Parenting

From The Confessional: I Hate Quarantine Virtual Events

by Cassandra Stone

These folks wish everyone would just STOP with the virtual events already!

Sheltering-in-place means a lot of our everyday lives have shifted to living online — online grocery orders, homeschooling, and “social” events with friends and family are now all part of our days in a way they weren’t previously.

And lots of people in our confessional are, quite simply, OVER IT.

Suddenly every extroverted, social person you know is all about the phone calls in place of perfectly acceptable text messages, setting up Zoom happy hours every weeknight, and every one of your kid’s teachers wants to have a “face-to-face” meeting.

WHYYYYYYY.

Confessional #25774319

Just the sound of MIL’s voice on Facetime with the kids annoys me.

Confessional #1522304

Fucking Face Time with the inlaws during quarantine, SIL’s & BIL are biatchs, fucking hate them!!!

For some overwhelmed people, this self-isolating period is a much-needed break from the rigors of babysitting grandkids.

Confessional #25776072

Do not miss my grands & quarantine is a needed break. Done raising kids & my DD thinks I need to attend their events or give her a day off. As soon as we open back up I am going to look at that condo on the coast. Grandma will see u on Facetime & holidays because I’ve had enough.

For others, it’s the virtual school meetings that are the absolute worst.

Confessional #25773810

I sometimes forget what’s going on, and feel ok. Then I get an email about e-learning or Zoom play dates, or I check the news and see the numbers of deaths, illnesses, and jobless creeping up, up, up… and it all comes crashing down again.

Confessional #25775931

I’m sick of Zoom meetings.

Confessional #25774126

I’m a school-based SLP. I hear all my co-workers jumping in to find ways to treat their kids virtually, figuring out the best ways to get in contact etc. I’m sitting here paralyzed, I don’t want to do this!!

Confessional #25772859

Dd starts virtual highschool Monday. Only one of her 7 teachers has posted anything on the app they are supposed to use. This will be a shit show. She is in 5 AP classes and they are not working on anything. I don’t know how this will play out.

Confessional #25972859

I miss my book club friends, but I cannot handle hanging out with all of them over one another on a Zoom call trying to talk about this month’s book. I feel like I’m on The View.

Confessional #25776576

I’m so fucking over having to homeschool my kindergartener. He’s 5 for god sake! The whole point of kindergarten is to get them used to being in a classroom environment. Something that can’t be achieved through a fucking computer!

Introvert, extrovert — everyone’s just trying to survive, right? But it’s important to know that just because everyone is home doesn’t mean introverts are “okay.” They’re not getting the alone time they need to re-energize and re-group, damn it!

Confessional #25976206

About to have a breakdown. I’m an introvert & my friend needs constant attention. I told her that I just can’t do it today because there’s nowhere to go for me to cool off since everything is closed, so I asked her if we can put off our regular FaceTime call. She didn’t take it well.

Bottom line: human connection is important. A virtual human connection isn’t all it’s cracked up to be as a substitute for the real thing.