I drove to Iowa City Friday for my annual mammogram. It was 16 summers ago that I had a mastectomy after a breast-cancer diagnosis. I was 45. My youngest children were 11 years old. At the time, I hoped to survive 10 years to see them into adulthood.
Yesterday before my appointment, I was asked to complete a survey about my cancer anxiety levels and offered services of support if my diagnosis was causing me distress. As I clicked through the list, I realized how far my cancer worries have receded. On a scale of 0 to 10, how much worry is cancer causing me? Zero. Ahhh.
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EVERYONE at University of Iowa Health Care was masked. (One woman in a waiting room had removed her mask and a nurse immediately instructed her to put it back on.) Entrance to the facility was limited, and patients were not admitted without proof of appointments.
In other words, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics are aware that the COVID virus is alive and thriving in Iowa.
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En route to and from Iowa City, I found the rest of the state to be less aware. I was in the thin minority wearing a mask when I stopped to fuel up or grab a snack.
In March 2020, I felt tense and self-conscious as I entered stores as one of the few masked shoppers.
In August 2021, I feel resigned. Weary. A little irritated.
I'm sad that my weeks of unmasked normalcy were so brief.
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This evening a colleague texted to ask if I'd be masked on our first day back, Aug. 18. She said she would be. "Here we go again," she texted.
Indeed.
But we have an additional layer of concern here in Atlantic. Our district's middle-school building sustained extensive water damage after a roof-top fire 11 days ago. Staff and 330 students have been displaced. The sixth- and seventh-graders will be housed in the alternative-school building. The eighth-grade students will be in our high-school building. This means adding 120 bodies to our building just as the CDC recommends we mask and distance K-12 (while Governor Reynolds has forbidden mask mandates).
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Something positive? My grandson Wolf knows the answer to the urgent question: What does the cow say?
Mooo.
Be well.
Write.
Allison
I've missed your voice, but sad for why you've returned to writing. How can it be day 507? Take care as you head back to school and all the concerns that will come with it. I so wished this school year would be different for educators and students.
ReplyDeleteRamona, thank you for your kind words and continued readership.
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