The comfort I find is that we’re all in this COVID-19 pandemic together. No one is impacted without the rest of us being impacted. It’s not just my kid who might not have a graduation ceremony. It’s affecting the entire class of 2020. It’s not just me that is wondering when… IF school will resume this academic year. It’s not just us suffering financial instability. That helps to swallow the uncertainty. There is comfort in numbers.
So, that MUST be why spring breakers are converging on the beaches of Florida. They NEED reassurance that they’re not alone. They’re breaking through the social distancing protocols to feel near one another as they sun, sip, and splash. Their need for community MUST BE SO strong right now.
I just hope they get enough of it now, because quarantine will be a lonely place when they return to wherever they’re headed. I hope they are quarantined. It seems a mockery that they should be vacationing in the fun sense of the word- while we’re abiding by the guidelines to try and flatline the COVID-19 curve.
I hope the spring breakers will recover their sobriety in quarantine. I hope they won’t hug their parents upon their returns home. I hope they have time to consider that while they were having the times of their lives, business owners were grappling with difficult decisions. Healthcare workers were putting themselves in the line of fire. Store clerks were overwhelmed with stressed shoppers and empty shelves.
This is going to have a major impact. There is going to be a definitive “before” and “after” when this is over. People of the future might even ask “Where were you during the pandemic of 2020?” Some will answer, “Isolated in my house with my parents” or “Working from home” or “Laid off” or “Saying good bye to my parent on the phone.”
Others will shamefully reply, “On spring break.”
Auda Here 