my own financial sacrifice.

I went to throw the football at the park with my son the other day and it just hit me like a ton of bricks how sad this whole thing is for the kids. Kids have been pulled from school, from friends, from science projects and fairs, pulled from little league sports and trips to the local library, museums and anything with an ounce of normalcy. Worst of all they are bombarded with fear, whether they show it or not, don't think they aren't thinking about it and trying to process it. I've tried to shelter my own 7 year old from it as best I can, but he still sees the empty grocery shelves, still reads headlines over my shoulder and still asks questions. If it's not a threat to me he asks, then why has everything been taken from me? School? Friends? Sports? etc...

While this has taxed us all in different ways the real heartbreak for me is what my child is sacrificing. I have decades of life experience to help me comprehend the situation, but what impact is this having on our kids? We've done everything we can to keep things as normal and positive for my son, but that only goes so far when the world is shut down.

On top of this I'm reading about the child abuse cases spiking during this shut down and it is absolutely gut wrenching. We have to start looking at this from a much wider perspective than just the curve.