[a moment] to be normal(ish)

photo credit: Epoch Arts

 

[moment 46]

My youngest child, nearly fourteen years old, went to a semiformal dance this past weekend. It was wonderful that they could do something normal-ish for a change. They met up with a friend at the dance and hung out with him and a couple other friends. They danced. They laughed. They only passed out once. 

I'm thankful they got to have a moment of normal(ish). I'm thankful that the compression leggings and corset helped. I'm thankful they had a blast. 

It is sad, however, that they had to be aware of their safety the entire evening - from staying far apart from other teens (and staff) that weren't wearing masks or not wearing them properly to monitoring their body's signals to avoid passing out. 

In a perfect world, others would take into consideration that there might be people around them with medical issues or with family members who are immunocompromised and do their best to keep everyone safe - and to keep a teen from worrying about bringing an illness home to those of us who might not be able to fight it off or even survive it. But this isn't a perfect world, so the reality is that normal(ish) comes with a price. 

For now, we'll take what we can get and see how things pan out. My child will wear a mask that protects them from the people around them, as well as protecting people from whatever illness they might be harboring. They will continue to be the responsible, considerate one, and to seek normal(ish) where they can find it.