On my first day back to work after the holiday break, I had barely sat down at my desk before my phone started blowing up.
“This morning’s remote learning is going really well…” one friend texted, alongside a picture of her 6-year-old son pointing a toy bow and arrow at her as she was trying to check work emails.
Another friend sent me a stream of angry emojis explaining that her son had been exposed and daycare was now closed until January 13. He had been there for less than an hour. Did this mean she had to pull her older kid out from school? Probably. Maybe. She wasn’t sure.
And these were messages from parents who had decided to risk exposure by sending their kids into school. Another friend texted me late last night saying she was going to keep her 2-year-old home from daycare for the month of January until “things calmed down.” When I asked her what that looked like, she replied that she wasn’t actually sure. “I feel like I’m going insane,” she added. And she’s not alone.