An Ever Changing Confusion
Hey all,
It’s been a while so I thought I’d drop in, share a few thoughts, tell a little more of my really odd story and say Hi and then wander on…
The Corona Virus is getting really nasty here in the states. There are hot spots and while I’m not in one of those, Michigan is ranked 5th in the US for number of cases and number of deaths. We have been under a “stay in place” rule where the only people who are supposed to be out are “essential” employees (to keeping hospitals, banks, grocery stores, and such running.) Otherwise you need to be at home. No school, no church, no hanging out with friends, the malls are closed, restaurants are drive through or take out only, if school is closed, no extra travel, therefore no spring break vacation down to Florida to visit the grand parents. No sports seasons, no proms, no graduations, the list continues to grow and while they say it is helping with the statistics, I have yet to be able to see it. They are now telling us the shelter in place until at least May 1 and most likely longer. I hear lots of different estimates but the truth is, no one knows.
It’s been interesting watching the action oriented moves of the governor of Michigan (a female democrat who is, I would say, a very good job managing this as well as anyone could…It’s flying blind. And then there is our past governor who got the Flint water system problem so incredibly screwed up that there are many people who are going to deal with the medical effects of lead in their water for generations
And then there’s the President, and like my Momma always told me, “If you can’t say something nice, it’s better to say nothing at all.”
My wife is a “limited essential” worker because she’s on short term disability with a shoulder injury. One of my daughters who still lives at home is a pharmacy tech in the ER, so they definitely need her at work. My son works in an Amazon fulfillment center and they are swamped trying to get everything out, so he’s working overtime. The reports in the states have been coming back that the virus is stronger and younger and more inclined to hit people with lung and heart “challenges.” Well, that’s me and my youngest. So…
We have 2 high risk people and 3 who are very close to front line but aren’t actually on the front lines in our family. Kind of a worrisome situation - so what do you do? We decided to stay at home but split the “home.” My in-laws have a condo near us. They are currently down in Florida and have been there since December. Normally by the middle of April, they are heading back to Michigan, but not this year. My father in law’s health is fragile enough that getting CoVid 19 would probably NOT be good.
So my youngest and I went into what I’m calling Isolation 2.0. We moved over to my in-laws condo last week. There has been no one here since before the virus started so, at this point it’s a clean living space for the two of us who are the more vulnerable.
Well, that’s been pretty much the story of our lives the last few weeks. Two cancelled graduations, many other things changed as well. Dr. Appts by Zoom, bible study online (can you believe my mother - at the age of almost 83 led a bible study with 28 women on zoom and did it without any technical support other than 5 minutes with me the day before?)
Just got an e-mail from my Mom - their entire retirement community has been grounded - management said they are being told that the worst will be near us the middle of May and so they can’t even leave their apartments. We’ve got a long ways to go and it’s going to be a struggle.
But frankly, being quarantined in my in-laws condo while they aren’t here is a lot easier than what the last two years have been.
And we put one foot in front of the other…
Cheers?
Yeah, let’s stick with that - the four letters I was thinking aren’t as nice…
TJ