"Stay safe"
I know people mean well when they say this. It's kind of like "Have a good day".
Most people say that as a way of saying, "Ok, good bye now so I can get on with my life"
"Daddy, I think there is a monster in my closet!"
Our child has heard stories and is terrified.
Can you even imagine your response being, "Stay safe!"
The kid wouldn't sleep for hours.
"Stay safe" implies danger.
We say it to our 16 year old daughter who is going to drive a car for the first time by herself.
We also say it to the same kid at 17 when going to the prom. Only then, we add the words "Have fun!"
After all, we want her to have fun, just not TOO much fun.
We say "stay safe" as a way of covering our asses.
If the person does not stay safe....it's not our fault.
We TOLD them to stay safe!
Not only do we say it to cover our asses but we say it knowing we have no power with those two words.
The 16 year old girl will not change her driving habits because you told her to "stay safe".
And she might have sex after the prom too. Hey, you also said to "Have fun" too, right?
Right now, there is a monster in our closet.
Like the child in bed, we KNOW it exists.
And like that kid in bed it's changed our lives.
The kid in bed's monster may have had its roots in a scary story or movie. A 'one time' tale.
Our monster is perpetuated and continued every day with new stories.
We're afraid of the monster and hope it doesn't jump out of our closet and get us.
Like the kid, We've never seen the monster, but we know it's there.
We wear gloves, masks, and don't even get close to people for fear that they may have a little of that monster in them.
When the sun breaks through in the morning, the child's terror is over.
Monsters never hide in closets during the day time.
Our monster doesn't own a clock. It doesn't need the night and darkness to hide.
It hides in plain sight. And we still can't see it.
Our monster has spread fear and destruction near and far.
More than a million lives affected and infected and rising every day.
That's a lot of closets!
From day one, we try to 'stay safe'.
Each one of us wants to enjoy life to the fullest.
We take risks, but ry not to endanger our lives.
This monster endangers lives.
This monster is a bully.
It has already taken away friends.
It has taken away family.
It has taken away our way of life.
Fortunately, like the child's monster, this is a temporary monster.
The child's monster in the closet goes away when becoming more savvy about how the world really works.
In the future, he'll face other monsters like the one we're facing now.
Our monster will die a slow death.
Our 'temporary monster' will be here for months, but it will die just the same.
And like the savvy kid, we'll look back and shake our heads at that time in our lives when there was a monster in our closet.
'Stay safe' and don't let the monster get you.