The Pandemic Letters
I’m Kathy Paintner. I’m the writer of the letters you are about to read. These letters are little blips of my feelings about the pandemic.
I’m Kathy Paintner. I’m the writer of the letters you are about to read. These letters are little blips of my feelings about the pandemic.
Dear Mom,
I’m sorry that I didn’t get to see you before you died. I know it sounds a little bit morbid, but that is the way I feel right now. Because with everything going on we’re kind of mixed up. I mean we’re doing the best we can, we’re doing what the state says, but I’m confused. I’m confused because all other people are not following the rules of Oregon or any state they’re in—(Sigh)—because they feel like after certain people travel for Christmas, that the Pandemic numbers will go up again. My roommates are confused because they can’t see Santa at the mall. I know that sounds weird. The other day I had to give my sister some important papers and all I wanted to do was hug my niece Amanda—(Sigh)—and before that, my other roommate would watch the news and get upset. I’m also confused about the orders Kate Brown gives because they’re so widespread. Larry told me this this morning that they closed down programs like ours and like yours, but liquor stores, pawnshops and little stores are open.
Dear Reader,
There is another virus out there that looks like the same virus but a different strain and it makes me unhappy. Even though I got my roommates to join in on my zoom calls, we all want to go back to work and back to our lives. I’m really frustrated that the second virus has come to pass and they think that the two shots will cure both viruses. I’m also disappointed in the vaccine, and the way it’s being distributed to each state. They said they could make up their own minds about how to distribute it, and we’re in the low count of how many people got the shots. They do need some help. We’re signed up and we haven’t heard anything.
Dear Reader,
I am confused because all the stations say something different and I wish they could all settle on one thing. I’m also frustrated because one station says “surplus” while the other station says they have to pick the people that they are going to vaccinate. Even though I have roommates, and even though I have classes on zoom, I am very bored and disgusted with the whole thing, and that’s the truth. But, I also feel like if somebody tells me “be patient” again, I am going to flip out. Nevertheless, I’ll be patient. But it is really frustrating. When somebody tells me to “be patient” I want to scream “When! When is this going to be over?” I want to go back and see people.
Dear Reader,
I’m anxious to get back to life because on zoom it is a totally different experience, and with my other program it isn’t the same as actually doing it in person. We actually do the art and actually do the cooking. I miss most of what we used to do, especially social comp, where Steve would come up with situations and we would try to solve them. Now he’s just reading a book. I also miss the outings that both afternoon and morning groups went out on. I’m not going to say its boring or anything but it’s totally different. We can’t do the same things that we did when we were actually present.
Dear Reader,
I got my first shot on Monday and all I had was a sore arm. Now I’m getting my second shot on Friday the 12th, and I hear it is supposed to be more, not lethal, but more than a sore arm. It gives you some side effects, more than the first one, but I don’t want to discourage people from getting it. I’ll let you guys know in a future issue how my second shot goes. I would like to hear from you about what your experience has been during the pandemic.*
*To contact Kathy about your own pandemic experiences, email [email protected]