Image of a globe wearing a surgical mask

I’m hesitant to even think about the world “post COVID”. This disease doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, but with any luck, the daily impact on our lives will lighten.

Just recently, our governor announced the end of the state’s in-school mask mandate, shifting the decision to individual districts. I watched a video recording of my town’s board of education meeting that included a public forum on whether or not to lift the mask mandate. The town’s anti-maskers attended en mass, shouting things like “COVID is over”.

People yelled; some cried. It made me tense just watching it.

We all wish COVID was over. We’ve been through hell. Most of us have lost someone or know someone who lost someone. We’re heartbroken and tired. We want to go back to normal.

On the day of the school board meeting, 81 people died in the state from COVID. Our county was labeled as an area of high transmission.

Despite these dismal metrics, the parents in support of removing the mask mandate had valid reasons. The post-Christmas COVID “tsunami” is waning. Kids rarely have serious cases if they catch COVID. Many of them already have had covid or are vaccinated or both. Some kids are missing social cues because of the masks. Others simply hate them and hate school because they’re forced to mask all day. Some kids can’t understand their teachers without seeing their mouths.

IMHO, none of those reasons are enough. Why? Masks make the school environment, and by extension the entire community, safer. Period.

I want to keep the mandate until the county has a low level of community transmission with a plan in place to return to mandatory masking if the county moves to moderate, high or very high levels.

Confession time: Despite writing a blog dedicated to nonjudgmental parenting, I’ve been judging other parents for the past two years.

I’ll admit, my family is COVID conservative. Our kids attended virtual school longer than most. Even after returning in-person, they’ve missed countless birthday parties and playdates. We’re vaccinated, boosted, and pro-mask.

We made those choices as a family for various reasons, the biggest being that my husband is a healthcare provider. Our individual actions not only impact us but a community of patients and an entire staff. So, we’ve done whatever we could to minimize risk.

I’m fully aware it takes a certain degree of privilege to even have the choices we’ve made. For that reason, I’ve never judged anyone for sending their kids to school even while I kept mine home.

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Kathryn Hively

I started Just BE Parenting as a way to cope with the anxiety of balancing work, motherhood, and the impulse to write. That’s right, I’m not a parenting expert. I, my kids, and my family are perfectly flawed in MANY ways. As a parent, I’m trying to let go of perfection and just BE the best mother I can for my kids. The ‘B’ and ‘E’ in Just BE Parenting also represents the first letters of my children’s names. What works for me and my family may not work for you and yours. That’s ok! Even if we’re not the same, I hope you’ll find something relatable here.
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