As the elevator came down from the 16th floor, I heard the children arguing – and the mother screaming for them to stop.  When the door finally opened, there were two shamefaced girls – about 6 and 8 – with thick glasses – and the mother with a baby carriage – maybe with a baby inside.  As they left the elevator and walked to the door of the building, the mother continued her tirade, “How could you shout at each other like that?  You are sisters, and you should be friends!  And where did you learn to shout like that?  You are an embarrassment to me!”

It struck me that in this hard time – with everything going a bit haywire in the world – parenting is even harder than ever.  We’re all on a short fuse and the emotional effects will be longer lasting than the heat spell or the Corona.