52 more cases of COVID 19 in Dona Ana County yesterday. 20 NMSU athletes and trainers tested positive, causing a shut down of summer practices of several sports. Hospitals are reaching (or have reached) capacity in Texas and in Arizona. Harold can not get needed cancer surgery scheduled in El Paso because of the COVID numbers in the hospitals there. El Paso has pushed back the opening of school buildings until September, even though school will start in early August. I'm expecting a similar announcement for schools in Dona Ana County - if not all of NM - to come any time. And President Trump announces that he wants all schools to open normally at their regularly scheduled time. No reduced class sizes. No social distancing. No face coverings. Kids need schools, parents need schools, business needs it's babysitters (schools). More important to cram all those kids into schools, where they will expose each other, and be exposed to every illness that is going around, including COVID 19.
There are stories going around that the young are less likely to catch it. I'm wondering if not as many kids have caught it because WE KEPT THEM OUT OF SCHOOL!!! Even if the kids aren't as likely to get sick, what about the ones who do. What about the parents/grandparents/medically fragile siblings they take it home to. What about those of us who are teachers. What about those of us who are teachers, who also happen to have one or more of the conditions that make COVID more likely to become serious or deadly. Teachers like me. Trump, and his minions? (questionable) cohort? (maybe) evil overseers? (ah, that seems closer) the 1% - who's kids won't be going to public schools anyway - yeah, them. They don't care whether the kids get sick (the kids aren't voting OR paying taxes) and they don't care whether I (or any other teacher) gets sick. We are replaceable. We are of no consequence.
I hate to be ranty, but it does hit me where I live. It's like they think we don't WANT to go back to school, to have everything like it was. We DO. But it isn't. You know when it comes down to it, how many student deaths are too many in one school year? How many teachers need to die? Is this the way we "make way" for the new teachers? (There have been teacher shortages in so many places all ready, we don't need to "make way.") Our promised 4% (one of the highest raises I can remember in my 25 years of teaching) is back down to 1% (oh yeah, that's more like what I remember). I want to trust my district, and my state governor NOT to listen to Trump, or follow his wishes, but if they do, I will not. That will be my line that will not be crossed. I'm having a hard enough time feeling safe with the plan that is in place now.
In the mean time, I keep on keeping on. Cleaning up the kitchen, vacuuming, going for walks. This evening my brother and I walked through my neighborhood, and saw a hawk up in the top of a mulberry tree.
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| Beautiful hawk |
Someone driving down the street saw us looking at it, and taking photos with our phones and went around the block to get another look. A couple of smaller birds were harassing it, though, and it flew off.
I'm still working on my cross stitch project, and another panel is almost complete. I am ready to make more masks, and get myself, Raine, and my friend's daughter all ready for the new school year.
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