Coronavirus. We’re over it, right? Quarantine fatigue. It’s happening to you, it’s happening to me, and it’s happening to our dogs. Just kidding, the dogs LOVE quarantine!

Those of us who have been cooped up since mid-March are starting to get the appeal of the neighbors down the block who’ve refused to wear masks this entire time – it sucks. I get it now. Nearly 100 days of staying strong has brought us to the brink.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still freaked out enough that I’m not rushing out to the closest restaurant patio and I’m not going shopping or meeting friends for coffee just yet. We’re still in a pandemic. But I’m getting really, really sick and tired of some of the things the new normal has forced upon us.

Take Zoom for example. Connecting with humans right now is, like, really hard. The progression of Zoom as a staple of daily American life, both work and personal, has moved along at lightning speed. At first, it was weird – wait, I have to show my coworkers what I look like when I work from home? A couple months later and I’ve lost all confidence in my jokes. That 1-2 seconds before other people recognize that what you said is kind of funny can be a deafening silence.

Needless to say, we, as a society, got over those Zoom hurdles (Zurdles?) and all of the sudden your friends and family were scheduling Zoom happy hours left and right (yes, I’m guilty). But as the weeks have dredged on, the topics of conversation have changed. It used to be fun to catch up with colleagues, friends and family. But we’re running out of stories about how crazy things are, and for some of us, we’re running out of positivity.

I know what I’m sick of (in-home yoga classes and my quarantine hair that’s now down to my waist, yuck!), but I was curious to know what normal people are griping about these days. Naturally, I turned to Facebook to get some input from my network and my favorite pandemic parenting group (shout out to 50k amazing moms and dads!), to see what people are really, genuinely just OVER. Some of the top responses were surprising, but the recurring theme was all about not being able to do the things we want to do, or not feeling safe doing so. No surprise there.

Here are the top 7:

1. People not taking it seriously: I was pretty surprised that this was the top response! If anything, based on my own neighborhood, I would think most people are on the opposite end of the spectrum, ready to loosen up and return to some form of normal life. But I guess that doesn’t account for all the people staying in their homes and watching the same episode of Mother Goose Club with their toddler for the gazillionth time.

2. Not being able to see loved ones: This is a toughie, and the #1 over-it item for my family for sure. From faraway parents/grandparents to friends with new babies, I definitely get it. Zoom calls just aren’t cutting it anymore.

3. Lack of social interaction: This goes for both kiddos and adults, but there were a lot of comments from parents about how tough it is to watch their kids play alone all the time. I know what that’s like – my daughter much prefers singing and dancing alongside her old daycare pals over listening to Mom try and do her best rendition of “Let it Go.” Again.

4. Masks: I know, they’re annoying. Especially now that summer is really upon us in Chicago. I LOL’d reading some of the comments that just said “Masks.” No explanation needed. I know they give you chin acne, but they’re also minimal effort with a potentially high reward. So just wear one when you’re supposed to. Or as my dad would say, where the (expletive) mask!

5. Confusion about the rules: Speaking of masks, remember when leading health organizations told us we didn’t need to wear them? The lack of cohesive guidance on so many levels has been nothing if not frustrating. Now that a lot of businesses are back open, it’s hard to keep track of the new protocols that sometimes vary shop to shop. Definitely a lot of frustration here.

6. No hugs allowed: Even when we can see our loved ones, we’re supposed to try and stay six feet apart. This is just sad! When the pandemic really started to pick up steam, I never really thought about hugs as something I’d long for. But when I saw my BFF and her newborn (from the street), it was so hard not to run up and give her a big hug and smell that baby’s head! The “hugs” emoji via text can only get you so far.

7. Monotony of it all: Normal life can already be pretty monotonous. Add restrictions (and take away hugs) and people are bound to get antsy. One commenter said she’s sick of Netflix. Is this what it’s come to? When a Netflix binge can’t solve our problems, what has the world come to?

While much of the country has opened up at least a bit, my unscientific Facebook survey tells me that a lot of people are still at home, especially those of us with kids. Breaking quarantine with a friend meet-up or a restaurant patio meal is a weird luxury that many of us are just not used to yet.

When I initially posted the question, “what are you most sick of,” my first commenter summed it up pretty perfectly: “All of it.” Yeah, we’re sick of it. All of it. And it can be therapeutic to air grievances and complain alongside your fellow humans. But don’t forget that 2020 doesn’t have to be all bad. Let’s try to stick together – whether that’s in commiseration or coming up with the bright side of things. We need to do both at a time like this.

Thank you to all the lovelies who shared comments! If you have one to share, feel free DM me on Instagram @aspiringdancemom.