pandemic-part 2. this is the real deal?

View fullsize

Pretty soon the masks started arriving in the mail.

This one startled me!

By mid-March we were on a roll: Start seedlings for the garden. Get shopping lists ready. Go to the grocery store only every ten days. Mask? Gloves? Handwipes? Be careful wherever you go! Wash all the food that comes in the house. Then strip down and get in the shower! BTW, we were all really glad when we learned that we did not have to wash everything, right?

Nobody knows how this thing is spreading. In those early days we were all terrified because of the uncertainty. I heard a lot of this, “Whatever you do, do not visit or go to anyone’s house for any reason! AND do not invite anyone over here!” Even the cleaning lady?!?!?!? Hell’s Bells!

But right at that moment I had a friend who was just getting out of the hospital. Someone had to help him get home and get settled. I knew that it should be ME! Then schools closed, and a whole slew of storytelling gigs dried up rather quickly, even in the midst of the rainy season. And then there were our own grandies. What do you mean we can’t have our youngest grandchild here anymore? This kid has practically lived with us for eight years! Now they can’t even come in the door? That sucks big time!

At least we have had Sage (another one of the grandies) and Glenn (his sweetie-pie) sheltering in with us. They keep us laughing, help around the house, and sharing lots of 3-Way hugs with me!

Grandie Sage and sweetie pie Glenn

But what about our community? I wondered if COVID had just swallowed everyone up. How were folks adjusting? How were kids handling life at home 24/7?  I needed to reach out!

Pandemic-Part 1. pandemic? Huh? WTF? Us?

March 3rd, 2020: I was getting gussied up to go to an  Election VICTORY Party. But my husband says, “You can't go to a party! Don't you know that there is a Pandemic going on?” 

I knew there was a weird virus floating around, a new strain of Flu? But I wasn't thinking about it being in our community yet. I’ve always been quite involved in the life of our community…in the trenches for almost every cause, pledge, campaign, rally. “There’s BZ, front and center.” These are my people! I want them to know that I am there for them 100%. But now here was my favorite person telling me to stand down, to “Let someone else do it.” That night I stayed home, and I was pissed! 

Over the next two weeks, we hunkered down, listening, watching the news. Slowly I grew to understand that this really was a “Whole New World.” I started to grasp the truth of what it means to respect and love someone enough to do it their way. And I started feeling a new kind of calm that comes when you just STOP!

So, when our governor said, “Shelter In,” I was ready for this new thing. (My hub always stays home, unless he HAS to do an errand.) This would be easy-peasy for him. I decided to make it into a game. What could I get done? What had I been postponing at home? I sewed a quilt and masks. I sorted photos. I baked. I conjured “clean out the freezer” soups. I discovered new recipes. We planned our Virus Victory Garden. And I watched PBS News Hour every evening, and soon fell in love with Lisa DesJardins' cat. Yes, watching cats can make all the bad stuff go away!

But how long would this last? And what lay ahead?