Change Runs Rampant

 This blog entry should have been posted last week. Sorry it is one week out of order.  I will do better from now on. Promise. 😊 

There are times when something happens -- perhaps in one moment -- and nothing is as it was before.  Every single thing is changed. You find yourself in a profoundly different world.

            March 21, 2020 through March 28, 2020

• Rampant confusion about the "lock down" for those 70+
• States in conflict with Federal mandates
• Rumors abound about tax preparation and filing Income Tax forms with the IRS. How?
• Children, especially, struggle with social distancing.
• There is speculation that the National Guard may be called in to set up testing sites.
• Corona virus news changes from moment to moment.
• Early shopping hours set for Seniors.
• Convention Centers are converted to hospitals.
• People are missing hugs.
• Some restaurants offer take-out in an attempt to survive.
• "Stay-in-place" is one new mantra. It will evolve shortly into "Sheltering-in-Place". (Notice the semantics in that.)
• Stimulus checks seem to be a real thing in the offing.
• Grandparents wave and smile from behind glass and cry later.
• Fauci enters the picture speaking of "social responsibility".
• Pelosi introduces legislation on gender and racial diversity on corporate boards.
• Biden appear to be confused at times.
• Skype - Zoom - FaceTime gain popularity.
• Insurance providers refuse to cover Corona virus and vaccine issues.
• Staying in contact with friends and loved ones here mostly by phone, text, Messenger, FaceTime and snail mail.
• Some large corporations lay off 70% of their work force.
• The border between the United States and Canada is now closed.
• Stay-at- Home orders issued as of the 25th.  Ghost towns begin.
• People at home are sorting cupboards and cleaning closets. No one will take donations though because of covid fear.
• I begin to write Thank You notes to garbage pick-up and delivery guys. I placed a basket of "treats" on the porch for delivery people.
• Day confusion becomes a real thing.
• Pasture walking with family (socially distanced) has become my favorite pastime and my family takes me out of that strict quarantine. I feel like I can smile and breathe again. I know now that I will survive. That is no small thing.
• Pelosi et al try to add $35 million dollars for the Kennedy Center and gender equity issues to the Corona relief bill.
• Drove by an empty lot to see my Grandkids with other neighborhood children sitting at least 6 feet apart -- enjoying time together. I wave and they wave back. Neighbors have complained about children being out in the fresh air riding bikes. Insanity spreads.
• The Commonwealth of Virginia closes all public schools for the rest of the academic year.
• It is revealed that about 50% of local students and 23 teachers have no access to Internet from their homes -- makes online learning/teaching impossible here. 
• School packets become available locally. It's not enough.
• AOC wants illegal aliens to receive relief checks.
• Dogs across the world are beginning to beg to stay home. Some hide their leashes.
• Compulsive cleaning and cleanliness continues.
• "Don't Touch Your Face!"
• Joe Biden commented that "...some people are getting this virus who had never had it before."  Duh...  Why aren't more people concerned about him?

Change runs rampant and ... I am so not good with change.  Struggling here.  

Lest We Forget

As Isabelle Allende wrote: "Maybe the most important reason for writing is to prevent erosion of time, so that memories will not be blown away by the wind.  Write to register history and name each thing.  Write what should not be forgotten."  With that in mind, turn back the clock to March of 2020 when the world was forever changed.   According to my email communications of the times....

             Some events of "Friday the 13th" to March 20, 2020:

• College classes were cancelled across the nation and within 3 days colleges began to close -- completely shut down.
• K-12 schools in this area were closed for 2 weeks and some schools moved to online instruction.
• Many adults began to work from home.
• Drive-thru covid testing places began to open.
• High Schools across the nation began to cancel Spring sports, Senior trips, proms, graduation ceremonies.
• "Nonessential" businesses were forced to shutdown.  These included Dentist offices, Optometrists, Ophthalmologists, etc. as well as barber shops, hair salons, and liquor stores.
• Disinfecting everything from packages and door knobs to cell phones and steering wheels began in earnest.
• Fears mounted...  people struggled, hanging on to common sense by a thread.
• Weddings were cancelled, postponed or adapted.
• Even physical therapy struggled to go "virtual".
• The word Chloroquine entered our vocabulary and then was ignored.
• Compulsive buying and hoarding began.
• Italy took a beating -- highest in Covid deaths... and the virus continued to spread at an alarming rate.
• Some schools began to offer online "office hours" so students could communicate with teachers. Most school districts seemed to be doing nothing.
• California was in complete shutdown except for the governor who continued to go about his own way -- eating out and partying in a fancy restaurant with a large group of unmasked friends, enjoying their self proclaimed elite status. Meanwhile...  
• People were making homemade masks and pretty much confined within the walls of their homes -- fortunate were those who lived in rural America where they could at least go outside and breathe fresh air. Some did not even dare to do that.

Red letter day -- March 20, 2020

As Covid had spread to my county and people my age were specifically endangered, after serious deliberation and with loving concern, my children decided to quarantine me. I was to stay home as much as possible (they would shop for me, etc.) and I was not permitted any in-person contact with my family (or anyone) for two weeks.  A bit reclusive I didn't mind continuing my "estrangement" from the outside world. I understood and once again, was thankful for my wonderful kids, but ... I was left feeling isolated and alone -- one of many across the globe. I deeply missed my family. I became especially thankful for electronic communication.  Here I had thought that a no hugging policy would be enough. Things became serious....

To be continued...  Lest we forget.