Written by Adrian Cohen
Is it just me or is everyone experiencing a surprising surge of anxiety? I’ve spent the last few months patting myself (smugly, my wife just added) on the back for the way I’ve handled my stress levels during this crisis. Back during the March lockdown, I started by monitoring my daily intake of news, I got the kids and family on a tight structure very quickly (actors know about self-structuring a day), and we adhered to all the safety measures without getting too crazy about it -we never got into the package wiping. And yet over the last week I’ve experienced what the New York Times describes as “The Covid Wall.”
For parents it’s clearly related to the return to school, but perhaps there is an innate sense of foreboding for the fall and winter ahead. Countries who have been lauded for their Covid policies (Germany, Japan, Australia and others) are experiencing spikes again. Any kind of easing seems to result in immediate re-infection, and the news of the summer camp in Georgia and other gatherings has all but guaranteed most school districts will be online until…when?
So here’s a rosy prediction and best case scenario: if a vaccine arrives by January, and it’s at least semi-permanent (a big if), we could all be back together in the Spring. I’m putting that date in my calendar in purple ink. Upstage will continue with live online programs and classes until we can be safely be together. We will take care of your kids so you can get your work done. We will continue to teach them Skills for Life. Hold on, we just need to keep going for a few more months. I can feel the Covid wall going away.
