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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.

Walking on a tightrope about a thousand foot gorge. That’s what it feels like. I am worried about what it’s going to look like when school starts. I am a teacher. Every single day there are different hints. Hints only. No one has come up with a real concrete plan. They’ll SAY they have shared plans. But really? 2 pages in an email is a plan for dealing with this? So today the TEA (State of Texas Education Authority) put out their “plan”. It is not a plan. It is a statement that schools will start in person. Parents can opt out. No accommodations for teachers unless they have verified disabilities. Masks are required, but not for kids under 10. I teach first grade. So, potentially, I have a full class of kids with no masks. TEA says they ordered masks. I did the math. They ordered enough for every student in the state for a 10 day supply. Hardly adequate. Everyone needs to be tested. Is that daily? Weekly? One time only? Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not adequate. And we are in the midst of a huge surge. 12,408 cases. 2,000 more since Thursday. Less than one week. In our county. That’s not even the state. 482 more cases TODAY. 151 deaths. 18 more since last Thursday. 89 on ventilators 73 new hospital admissions today Our 7 day moving average is 74.8 We have gone over the number of 70 for overwhelming our hospitals. This is very exhausting and upsetting. We are all tired of this. We all wish this wasn’t happening. But pretending it’s not happening actually doesn’t help.