Mask it or Casket: Parenting in a Pandemic
I saw the pandemic through my daughter’s eyes. One day, she’ll see it through mine.
“Sir, do you have a minute?” the daycare director asked. It was early 2021, and my daughter’s daycare was one of the few open where we lived. My wife and I were “essential personnel,” so we were allowed to have our daughter in daycare while I worked at the health department, and my wife worked in the emergency room.
“Sure,” I said. I wondered what was going on because of her tone. She seemed serious.
“Your daughter has been saying some stuff to her friends in her classroom, and it’s upsetting some of them.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. What did she say?”
“She pointed at a little boy who wasn’t wearing a face mask and said, ‘Mask it or casket!’”
I almost laughed, but I kept it together. I nodded while maintaining as serious a look as possible. “Oh, jeez. I’ll have a chat with her,” I said. The director thanked me. She never knew I had taught my daughter that saying, or that I told her to say it to random people not wearing masks in public when masks were required. If she’s reading this now… I apologize.
While the daycare had a strict face masking policy for adults, it was optional for the…
