Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Love Labors


Today has been a relatively busy day. I made the shrimp salad for Hank and wish I'd taken a picture. It was a pretty thing. I cooked enough shrimp and pasta for us to have a salad tonight ourselves. I also made a loaf of sourdough which is in the oven right now. Hank and Rachel came over for a birthday visit and to pick up the salad and some vegetables from the garden and a jar of pickled green beans. We visited in the kitchen for awhile. They wore their masks and I stood across the kitchen from them. So that was nice.
I swear though- not being able to hug my child on his birthday when he's standing right there is just crazy. I remember forty-four years ago when he was born and as soon as they let us out of the hospital which was just a few hours after he was born, you couldn't have pried that baby off of me with a crowbar. The main reason I did not want a hospital birth is because the thought of being separated from my child was intrinsically wrong to me. And in those days, separating the mother and baby was the routine. "Bonding" was a word that only crazy hippies and Lamaze teachers talked about. Of course most mothers had been drugged to the point of being unable to safely hold their newborns in those days so there was that.
BUT, I wasn't having it and I hardly put Hank down for months after his birth. I was horribly selfish and could barely stand to let anyone else hold him. His father left to go on tour a few days after he was born and so for a few weeks it was me and Hank and honestly, that was fine with me. My heart and arms were full.
So, having Hank here and not being able to hug him, to kiss him, was a sort of torture. I sure would love to have hugged Rachel too.
Sigh...

Which sort of brings us to the emails I sent to Ms. Karen Purser. I wrote the first one last night. It went like this:

Ms. Purser- You came to my house today to ask for my vote and the very first thing I noticed is that you were not wearing a mask nor did you seem to be concerned about keeping six feet of space between us. 
I see that you are a nurse. I am too. I am sixty-five years old and have not kissed nor hugged my grandchildren since March 17th and I do not appreciate it when someone blithely ignores the recommendations for keeping us all safe from covid 19 because I have made deep sacrifices in doing my best to keep all of us safe. 
You may want to consider this fact when you knock on people's doors. 
Mary Moon

And she had replied by this morning. 

Ms. Moon,

Thank you for taking the time to let me know your COVID19 concerns. You are correct - I did not don a mask.  The COVID virus is so small that any mask other than a N95 is useless in preventing the virus from permeating the mask barrier.  The typical hospital masks that most people are wearing function more to relieve fears than stop infection.  Also, I'm healthy and asymptomatic.  I did, however, have a bottle of Purell in my back pocket that I used per the guidelines.  You and I both know that the most significant barrier to preventing illness is hand hygiene.  Lastly, since I was outside your residence where the air flow is neither impeded nor recycled, the risk of infection was further reduced.  I'm sorry you feel that I "blithely ignored the recommendations" and hope that this additional information helps put you at ease.

Blessings,
Karen Purser
Candidate for School Board District 4

That "Blessings" almost made me puke. So I wrote her back:

No. It doesn't put me at ease. If you are on my porch, knocking on my door, standing in my doorway and I open the door, you are going to be less than six feet away from me. And masks DO indeed help prevent the spread of the virus. They protect others. And how am I to know that you had a bottle of Purell in your back pocket? 
And as we all know, being healthy and asymptomatic does not mean that you are not unwittingly shedding the virus. 
If for no other reason than to show that you are aware of public safety and that you care about the protection of others, any of whom could be elderly, immunocompromised, ill themselves, or in any number of ways more vulnerable than others, it might be a good idea to wear a mask. 

I obviously failed to communicate a message that she could relate to because this is what she sent in return:

Ms. Moon,

Thank you for your input.

Have a blessed day.

Of course last night I did a search for her on FB. Either she hardly ever uses it or else she's scrubbed everything she's posted since about 2017. Of those posts she had shared a post written by someone I actually knew about praying the rosary for the unborn at abortion clinics and on his knees before bed, a recommendation for a company that sells pro-USA clothing, and some jingoistic anthem about people who desecrate the flag by taking a knee to protest. 
I think we know what this all means. 
And she probably believes that Covid is a conspiracy to take our freedoms away from us. 

Yes. This is just the person I would like to see making decisions about Jefferson County schools. 
Also? My first reaction to her, which was BAD VIBE was accurate. 

I think I'm focusing all of my anger about everything that's going on on her. 
She seems like such a perfect example of a clueless self-righteous white person who doesn't give a shit about the health and wellbeing of others. And if she didn't vote for Trump, I'll eat my hat. 
And honestly, I need to let it go. She's ignorant, obviously, and nothing I could say to her is gong to change her mind or her heart and I just hope that she doesn't get elected. 

In sweeter news, I got that picture up there of Darla and Susie when I went out to check for eggs. Susie is donating her eggs to Darla. How generous of her! How selfless! 
Haha. 
She's thinking, "Thank god I don't have the urge to sit here in this hot nest box for a month, going without food and water. But hey, Darla! You can have my eggs to sit on and raise! Okay. Gotta go eat some tasty corn and drink some sweet, sweet water!"

Another thing I did today was to cut out a pattern to make Levon another dress. 


The material was some that I bought before he was born to make newborn gowns with but never did. It's a completely impractical print with all of that white in it for a boy who loves nothing more than to shovel dirt but Jessie can bleach it. I also oiled and lubed and dusted my old Singer. A labor of love. 

Which is not a bad theme for today, it being Hank's birthday and everything. 
There is nothing sweeter or more rewarding. 
I believe I will now go lovingly chop up some vegetables and make another salad. 
I'll tell you one thing that Ms. Purser got right- I am blessed beyond measure. 

Love...Ms. Moon







16 comments:

  1. Happy birthday dear Hank! I know it's torture to not hug him and Rachel. Mrs. Purser's email was rather dismissive, reading between the lines. I'm glad you responded a second time. As for Levon's dress, the print has planes--machinery! win-win.

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  2. Mrs. Purser, needs a laxative and an education, ironic that she is running to help make the schools better. Trump's America right there on your doorstep, You were kind and sincere to email her a second time. I would not be as patient or adult about her being such an idiot.
    Happy Birthday to dear Hank , and may he have hundreds more. I ache like you ache for a hug from the kids. Saw a special on NOVA last night about covid19- this virus is not going anywhere any time soon.

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  3. your bad vibe radar was right on point..... I trust that *little voice* always. And your mails to her were also right on point.....she's clueless and not worth thinking about now and certainly not vote worthy. And she gives any nurse I know a bad name- shame on her. Happy Birthday to Hank.....unfortunately minus hugs but I'm sure your/his shrimp salad was to die for
    Susan M
    Susan M

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  4. Happy Birthday to your wonderful son! Have a sweet night.

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  5. Happy birthday to your son! Yes, very hard not to touch.

    And that candidate lady clearly has a lot of time on her hands if she gets into email correspondence with someone who is clearly not going to vote for her.

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  6. I'm laughing a whole lot about the egg donation affair. I wish I could see one actual transfer.
    Happy Birthday to Hank.

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  7. Happy birthday Hank! How very sweet of miss Susie. That picture makes me smile.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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  8. Karen is wrong, wearing a mask will help prevent her from spreading the virus, a N95 mask helps to prevent her from getting the virus from others. Fucking hell, I hate stupid.

    Happy birthday to Hank!

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  9. Happy Birthday Hank! I hope he had a wonderful birthday. Those chickens are just amazing the way they care for and help one another! Us women have to stick together - one way or another!

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  10. Happy Birthday to Hank! Shrimp salad sounds delicious, he's lucky to have his mama to cook for him.

    I love the emails you sent to the abhorrent Ms. Purser. I hope she loses.

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  11. I loved the exchange between you and Karen Purser. The next step is a mud wrestling bout - wearing masks of course. I would put money on you beating the blessings (or perhaps something else!) out of Ms Purser.

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  12. well, good for you for trying anyway. but yeah, you aren't going to get through because she's RIGHT and facts and caring for others be damned. If she's a nurse I feel sorry for any of the poor souls that came under her care. and really, I find that whole blessings and blessed thing to be arrogant. 'have a blessed day'. WTF does that even mean?

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  13. Well done for writing to that weird person. Nurse? I find it disheartening when people think that sciences is something to have an opinion about.

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  14. It's interesting that your instinctive reaction to Mr. Purser, right off the bat, has been borne out by her responses to you!

    Honestly, I wouldn't get into politics for anything in the world.

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    Replies
    1. How about five million bucks and a mansion in the Surrey hills Steve? Right next door to Eric Clapton.

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  15. that's the kind of exchange i make public on my facebook......

    happy birthday to hank, may we all be able to hug again soon.

    xxalainaxx

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