In the era of Covid-19, there are plenty of things to be stressed about. Employment, finances, the health and safety of our family and friends. The logistics of homeschooling our children while continuing to work a full-time job. The constant anxiety that our co-workers will inadvertently see us in our pajamas on an early morning video call. The endless Pinterest posts to fuel the non-stop activities needed to keep our cabin-feverish kids occupied. The Excel sheet tracking the dates when new movies will be released onto Disney +. The list is endless.
And so why, my fellow humans, are we choosing to add toilet paper to the list of things to be stressed about? By making a run on toilet paper and clearing out the store shelves, we are choosing to live lives that revolve around our toilet paper supply. Our daily lives are haunted by the idea that we may wake up one day and realize that there is no toilet paper left in the house. 2 months ago we had no idea what a bidet really was, and suddenly our panic has us wishing we had installed them in every bathroom.
I've spent a lot of time wondering what our children and grandchildren will say when we regale them with the stories of what it was like to live through the Covid-19 pandemic. The fear of becoming infected with a deadly virus, the fear of not being able to pay our mortgage, the fear of not having enough toilet paper... When they see the pictures of empty shelves in the toilet paper aisle, and the memes about toilet paper being added to Maslow's hierarchy of needs... what will they think? Is that really the story we want to pass along to the next generation?
I, like all of you, am clinging to the hope that the toilet paper supply will stabilize. That people will stop hoarding toilet paper so that I can tick that stressor off my list. Because I don't know about you, but I have enough to worry about right now without worrying about whether I'll be able to wipe tomorrow.