I've had to nearly stop talking to my mother and brother. Well, with my brother I can generally steer the topic to something less argumentative, but with my mom, she just gets on the phone and rants about how she won't wear a mask because it makes her feel panicky and she claims always has (which I sympathize with, I have disabling panic disorder after all) but which I also know is sorta bullshit, because she used to wear a bandanna while horseback riding ALL THE TIME. I finally mentioned this to her, and she said she's ok with looser face coverings like that. I said, just wear one of those, then!!! When a face mask is required at your doctor or whatever, a bandanna counts. I see people all over using them, hanging loose at the bottom cowboy style. But still she refuses, and then I have to spend ten minutes listening to incoherent ranting. She complains that her 55+ apartment complex doesn't fall under the state guidelines to keep visitors away, but is deaf to point that it's still full of the most at risk groups of people, and the manager probably doesn't want to be responsible for the deaths of who knows how many of her tenants. Also, a lot of people all around the world are getting no visitors, old and young, for the foreseeable future, but she doesn't want to hear this either. In our last conversation, I actually got angry and said something about how kicking and screaming like a toddler won't change the rules, and as adults we need to find a way to live in the world as it exists. I've NEVER been so rude to my mother in my life, not even as a teenager. I feel terrible, and now I'm afraid to talk to her again. 
Bleh, this is really making conversation with my family difficult. They don't seem to want to talk about anything else, and that's even understandable considering how it's affecting almost all aspects of life, but goddamnit, I'm tired of it all.
Bleh, this is really making conversation with my family difficult. They don't seem to want to talk about anything else, and that's even understandable considering how it's affecting almost all aspects of life, but goddamnit, I'm tired of it all.
