It’s not about us.

I miss going out. There, I said it. As I’ve gotten older I’ve become just about as much of an introvert and homebody as you can get. When all this started, I felt like I was in my prime. Staying home all the time? Having my husband home from work for weeks on end and having our family together? Perfect. And it’s been nice, it really has. But now, I’m tired of it.

My girls had their first birthday, and we didn’t get to have a party with our close friends and family. I don’t get to take my babies out and show them off. That new park in our area with a splash pad for kids? We haven’t seen it. I want them to experience new things, get used to being around people, go to the playground and show them the swings. I want to take them to target...MAN, DO I MISS TARGET.

But we don’t do any of these things. We don’t do these things because it’s not about us. We’re a high risk family, which makes things a bit nerve wracking, but that alone isn’t the reason we stay home.

We stay home because of the Grandparents who could literally be putting their lives on the line just to go to the grocery store. We stay home because of the people with weak immune systems, who, if exposed, could end up in the ICU for months. We stay home for the pregnant woman who just wants her child to arrive safely. We stay home because we know of people who had NO existing health conditions and STILL lost their lives. We stay home because of the mother who is now a widow, raising her one year old child alone because somebody somewhere didn’t take this virus seriously. We stay home because even if the majority of deaths are the elderly or people with prior health conditions we realize that they are just as important as the rest of us, so we know that that isn’t an excuse.

And if do we have to go out, we wear masks.

It’s not about our political beliefs or a reason to start a debate on Facebook. It’s about putting others before ourselves and knowing we did everything we could to help keep each other safe, so that one day we CAN go to the playground, throw birthday parties, and have family reunions.

So PLEASE, for the sake of others, stay home. Wear the mask. Stay six feet away. The worst that can happen is you save a life. So why not?