Grief

On exhausted brains, the Delta variant, and learning to cope during this season

“We are apparently not good decision makers,” she told me. This in reference to trying to find a suitable last-minute solution for her children’s school situation because the counties around us are refusing at least at this point to consider mask mandates for returning to school. Her words struck me and I immediately responded, “It’s not that you’re not good decision makers. You’ve endured 17 months of a global pandemic with small children you're trying to keep safe, and you’re being asked to do the impossible school-wise in a very short window of time, or be faced with giving up a job you love that’s finally offered full-time. There are no great decisions here.” 

And the next thing that struck me about this exchange is that I started the original version of this newsletter with an apology for having been inconsistent these past few months. It’s so easy for me to see how living in these times is wearing on others. The weight, the uncertainty, the frustration and disappointment with our…