The state of Massachusetts has declared that all K-5 students are to return to school in person five days a week starting April 5.

They also stated that middle school would return to school in person five days a week starting April 28. Which makes no sense, since that is a Wednesday. But this is Massachusetts.

The state also said that the return to school for high school students would be TBD. But not for my school district.

Our district’s superintendent took it upon himself to declare that middle school and high school students would be returning to full in person learning on April 26. Well, at least it’s a Monday.

Although they are no longer allowing the hybrid option (which we personally never opted for), they are still offering the remote option. Which is a good thing for us. For personal medical reasons that have to do with my daughter, which I will not discuss here.

So we had to fill out a survey and tell them why we wanted to remain remote. I was very thorough in my explanation. Mainly because with what is going on medically with my daughter, I highly doubt they would want her in their school right now, until the medical situation gets rectified. When that will be, who knows. Because it’s complicated. And not easily rectified. Keep in mind many members of my daughter’s high school are aware of the situation.

And I’m glad that they are still offering a completely remote option. I think they know they have to. Remote is here to stay in one form or another. Because if one kid gets sick and cannot be in school, are you going to not allow them to learn?

So tonight we had a school meeting to go over the details. And some of the details are bothersome.

One is lunch. Right now lunch is held in the student’s third class and they sit in their individual seats with a cardboard frame around them. When they return to school they are planning to have lunch in the gym or outdoors (apparently they have forgotten what spring in New England can be like) and they state that it “will be socially distanced, but fun and social”. Um, if it’s going to be socially distanced, how is it going to be social? Not that I care because my kid won’t be there. Not that she’d socialize anyway if she were. But I’m just saying.

But it was the final line of the “what will change” section of the meeting that got me:

The teachers will now focus on their in person classes rather than dividing their attention or focusing on zoom. The remote students will be able to complete their assignments and ask questions, but they will not be the focus of instruction.

Hold. It. Right. There. Are you telling me that because my child, who has to remain remote due to a health reason, is going to be penalized? Because that is wrong. Every single student, whether remote or not, should be the focus of instruction. Not just the ones in school. You may as well tell me that all remote students will simply be ignored. It is bothersome because I’m concerned there’s going to be a teacher who either “forgets” or refuses to click on the zoom link so my daughter, and any other remote student, may participate in class. Because they are not the focus of instruction. Because they are not physically there. They don’t count.

Yes it would be easy to tell the school we’ll send her for in person lessons. But I would love to ask them if they’re going to be willing to deal with her health issues all day long. Although I’ve explained the situation to them, they have no idea what it’s really like because they don’t live it. As it is I’m unsure where we will be when the next school year begins. If we are still where we are now, the school will have their work cut out for them.

It’s so easy to point the finger.

It’s so easy to be racist.

But one day there will be a virus other than racism that originates from the United States. One that will make the entire world very sick.

And other countries will point their fingers.

And will call it the Americanflu or Amerivirus or whatever.

And Americans will be targeted with hatred. Some Americans more than others.

And then maybe, just maybe, we will learn.

In his speech the other night President Biden indicated that he wants every state to make their citizens “eligible” to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by May 1.

As humans, we should all be considered “eligible” right now. Unfortunately in most states, including my own, just because you become “eligible” doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to get the vaccine any time soon. I’ve been “eligible” for the vaccine since February. And I haven’t been able to book myself an appointment for a vaccine anywhere.

Do I plan on having a big BBQ bash at my house on Independence Day? Hell no. I’ll be lucky if I’m even vaccinated by then. And even if I was, I still wouldn’t have a BBQ. To hell with that.

Will I be hugging anyone, as so many have said they’re going to just “hug everyone”. Why the fuck would I do that? I wasn’t a “hugger” before COVID-19 and the pandemic didn’t turn me into one. Christ, we’re still going to be wearing facemasks for the very foreseeable future. Why would I want to hug anyone if I’m wearing a facemask? Or even if I wasn’t?

A year ago today I physically left my work place, not knowing when I’d return.

I remember walking down the stairs to my car and thinking “damn, I left my coffee cup behind”. Every Friday I would bring my coffee cup home and clean it over the weekend. I wouldn’t see that cup again until December, when I visited the office and threw the cup away.

Aside from the one hour I was in the office back in December, I haven’t been there since. I’m unsure as to when I will, or if I will, physically go back. I had been working from home three days a week prior to the pandemic. I’ve enjoyed working from home. I’m saving myself almost two hours a day in commute time. I don’t feel as stressed as I was going into the office. There really isn’t anyone I miss, not that there’s many people there to miss anyway. I’m sure I will go back eventually in some way. But I think it will only be one day a week. Because I’ve discovered I can actually get more work done at home than I could in the office.

That day a year ago, upon arriving home, we received an email from the school superintendent indicating that school would be closed for a week. I figured we would be using that week as an early April vacation. That wasn’t the case. For the next sixty or so days my daughter would finish her schooling for the year from home, via computer. YouTube videos featuring her teachers overtook YouTube videos featuring YouTube stars. She actually did quite well. And a year later, still doing school remotely, she is still doing well. Her grades are on par with grades she received when she was physically in school. It’s been much easier for all of us. When physically going to school my daughter would give me problems on a daily basis. She would never eat breakfast. With remote school there has been none of that. She eats breakfast every day. I’ve had no issues waking her in the morning. The daily struggle is gone. The daily phone calls from the school nurse or office are gone. The dread of going to school the next day is gone. That has been replaced with the dread of returning to school. We have opted to finish the school year remotely.

Right now it’s unclear where we will be a year from now. I know there’s every intention to keep students in school and I know my work place is putting in every accommodation under the sun to keep us safely in the office. Whether I’ll be there or not is yet to be known.

To add to the joke that the Massachusetts vaccination rollout has been, I have to laugh at one of the things that they list as a “comorbidity”, meaning, if you do this (not if you have it, because it’s not something you have, it’s something you choose to do), you are eligible to get vaccinated over others right now. That “comorbidity” is smoking.

Yes, in Massachusetts they consider smoking a medical condition. Smoking is not a medical condition. It is something people choose to do. It will cause medical conditions. It will make your current medical conditions worse. And it could kill you. But smoking itself is not a medical condition and it should not be considered a “comorbidity”. By definition a “comorbidity” is a disease or medical condition that is simultaneously present with another or others in a patient.

The biggest joke is how Type 2 Diabetes is on the list (which I can fully agree with, being a Type 2 diabetic myself), but not Type 1 Diabetes. Yet smoking is. I also find it ridiculous that it lists one of the comorbidities as “immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant.” Um, don’t they know you can have a weakened immune system from something other than an organ transplant? Like Multiple Sclerosis. Which is what my husband has. It doesn’t even list HIV or AIDS. But if you’re an overweight smoker, even if you have nothing else wrong with you, you’re all set. Because being obese is one of the comorbidities also. Also, if you’re 101 and may not even be around for your second shot, which is what happened to my friend’s grandmother, it’s okay. At least she was able to get her first shot.

But, you know, priorities….