Covid Quarantine, Day 13: I Am A Mere Mother
Social media can be pretty rage inducing, but this post resonated with me:
I find myself putting even more pressure on myself as a mother since I’m unemployed. There’s this lurking feeling that because I’m not working, I should be spending every waking moment trying to teach my kid something. Sticking to that color-coded schedule shouldn’t be so hard.
Then I’m reminded of a teeny tiny fact: I am not a trained school teacher. It’s unreasonable to expect I can just pick up where the teacher left off, and get immediate, amazing results.
So far, my son is regularly eating, sleeps through the night, and continues to live his life. He may not always do what I say, but occasionally he surprises me by applying what I taught him during unexpected moments. This is good enough for me.
Bright Spots This Week
I was happy to be invited to some online hangouts with two different groups of friends. It made isolation bearable, and was a much needed break from being in caregiver mode 24/7.
I’m used to being the outsider that drops in via video during my friends’ annual holiday get-togethers. Despite the circumstances, it was nice to catch up with everyone outside of the holidays, and not having FOMO since everyone’s at home!
So… How About That Tiger King?
Despite being home all the time and not working, I still find it challenging to binge watch anything right now. This is partially because of my son – you really can’t leave him alone for more than a few minutes without him wreaking havoc.
I usually have a 2-3 hour window at night to do whatever I wasn’t able to get to during the day: emails, job applications, paying bills. And once I feel I’ve consumed enough pop culture and terrifying coronavirus updates, it is only then that I am ready to watch anything.
I’m 3 episodes in on Tiger King. Here are my initial thoughts:
SWEET JESUS, THESE BIG CAT OWNERS NEED TO SEE A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL RIGHT AWAY.
I don’t see the appeal of owning a lion, tiger, or other breed of big cat. While these big cat owners have unique personalities, they (specifically, Joe and Carole) have clearly experienced trauma early in life.
Unfortunately, it appears as if this trauma led them to where they are now, and is partially why they treat people the way they do. In my opinion, their behavior is a cry for help.
IF I EVER HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUY A HOME, I WILL ASK MY REAL ESTATE AGENT IF THERE ARE ANY NEIGHBORS THAT OWN EXOTIC PETS.
If any of these wildlife end up getting loose, it quickly becomes a public safety issue, and rarely ends well as law enforcement would likely have to kill the animal.
There is no way I will risk living near someone whose pet can maul or kill me.
I DON’T UNDERSTAND CAROLE.
She positions herself as someone who is against big cats in captivity, yet that is exactly what her “sanctuary” does! It’s one thing to rehabilitate the cats and return them to the wild in Africa, but it appears she keeps them forever. There are still cages in her sanctuary; they just happen to be bigger than her competitors.
JOE EXOTIC IS INSANE, BUT HIS TROLL GAME IS 💯
I mean… his music video with the Carole lookalike?! It’s impressive. It’s art.
And so ends week 2 of quarantine. Hope you had some bright spots despite all the doom and gloom.