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Being Equal

This past Friday, I had some late afternoon calls both internal and with customers. Each time as we got ready to wrap up, people chatted about their plans for the weekend. Going out for a walk, to the grocery store or just sitting outside in the yard were the only things anyone had planned. There was something humbling and unifying about that. Used to be that this time of year, people took a week off to go on a fun and exciting vacation, they planned what they would be doing in summer when school was out. Economic disparity became evident in these casual conversations. These were people we worked with all the time, and so we assumed some common ground with them. But when people described their weekend plans, the stark divergences between our lives and families became evident. 

 Back then, the young lady in the office who had been through a bruising divorce recently talked about going home to be with her parents for the weekend - we felt sorry for her because she was such a bright and energetic person, we wished she would go out and meet new people instead of feeling sorry for herself but we all held our peace. The empty-nesters would take their boat out to the marina - they seemed to have the charmed life others could only aspire for. The middle-aged sysadmin with four kids would have a backyard barbecue, he was inviting some neighbors over - he was a man of few words at work so some were surprised that he had a vibrant social life. Some would have no plans at all and might feel inadequate. 

 That has all changed now. People with school-age kids have the same problems no matter what the academic standing of the school, the median home price of their neighborhood. The system is simply not set up to take sharp turn to on-line education. Parents are not able to manage the needs of kids staying home full time instead of going to school. In this situation, being able to set out on the front porch as a family on a Saturday and have a meal there sounds like a great time. There will be no summer vacation envy this year.  

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