MaryAnn Fausey Resendez, mother of four, went viral on Facebook after posting about her latest trip to the grocery store with her five-year-old daughter. Unable to let her daughter stay home alone, Resendez was forced to bring the girl with her on a shopping trip — something she knew other parents were getting plenty of online flack for amid the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing orders.
The Texas mother’s decision came after her curbside pickup order messed and home delivery was overbooked, resulting in her having to rely on an in-store pickup for groceries. To avoid judgment and confrontation from bringing her young daughter into the store, Resendez taped a homemade sign to her daughter’s back to explain her situation.
The sign reads: “I am only 5. I can’t stay home alone so I have to buy groceries with mommy…before you start judging stay back 6 feet.”
“I told my daughter I was putting a sign on her because I wasn’t going to have people who don’t know us or our situation provoke me. We are already under so much stress, and I am so overwhelmed. I explained to her that we had to go in and get groceries really quick — and that she could not touch anything,” Resendez explained to Buzzfeed News.
And that wasn’t all Resendez did with her one shopping trip. She documented the precautions she took during her trip to spread awareness to others, whether they be parents with young ones themselves or those expressing judgment in similar situations.
“I hoped doing this might help other parents feel better. I told my daughter I was going to take pictures of each step and we were going to put it on Facebook so other people could be safe also. She didn’t mind at all because she loves taking pictures and she wanted to help,” Resendez said.
To date, the post has about 43,000 shares.
She also wrote an additional post prior to the one that went viral. In it, she shares a collage of photos of the precautions she took with her daughter: PPE equipment, sanitizing carts, disposing of personal protective equipment (PPE) properly, sanitizing hands and all products purchased. She also shares her process of going out and shopping during the pandemic, step-by-step.
The focus on grocery stores during the pandemic is nothing new as more workers test positive and the discussion of how risky grocery shopping really is, for both workers and shoppers.
Coronavirus Shaming — Sources
MaryAnn Fausey Resendez, Facebook
Buzzfeed News