Ask Amy: COVID risks create friendship fracture
Dear Amy: We have had a small group of close-knit friends for several years who we essentially do everything with.
All of our kids play together, even though they go to different schools.
Our kids don’t have the option of online learning, and are attending in-person school. Theirs are home. Because of this, the families have been staying apart.
It’s been emotionally hard on us. We have missed them and can’t help but feel left out since we can’t join any of their group activities.
In October, when I included a couple sentences in a group email about our son playing soccer, I received a very angry/upset email reply.
I was told how much hearing this news upset my friend (to the point of crying), because they have kept their kids home without any outside activities.
She said she didn’t want to hear anything about my kids’ activities.
I apologized, but since then she has ghosted me.
Are we being socially irresponsible? We made the decision on soccer because all the kids in my son’s class were signed up. We decided the risk of increased exposure was fairly low.
But, regardless of what our comfort level is with exposure risk for our own family, is it irresponsible to take any risks (big or small) in the context of the overall social impact of possibly spreading this disease?
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