It just got personal
Covid hits home
Apologies for the light sends these past few days. The truth is: Covid hit home.
Nope, I didn’t catch the Omicron, family members are healthy… but Covid impacted us in a way that might change the trajectory of our lives for the next few years.
We have a Brady Bunch family Jenny & I. We have 8 kids between us. 3 of them are ours (ages 4, 3, and 4 months). She has two daughters 18 and 13 and I have 3 older kids - the youngest is 18. So 4 kids are usually traipsing about the halls getting ready for school — but all of that changed this week.
Our 13-year-old’s private school sent us a note that she would have to quarantine at home for the rest of 2021. Why? Because someone in the school musical had tested positive for Covid. Because our daughter is unvaccinated she had no recourse - she would miss the rest of school in December including the Christmas concert. She was devastated.
Of course, her friends who are vaccinated can go about their merry way and back to school.
Of course, the student who contracted Covid was FULLY VACCINATED himself.
Of course, test-to-stay was not an option per policy because the students weren’t masked at the play practice.
Of course, no one is sick.
Of course, NONE OF THIS MAKES ANY SENSE.
I was livid — and I still am. This is a private school here in San Diego and the only high school to remain open the entire 2020-21 school season. Jenny has sent her daughters there for 12+ years and so it’s devastating because we will have to part ways from them. Their mission lacks courage and is not aligned with our values.
Why is it that I have to FIGHT with the school to keep my daughter in classes!?
On TOP of that drama the state licensing board is coming down hard on our kids’ pre-school. The director of this pre-school (which has been operating for 38 years!) is determined to fight to keep masks off of our kids. She knows the learning detriment they cause. (Try teaching a 4-year-old how to pronounce the letter “H” through a mask!).
The licensing folks made a surprise visit to the school. In a proud-papa moment apparently they asked aloud to the kids why so many of them weren’t wearing a mask. My 4-year-old replied: “Because my dad filled out a form and I don’t have to and he doesn’t believe in them!”
Well, that didn’t go down well with those folks and they are currently threatening to shut down the school.
I’ve been working with the school to raise funds and find lawyers to fight this. In the end, we are out of time. The kids must have a legit medical note attached to their file to avoid masking.
When we went to the pediatrician to ask for it and got this reply:
Why do I have to fight with my pediatrician to stop people from masking my toddlers!
I have 3 generations here in California, Jenny’s California roots go back to the 1800s.
We have to leave.
Where should we go?
Florida! We just signed a contract for a home near Tampa yesterday!!! I have lived in Washington state for my entire 50 years and we are finished. My daughter who is a therapist for at risk teens is forced to wear a mask while counseling kids who are contemplating suicide. And if I see one more person by themselves in the car with a mask I think my head will pop off.. The insanity is overwhelming here. She has accepted a job in Florida and we have purchased a home there and will slowly transition to be Floridians. We are devastated that Washington state has gone crazy but so excited to live in a Free State! Come join us!!
I hate all these fukkin assholes with a passion that burns so hot, it would burn all of the to a crisp if they came near me. My kids and grandkids are in Canada. You can imagine what that is like. Makes San Diego look like libertarian heaven in comparison.
Anyway, I live in Central Florida, half way between Tampa and Orlando, town called Winter Haven. Real estate prices have risen substantially but are still only a fraction of California's. The weather is awesome 6 months of the year. The rest of the time you're an A/C prisoner. The biggest asset here are the people: smiling, relaxed, no Karens, mostly polite. Great places to eat within 15-20 miles and some nice places locally as well. Simply living in a state where Ron DeSantis sets the tone is great.
One more thing: I was born and raised in Czechoslovakia, where my parents' roots went back centuries (I believe my father's people settled there in the 17th century, migrating from Holland) I have lived in 5 different countries before settling in the US. My point: while emotional attachment to your roots is not to be discounted and uprooting carries with it a psychological price, it does not trump your natural birthright of freedom. California is now stealing that freedom brazenly and perhaps it's time to give two middle fingers
We follow each other on Twitter. If you'd like more Central Florida info, I'm your man, feel free to dm. Courage!!