‘I’m scared as can be about him being back in school’
“Scott is a math teacher at Sterling (High School). And being completely honest, with COVID-19 still out there, I’m scared as can be about him being back in school.
“I’m having to put way too much trust and faith in other people. Generally, I’m not very comfortable with that. When something really matters, it’s do it yourself if you want it done right. So when you have to rely on hundreds of faculty and staff plus all the students to stay safe, it exponentially increases the anxiety level.
“Getting him ready looked way different this year. Normally, we’d be up there two to three days setting up and decorating. But this year he’s keeping most everything packed to keep it clean.
“We’re sewing washable MERV filters into his masks, then hanging them by the door. He’ll use a new mask every day. He’ll be coming into the house through the garage instead of the front door. We have a little decontamination station set up out there so he can Lysol his shoes and keys, and use hand sanitizer before he touches the door knob and comes in. He’ll drop his mask and clothes into a special laundry basket, and put on a robe to wear upstairs where he goes right into the shower.
“We bought an insulated lunch bag for him to take to school, because you don’t really want to go out to eat and come back covered in who knows what. We bought a microwave and a refrigerator for his room so he doesn’t have to enter another teacher’s classroom or the lounge. He has a large reusable water bottle with a screw-top lid, since straws and Yeti cups aren’t safe anymore. And we purchased two air purifiers to hopefully keep the air he’s breathing in the classroom cleaner.
“All of this is super depressing. I’m dying for a vaccine. I’m dying for these numbers to fall. I’m ready to get our lives back. I think everybody just wants normalcy at this point.”
— Kristin Sickle
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