An Open Appeal To Stay Home

I saw house parties all over Snapchat this weekend.

I know people who think the virus isn't even real.

This may be the most vulnerable I've ever allowed myself to be via my job.

We're living through a strange time right now-- a first for most of us--something we'll remember for the rest of our lives. In a heightened political climate, this virus has everyone feeling SOME type of way. What disturbs me is just how selfish some of us can be.

A week or so after the City of Boise declared a Stay-at-Home order, Governor Brad Little who seemingly was reacting slowly to the global health pandemic announced a similar order that blanketed the entire State of Idaho. It felt quiet out...until I traveled to parts of the Treasure Valley that aren't my normal routine to get some things from my family. It was disturbing how so many parts of our area were still busy out. Traffic on Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard while the streets of downtown Boise were totally empty. Why the difference? Who knows.

What scares me is--I feel not enough people are taking this serious.

When I drove out to Nampa, I left some things for my mom at her home. She left some things for me like any concerned mother would.

I didn't hug my mom. I couldn't hug my mom. That's what made this visit different.

My mom has a compromised immune system--a health issue she has had since 2004. She's tough and it's never gotten in her way-- now, we're all vulnerable to a tough, unfamiliar, terrorizing virus. Life isn't the same for her.

I, like many of my peers, am a healthy, twenty-something. I, like these same peers know that if we contracted the virus, we'd PROBABLY survive. My mother and people like her can't be so sure.

Each summer, my grandmother flies up to Boise from Texas. My grandmother (pictured above) is my best friend, my biggest fan, my ultimate hero. I've been blessed to have such a special relationship with her. She worked harder than most will ever know for her entire life. Her summer visits are the highlight of my year because growing up, I spent, LITERALLY, every single day with her. It's some of my most cherished time. Because of this coronavirus-- there's no summer flight booked and now I'm stuck wondering how I'll see her--or if I even will. If flying isn't safe for her, neither is me flying south with the chance of contracting and spreading it.

I may not get to give my grandma a huge hug this summer and it makes me sick-- it makes me angry.

I have two grandparents in Nampa--ones that have ALWAYS been there for me. Driving to Nampa with my busy schedule can be so difficult sometimes and now, I can't go visit them if I wanted to. They need to be self-quarantined and kept away from this virus. Two of the most loved individuals in my life ate 20-minutes away and going to give them hugs could risk their health. Now, I'm wishing I would have squeezed in every single hug I possibly could have before all of this madness--and that feeling really sucks.

If you can't tell, I love my family and I'm sure you love yours too. We're living in a time when basic interaction, which we have taken for granted for far too long, is now impossible for some of us.

There's nothing responsible about going to a house party.

There's nothing responsible about going to the store...just to go.

It doesn't matter how WE feel...it matters how we look out for one another. You're not sick? Cool. Don't be the reason someone else gets sick.

This virus is real. The spread is real. People are dying. Nobody knows how their body or underlying (known or unknown) health issues will complicate infections. Our selflessness must be real, too.

This plea isn't about me, my family, and MY wants. It's about the basic things we all want, we all should have, and we should all be able to DO for each other. Then again, it's almost more of what we shouldn't do for others.

Please stay home-- for yourself, your family, your loved ones, OUR community, and we'll all get through this together.