Grand Thoughts: School is starting, but this is not a normal fall

Fall is just around the corner. The new school year has just begun, and I’m already seeing online advertising for Halloween and Christmas.

It all seems so normal, but it’s not, and it won’t be for months, maybe a year or longer. We’re living in a vicious, deadly pandemic. The goal in my family is to stay safe, despite obstacles.

My husband, Hank, works through the week. As a lawyer, he meets with clients and goes to courts all over the county. He’s careful, though. He will not converse with anyone not wearing a mask.

My youngest daughter is a high school teacher at a private school that opened last week. Students and teachers are required to wear masks, no exceptions.

Nope, it’s not a normal fall.

Three of my grandchildren – Tilleigh, 13, Evie, 10, and William, 7 – live next door with their mother, my oldest daughter, Kacee, who has taken a leave of absence from her job so her children can take virtual classes at home. I also have two granddaughters in California – Charleana, 3, and Misha, 1 – who are quarantining with their mom, my daughter-in-law, Bonnie. Their father, my youngest son, Kit, is a scientist involved in COVID-19 research.

The pandemic is hard on everyone, but to ignore it is just plain stupid. Somewhere along the line, wearing a mask became a political statement to some people. It’s not. Wearing a mask shows you care about yourself and others. It’s a statement of common sense.

Still, there are people who believe the pandemic is a farce. I can’t begin to comprehend how anyone can ignore science, the daily toll of deaths and the fact that many of us most likely know someone who has it. This newspaper reported recently that Tennessee state Rep. Mike Carter is in the intensive care unit of Erlanger hospital fighting a coronavirus infection. Do they think the newspaper, the hospital, the doctors are lying?

When the pandemic will be under control is not known at this time. What is known is that it won’t be over anytime soon.

So what do we do? We learn to live with it, and living with it means being safe. Stay away from crowds, practice social distancing and always wear a mask. Help stop the spread.

My husband and I have the good fortune of living next to our daughter and her three children. Unlike many grandparents, we get to see our grandchildren nearly every day. The majority of our interactions are outdoors. Though the kids are basically quarantined, they are around a limited group of people, social distancing, of course. Regardless, there’s always a chance of contracting the virus, so we try to social distance when around them, though I sometimes forget and, out of habit, grab a kid to hug or kiss. It’s so hard not to.

My daughter and three grandchildren were tested last week and, thankfully, got negative results.

My teacher/scientist daughter, Karah, and her boyfriend, Rivers, who works in the restaurant industry, have tested negative on several occasions.

These are the people my husband and I are around the most. They come to our house for cookouts (always outside), to swim, play and just sit around and talk – all while social distancing (other than my occasional slip-ups).

I FaceTime with my family in California nearly every day. When they left our house after Christmas last year, we had plans of seeing one another in April. Just a month after they left, my son learned about the virus spreading in America. In February, he told me how to prepare for a pandemic and what would happen. It was scary, but I listened and even took notes. Every single thing he said has come true.

Though my youngest grandchildren can’t comprehend everything about a pandemic (it’s hard for us adults), Charleana does understand why we can’t visit (it helps that her father is a scientist), but Misha has no clue. I’m convinced the 1-year-old thinks her grandmother is a phone. Whenever she sees me, her little face lights up like a Christmas tree, and her little hand goes out to grab the phone (a.k.a. me). She’s so happy to see and talk to me, and her joy makes me smile every single time.

Though I’m down-on-my-knees thankful for the opportunity of having FaceTime, seeing these little girls who live across the country makes me want to be with them so much that it hurts. Sometimes I cry after a phone call because I don’t know when I’ll get to see them again.

Here’s what I do know: Two of my children are scientists with doctorates in biology. Both know that scientists are working around the clock to discover a vaccine and that it takes time. The dedicated professional researchers are doing what they do to help their fellow man, not because of greed or politics.

I have faith in them, too. I never developed polio because of scientists. I remember as a child standing in line at my school with my brother to take the polio vaccine. My parents trusted science, and so do I. Since then, I’ve had every kind of vaccine recommended.

One day in the near future, I’ll be standing in line eagerly awaiting the COVID-19 vaccine. I’ll wear a mask until it’s safe not to, and I’ll educate myself, read, listen and pay attention to science.

Scientists aren’t looking for votes, people. They’re looking for cures.

Email Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com.