Not Everyone is ready to fully rip the band-aide off.

I never thought that as we come to re-open into a “post pandemic world” that I would be more scared than excited. Trust me I am very glad to be vaccinated, and for the world “to get back on its feet” ; as people keep saying. I am glad my children will be able to get back to school, play dates, and hug family members because apparently before it was a big ole hugfest over here. But I would like to remind everyone, with all the fun stuff opening back up; there are still a lot of unknowns. I won’t touch too much on the medical issues here because I am not a doctor, not even a wikipedia doctor.

However, as this virus is new, we have people still dealing with the effects of having Covid and; we have no idea how long that will last. We still have variants, people still not vaccinated, age restrictions, health issues, and many other concerns. So when someone chooses to wear or not wear a mask, be respectful. There are going to be a million reasons people are ready for some things, and not ready for others. Your former gym friend may not be ready to get back into the gym yet, but may love to have an outdoor fire pit, so try that as you slowly start to emerge.

Getting into the more personal stuff, I have been very open that during this pandemic time I have been unemployed (gasp, what! You mean this lady was stealing our government money!!!! Yea yea, save it, I know this is exactly how the system is set up). The job I love is still closed until they deem it a safe return. Please spare me the “get a job” line because I will, when I can be paid a living wage for what I want, not when a random corporation wants to pay me nothing to suck my life and mental health while I don’t even have child care. Also those that know me know how much I volunteer for my children, for this town, trying to change things. If you have worked all the pandemic that is awesome. If you have worked all pandemic and were miserable or taken advantage of, I believe you should advocate for yourself in your job, you are worth so much more.

That brings us to the issues of money, which seems like a very touchy subject on the interwebs these days. Some people that are currently working hate when they see anyone considered “poor” spending money, or asking for money. Some states are already cutting off Unemployment Benefits, to incent people to go back to work . This doesn’t really work, especially when you have a family to feed. Don’t get me started on the stimulus payment complaints. It is used to STIMULATE the economy, so yes, if someone wants to purchase something instead of hiding it away in their Tempurpedic mattress, that is not your business.

It is also no one’s business if a person of a lower economic status buys a cup of coffee, takes their family to dinner, or even goes on vacation. There has been a lot of elitist judgment out there currently, it needs to stop. By the way, there is nothing wrong with being wealthy, with having lots of money. The only thing wrong is being an awful person, wealthy or poor.

One big part of this divide of wealthy and poor can be seen in the housing shortage that is on our horizon right now. Housing in Melrose has become so crazy, to put it mildly. We also have very little affordable housing and need to focus on how we can improve that, especially with evictions looming or starting already.

When I set out writing this article that was my main focus, but per my style I went on a tangent. I will be doing a second article if you are still with me here, on housing, evictions, and rental assistance and how that has played out during this pandemic. Until then, be kind, stay safe, wash your hands.