And just like that...I missed a day.
Quick summary of yesterday: We moved G-Money out of her dorm. It was her freshman year, and it seemed sad and anti-climactic when we loaded up the car. On a mid-sized campus, we did not see one other human being until we pulled away from the curb and a woman pulled in behind us. It was eerie, but we were also grateful people weren't out. We got a weird sense of safety in being alone.
We had made a "final list" to get at the grocery store. In some ways it feels like an epic snowstorm is coming, so you want all your comfort and fun foods. I bought crap I usually refuse to buy, like 5 different bags of chips, some butterscotch root beer that I'm sure rots your kidneys, and canned ravioli. Not disparaging the food/drink, but my children have no control over themselves and will pillage every single cabinet. Except G-Money...she's becoming a great cook during this time.
Interesting twist at the grocery store: You can buy all the chips and soft drinks you want, but you are not getting out of Publix with more than two frozen veggies or two packs of chicken. I have not hoarded or bought excessive surplus of anything and I've followed guidelines of enough food for 1-2 weeks. We're a family of 5, though, and 2 packs of chicken won't go far. Every single meat product except chicken drummies (wings) and some flavoring pieces was GONE. The upside of this is that the coolers are going to be so freaking clean when they finally get to restock. I did notice several people at the Ingles cleaning the coolers and shelves like pro bosses.
I give kudos to the grocery store employees during this. Many of them are young working for some pocket money (and I know others are basically supporting themselves); some are elderly working to supplement retirement and make ends meet. One thing both (probably) are is scared. My friend's daughter works at a big-box store and she is terrified. That said, I have only encountered smiles and kindness when we've been to the store. The smiles may be weary, but they have been genuine.
A word about self-quarantining...This is what we are trying to do. My kids are, shall we say, not exuberant. I told them that was normal to be annoyed, even pissed, at me and their dad for shutting down their life outside the house/yard. I would be, too, and I know I wouldn't have understood at all. Others are still having to work because their employers haven't made the call to close. I hope when this is over those employees are able to find more caring places of employment. I am not talking about essential workplaces; I am talking about places that could close and SHOULD close, but aren't.
What is our government doing? Hell if I know. It's very confusing because there are so many layers. Our local county mayor issued a statement about staying home, but our governor doesn't seem to have a spine. Although I don't remember where I saw the quote, in a nutshell he said you can't force people to stay home, so there was no point in issuing a statement to that affect. That, my readers, is weak leadership. (Maybe no leadership at all.) Your role as the leader of this state is to guide our state during this chaos. Other governors are doing it and all I've seen is appreciation from their people. Maybe I am wrong in not trusting people to do the right thing, but evidence so far has not suggested they will during this time, or at least not to the degree we need to slow this down. This is the equivalent of me throwing away all the kids' toothbrushes because I can't make them brush their teeth. Wanna bet? Yes, I can make them brush their teeth. Or not giving them a curfew because I can't force them to be home by that time. Really? You step in and STEP UP because you are the leader of our state. Literally, that is YOUR JOB!
I may have strongly negative feelings about our governor right now.
From a federal level, I think we've seen a lot of left-hand/right-hand conflict, but none of us living have faced a pandemic of this magnitude before. I try not to judge or be influenced by social media because there's lots of partisan play going on right now. I just want medical personnel to have the supplies they need and someone to figure out how to cure this. Yesterday the surgeon general (Dr. Jerome Adams) told everyone this week is going to get bad and everyone should stay home. This man seems squared away, so I hope people listen. Most states are seeing exponential increases in positive cases, which may be due to increased testing. The why is less important to me than how can we slow it down. All credible sources seem to point to self-quarantining when possible and social distancing if you have to go out.
Overall in our little town, someone said traffic was very light yesterday. I noticed very few people in the grocery store when we made our stop. Domestic violence is up because people are stuck in small spaces with other people. That's typical during long periods of being stuck at home. (Not normal...never is that normal.) One of the most frustrating parts right now is no one knows when it will be safe to go back to normal life, and there's no one to really answer that question at the moment. We can be mad, but there's no one person to be mad at currently.
I think back to my grandfather, who was born in 1914. He was 15 during the Great Depression, and he used to tell me stories about it. He was the best storyteller ever. Even the painful memories were brought to life with his voice. I think about how living through that changed him. I remember him telling me at every meal (they babysat me when my parents were working) I had with them, "There are children in China starving! Clean your plate!" He was never harsh or hateful (Let's be real: He moved from NY to TN just because I called him one day and told him my babysitter was mean.) I never knew how cleaning my plate was helping a Chinese child, but I realized as I got older he was trying to teach me appreciation for what I had. He had gone hungry. He had wondered where his next meal would come from. He had fought in a war where he believed with all his heart he wouldn't come home. I wonder how this will change my generation or my children's generation. What are the stories we will tell or the quirks we will adopt? There will be lasting changes for all of us in some way, I'm sure.
Everyone stay safe, wash hands, call a friend, read a book, walk in the yard...be well.
Quick summary of yesterday: We moved G-Money out of her dorm. It was her freshman year, and it seemed sad and anti-climactic when we loaded up the car. On a mid-sized campus, we did not see one other human being until we pulled away from the curb and a woman pulled in behind us. It was eerie, but we were also grateful people weren't out. We got a weird sense of safety in being alone.
We had made a "final list" to get at the grocery store. In some ways it feels like an epic snowstorm is coming, so you want all your comfort and fun foods. I bought crap I usually refuse to buy, like 5 different bags of chips, some butterscotch root beer that I'm sure rots your kidneys, and canned ravioli. Not disparaging the food/drink, but my children have no control over themselves and will pillage every single cabinet. Except G-Money...she's becoming a great cook during this time.
Interesting twist at the grocery store: You can buy all the chips and soft drinks you want, but you are not getting out of Publix with more than two frozen veggies or two packs of chicken. I have not hoarded or bought excessive surplus of anything and I've followed guidelines of enough food for 1-2 weeks. We're a family of 5, though, and 2 packs of chicken won't go far. Every single meat product except chicken drummies (wings) and some flavoring pieces was GONE. The upside of this is that the coolers are going to be so freaking clean when they finally get to restock. I did notice several people at the Ingles cleaning the coolers and shelves like pro bosses.
I give kudos to the grocery store employees during this. Many of them are young working for some pocket money (and I know others are basically supporting themselves); some are elderly working to supplement retirement and make ends meet. One thing both (probably) are is scared. My friend's daughter works at a big-box store and she is terrified. That said, I have only encountered smiles and kindness when we've been to the store. The smiles may be weary, but they have been genuine.
A word about self-quarantining...This is what we are trying to do. My kids are, shall we say, not exuberant. I told them that was normal to be annoyed, even pissed, at me and their dad for shutting down their life outside the house/yard. I would be, too, and I know I wouldn't have understood at all. Others are still having to work because their employers haven't made the call to close. I hope when this is over those employees are able to find more caring places of employment. I am not talking about essential workplaces; I am talking about places that could close and SHOULD close, but aren't.
What is our government doing? Hell if I know. It's very confusing because there are so many layers. Our local county mayor issued a statement about staying home, but our governor doesn't seem to have a spine. Although I don't remember where I saw the quote, in a nutshell he said you can't force people to stay home, so there was no point in issuing a statement to that affect. That, my readers, is weak leadership. (Maybe no leadership at all.) Your role as the leader of this state is to guide our state during this chaos. Other governors are doing it and all I've seen is appreciation from their people. Maybe I am wrong in not trusting people to do the right thing, but evidence so far has not suggested they will during this time, or at least not to the degree we need to slow this down. This is the equivalent of me throwing away all the kids' toothbrushes because I can't make them brush their teeth. Wanna bet? Yes, I can make them brush their teeth. Or not giving them a curfew because I can't force them to be home by that time. Really? You step in and STEP UP because you are the leader of our state. Literally, that is YOUR JOB!
I may have strongly negative feelings about our governor right now.
From a federal level, I think we've seen a lot of left-hand/right-hand conflict, but none of us living have faced a pandemic of this magnitude before. I try not to judge or be influenced by social media because there's lots of partisan play going on right now. I just want medical personnel to have the supplies they need and someone to figure out how to cure this. Yesterday the surgeon general (Dr. Jerome Adams) told everyone this week is going to get bad and everyone should stay home. This man seems squared away, so I hope people listen. Most states are seeing exponential increases in positive cases, which may be due to increased testing. The why is less important to me than how can we slow it down. All credible sources seem to point to self-quarantining when possible and social distancing if you have to go out.
Overall in our little town, someone said traffic was very light yesterday. I noticed very few people in the grocery store when we made our stop. Domestic violence is up because people are stuck in small spaces with other people. That's typical during long periods of being stuck at home. (Not normal...never is that normal.) One of the most frustrating parts right now is no one knows when it will be safe to go back to normal life, and there's no one to really answer that question at the moment. We can be mad, but there's no one person to be mad at currently.
I think back to my grandfather, who was born in 1914. He was 15 during the Great Depression, and he used to tell me stories about it. He was the best storyteller ever. Even the painful memories were brought to life with his voice. I think about how living through that changed him. I remember him telling me at every meal (they babysat me when my parents were working) I had with them, "There are children in China starving! Clean your plate!" He was never harsh or hateful (Let's be real: He moved from NY to TN just because I called him one day and told him my babysitter was mean.) I never knew how cleaning my plate was helping a Chinese child, but I realized as I got older he was trying to teach me appreciation for what I had. He had gone hungry. He had wondered where his next meal would come from. He had fought in a war where he believed with all his heart he wouldn't come home. I wonder how this will change my generation or my children's generation. What are the stories we will tell or the quirks we will adopt? There will be lasting changes for all of us in some way, I'm sure.
Everyone stay safe, wash hands, call a friend, read a book, walk in the yard...be well.
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