Day One Hundred Thirty-Two

I've been referring to Alexis as "Grandma Alexis" since she was four years old. It started and continues to be because that kid has the oldest soul of anyone I've ever met. Legit, she has been an adult trapped in a child's body this whole time. She probably should have been born about 50 years earlier than she was, though she may have missed out on Friends that way, which would be a travesty. She could have 358913750 hours of her life back without it, though, so. Upside?

ANYWAY.

She's an old soul. Always has been, always will be.

That's why she thinks of things like the thing she said to me as I was driving her to cheer practice tonight.  I keep flipping from one side of the fence to the other about whether it's a good idea to go at all, but have been letting her go for these early conditioning sessions because when I add up all of the data, it falls to the side of, "Yeah, okay, go ahead."

There are a TON of data points. There's the number of known cases in our immediate vicinity. There's also the rules around masks and social distancing and how well they're being enforced. There's the apparent knowledge level of the coaches regarding all things COVID-19. And there's maybe a little cyber-stalking to know who has been out-of-state and following basic rules and such. Just maybe.

At the end of the day, it's conditioning. They're running and jumping and staying apart. It's ... fine. Nerve-wracking, but fine. If they start stunting, I'll revisit because Alexis is usually a base and I don't need her face inches from another girl's face as they throw somebody else in the air.

Data points, man. There are so many to weigh.

... And back to what Alexis said. Miss Alexis is fully expecting cheer to get cancelled for the season. I tend to agree with her assessment. School is going to start, most people are going to go in-person, and all hell is going to break loose. High school football and cheer is doomed. It's just a matter of time. As a result of the basic level of certainty, Alexis is pretty much just waiting for it to happen ANY DAY NOW. I keep telling her they'll make it through August, but we'll see who is correct. We were talking about our certainty about cancellation when Alexis made an observation. Last week, cheer practice was cancelled because of rain and thunder. They have always cancelled outdoor activities immediately if lightning strikes within 5 miles or something like that.

Rain isn't enough, but if there's thunder and lightning? CANCEL NOW.

Alexis looked up the stats on fatalities related to lightning. For the record, it's been around 30 per year in the United States for the past few years. Fatalities only account for about 10% of all people struck by lightning - another 90% have some degree of disability after being struck. Regardless, 30. Per year.

And now Grandma Alexis would very much so like to know why we cancel kid sports for a potential 30 deaths per year but not a pandemic that has taken over 150,000 American lives.

I GOT NOTHING.

And ... AND! To make matters worse, Grandma Alexis asked this question while wearing her giant sun hat because of course Grandma Alexis needed a giant sun hat. Every grandma needs a giant sun hat.