the dentist. I was rushed and somewhat annoyed.
“Of course not. Worst case, we set an appointment for a filling.”
“But, like, it wouldn’t be when we were in Oregon, so we wouldn’t have to cancel?” His voice was pleading.
And then it occurred to me. Jesus. My kid has PTSD from COVID. And not because people we loved got sick (thank God). But he was scarred by all the cancellations, the disappointments. The entire loss of his second grade year. Isolation, distance from friends. Try as we did, he felt the loss, and it manifested itself as terror, uncertainty, fear of pending disappointment.
I felt badly at my impatience with this new perspective. Hadn’t we all felt this way? How many times did we schedule something with the words, “Well, hopefully we can still do it.”
Of course he’s scared. Yes, kids are resilient. Yes, my first-world problem of my kid being afraid of missing family vacations is recognized as such. But it’s real to him, and it’s a consequence of this pandemic, and if nothing else will make people realize that it’s time to take this seriously and do what we can to return to normalcy, maybe a little red head, eyes big, hopes just waiting to be dashed, will do it.
So wear your mask. Keep your kid home when he has the sniffles. Check temperatures here and there. And wash your dang hands. It’s not asking too much after all we’ve asked of them. The next generation thanks you.
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