That's a lot better than missing weeks to months for getting wiped out by catching the real virus.

We used Old Dominion for moving cross country once, and they were great. Not sure if they're in either of your areas.

I agree with this, if it's within your budget. Cross country moves are already so stressful, lessening the work is worth the $$ if you can swing it.

I think this would have been better, too. And then schools could have the same benchmark, which I think would motivate a lot of people that don't want their kids masking in schools.

Awesome!!!

Exactly. And in a pandemic... why would we not do something we know is helpful? Particularly something that, for most people, is no big deal.

I'm so sorry. I'm with you, a single mask in a store would feel like freedom. Today I listened to an interview with Rochelle Walensky, the CDC head. Listening to her made me feel more confident about the efficacy of vaccines - like... yes, once vaccinated you actually are safe to do stuff! - so I think I'll feel pretty good about going to stores, masked, or to work. I'm not looking for crowded, indoor, unmasked events, but I never really did that pre-pandemic anyway. When you're all vaccinated, will you feel comfortable hanging out with vaccinated friends? That would make life a lot better.

Well, that's certainly true. The housing market is insane right now. I see it here all the time with out-of-staters buying up even the crappy houses and fixing them up, leaving no houses for people of average means.

Ha! I wish. I guess I should have said, I'd 100% do everything in my power to move.

I'm sorry, this is awful! If I lived where people didn't mask, I'd 100% move.

I'm vaccinated and planning to wear a mask at any indoor place - grocery store, etc - and even outdoors with crowds - like at farmer's markets - for a long, long time. I don't have any plans to stop. However, I'm concerned that people will think I'm an anti-vaxxer. Hopefully they'll just figure I'm extra cautious.

Good question. I'm going to use that one!

Agreed, you're right, celebrate!! Your daughter will remember this. 🙂 Congratulations!

Yes, this! When I don't sleep well, I feel so down. Sometimes I wonder if I'm actually depressed, and then I remember that I haven't been sleeping well. All is better once I finally sleep. Dealing with poor sleep all the time would be so terrible, and I feel for anyone going through it.

Which has been happening over and over this whole time, so I fully agree with you!

I don't know that I've ever said it out loud, but in my head it's: sawls - burr - ee. Edited: This is b/c my mom is from Massachusetts. I got a chuckle out of this:

This is my question, too. 🙂

I think they look great! Very sleek. I love them!

Yeah. It's the worst!

Wow, is that truly legal? They can not get the testing/meeting done in time, so he's no longer eligible? That doesn't sound right. I would think he's still eligible, but the school is just out of compliance with regulations. I would move to a different school, too! That is outrageously incompetent.

Me, too.

A woman who lives in the apartment above my mom's has covid. 😞 She has had one of either Pfizer or Moderna. I'm not sure if she got covid before getting vaccinated, or what, but it's scary to think of getting sick even when you've had the protection of one vaccine. Just goes to show you still have to be careful when partially or fully vaccinated.

I think it's important to consider the emotional/mental/physical needs of the adults in the house, as much as the kids. What would your life feel like with the kids in school all day, or at home all day? I'm picturing working full or nearly full time, doing housework, running errands, taking care of kids before/after school, etc. That's a lot of work, particularly when your family is still grieving. Adding homeschooling to it, even if you outsource a lot, is a lot to manage. I don't have a strong opinion of the benefits of homeschooling vs. the benefits of school. Schools are amazing in many ways. Being at home is, too. So I think I'd just think about what would benefit the adults, too. P.S. - Also, as a teacher in public school, I'd like to say that not all of middle school is horrible! There are many wonderful teachers, wonderful kids, and opportunities. Sure there is bad stuff, too, but I think it really depends on a particular school, and a particular group of kids. Sometimes there is just "that class" that's a tough crowd, but just as often, it's good. Middle school can be fun, too 🙂

In this case, I'd focus my research on the side effects of the vaccine vs. the side effects of Covid. I would take my own personal level of caution out of my judgement, because really, viruses are super super small. A person can be extremely cautious, and still catch Covid. It may be productive to think about whether it would be good to have the protection of the vaccine (with the risk of any vaccine side effects) if you were to catch Covid (with the risk of any Covid side effects). For me personally, I believe that the evidence is clear that the risk of the vaccine is infinitesimally smaller than the risk posed by Covid. I also do not want to pass Covid to someone else who may fare worse than I would with it. And truly, people in the 20s and 30s die from Covid, or have long-hauler problems afterwards. It's perfectly possible that I have some underlying condition that I'm not aware of, but that may impact my ability to deal with Covid.

I guess I would just say, what do you think is more dangerous for you (and others around you) right now: COVID or the vaccine? The followup question would be, Why do you think that? This has been helpful to me during this whole thing.