Please. Be Kind.

I’ve debated about this post. But here goes…

I’ve seen at least eight friends post about all the people they’ve seen out and about the past few days. Pictures of cars in parking lots. Complaints of all the folks they see at the grocery store. Criticism of drivers on the roads. Each of these posts condemn everyone else not staying at home.

Seriously??

If you took the picture, saw the cars, or witnessed the people in the stores, you were not home either!! Those cars and people were not in your living room!!

You may have had a valid reason to be out. So may the other folks

Please, my friends. Especially you who profess Christ. Stop judging!! Stop condemning. Stop posting divisive comments. Stop acting as if you know better than all those people you are condemning while you are not staying home. You cannot know why they are out. You cannot know who is on their way to an essential job. You are not judge.

Why is it okay for you to be out, but not that single mom who has been to three stores to get what her kids need? They usually eat two meals a day at school. Now they are home. She may be trying to find healthy food she can afford.

Why is it okay for you to go on a run by yourself while your husband stays home with your kids but not okay for that mom to take her kids for a drive? Maybe her husband works at the hospital and is home trying to get some sleep before his night shift. How can you know why she is in her car with her kids?

Why is it completely wrong for that man to enter the store? The same store you just went to. Who are you to decide he is wrong to not use online ordering or curbside pickup? Maybe he’s there to pick up his insulin and needles. Maybe he has had trouble with his prescription and must speak to the pharmacist to try to clear things up.

What about the young woman who suffers from depression and anxiety? Is she wrong to go for a drive rather than isolating and falling further into despair? You can go for a bike ride, but she is wrong to go for a car ride?? Who made you judge of everyone else in your community?

And that family with eight people in the backyard? Do they live together? Did a young couple move home with their child after his job was considered non-essential? Have you asked them?

Yes, I am staying home. I am sheltering in place. So is our housemate. I only go out a couple times each week to pick up to go orders from locally owned restaurants. Trying to help them stay afloat.

My husband, however, is out multiple times each day. You may have seen his car on the road or in a parking lot. He may be one of those you’ve judged.

He drives to work every day. His company is considered essential. They make equipment used in hospitals. He drives to and from work. He drives home at lunch to avoid eating out. And to check on me. Is he “completely wrong” to be on the roads??

He does our shopping. He also has done shopping for other families. He went to the store multiple times this weekend to pick up food and meds needed by others. He tried to find a freezer for one family and a dishwasher for another. Of his three store trips today, only once for us. Tonight we drove to take dinner to one of his engineers who is working from home due to his wife’s health issues. Ron shops for supplies for the office so others don’t have to go out. Is he condemned for not doing curbside for all those others??

He also goes for a long walk everyday. Sunshine, exercise, and fresh air are vital for his mental and physical health. Should he be fined for following the local law which allows for outside exercise? Our property is on a road with no shoulder and no sidewalk. Should he be judged because he drives to the trailhead to walk on safe trails?

I do not know who is essential. I do not know why that person or this one is out and about. It’s not my job to judge. Nor is it yours.

As one friend said, we need to love each other through this.

kindness, quarantine


KathleenBDuncan

I write about my life, my journey, my family, and my faith. I am wife to one, mom to seven with one in heaven, and grandmother to many. I am also full-time caregiver to my stepmom E who suffers from dementia due to Alzheimer’s. In my spare time I like to read, travel, crochet, bike, and play with our black pug Molly.

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