Wow this is so true! I am finding that there is no situation or conversation setting that is risk free of the corona topic. It just creeps in somehow no matter what. I am willing to bet that part of the culprit there is that people realize that I am a physician, but I cannot change that. It’s just that I need a break from talking about it every now and then. It comes up in the most bizarre situations though. It even came up when our farrier was over working on our horses and the llama guys were over shearing the llamas. Heh? Llama corona? Corona and horse feet? Although I also have to admit that I seem to wait with baited breath in every conversation for the corona lead in and on the rare times that it doesn’t present itself, I find myself bringing it up. I seem to have a multitude of strategies pre-prepared just in case. So, I guess I have to embrace a lion’s share of blame in that regard. I am not sure why I do that. I think part of it is that I am determined to share a logical, fact-based viewpoint about the whole situation, as opposed to the barrage of half-truths and conspiracy theories that I hear everyday. I also sense that people just need to hash it over and talk about it still until life resumes some sense of normality so why fight it? I have to admit tho, I do wax poetic, dreaming about the days when I used to talk about something else: books, tv shows, kids, pets, politics( yuck, rarely), and even OTHER world events. Those were the days weren’t they? In the spirit of the return to normal life, let’s make a pact: Have at least one conversation a day without discussing corona virus. Come on! Who’s with me? Cheers to talking about……anything else! Have a fantastic day everybody!
Hi everyone! Welcome to spring break 2020. It was a two bomb day at our house. First came the realization that our elaborate vacation plans really are a bust and second, the announcement that schools are closed for the remainder of the year. Then came the added bonus of the unanswered question if any of the work my kid is doing right now is even going to count. Awesome! Yes! Let’s heap that on as well. This is when it is time to take a step back ( and inside) and reflect on what is actually that important.
Are you on a staycation right now? 1) CONGRATULATIONS! You got to get away from work and more exposures unlike health care workers that are either being asked to volunteer to stay or being essentially drafted. 2) GOOD! You should be! It’s just the right thing to do right now….and it could actually save lives in addition to your pocketbook. I get that not all states are restricting travel, but they really should. Honestly, we shouldn’t have to be told right now that travel is not a good idea. That is just good common sense. We have a virus circulating around right now that leaves some people asymptomatic and some people dead and we don’t know why or how to predict which person will be in which group. If you haven’t been paying attention up until now, it’s not too late to hop on board the corona train. No, I don’t mean to watch every single source, both unreliable and reliable a million times a day and get really freaked out. I still stand by what I said earlier. Check in once a day at most to keep yourself in the loop and spend the rest of the day doing what you are supposed to be doing. So, what are you supposed to be doing? STAYING HOME!…unless you absolutely have to go out. You are still allowed to go to the grocery store, the doctor, the gas station, the atm, or gosh forbid, the hospital. No, your grocery store outing is not a family outing. It should be one person= one cart per family. Your basic needs are still able to be met( except for toilet paper). I am not sure that I agree with the availability of curb side service and take out from restaurants at this point. I understand that the economic blow will be even greater without it, but I still feel like it is safer to cook or microwave at home. Remember how I said that some people are asymptomatic with this virus? Do you also remember learning that there is up to a 14 day incubation period? You just can’t guarantee that you food prep person is ok. That is just my opinion of course. We haven’t had any take out in our house for like a month I think. Don’t get me wrong, I crave a good pizza like any normal person, it’s just not worth risking my life over. I just heard on Good Morning America that some states are still having “questionable exemptions” to the shelter in place order. There are still some states still allowing trips to the hair salon. I am sorry, but I refuse to believe that having the perfect hair color or nails is an essential basic need. Personally, I am intrigued to find out what my real hair color is after all these years. I just said hello to my natural nails yesterday as well. Ok I am being facetious. I am seriously hating my yucky nails and my dirty grey corkscrew pubic hair that is trying to grow on my head now. However, even if it is emotionally killing me, it is not physically killing me so I need to suck it up.
Now, let’s get back to the staycation. Yes, I had a great week in New York planned with a performance by my kid and her band at the Statue of Liberty. I have no doubt it would have been fantastic. We were going to stay with my cousin in Connecticut so we were also going to kill the family gathering bird with the same stone. Awesome! Now it’s all gone but guess what? That one trip was not worth risking our lives for! Those relatives will still be there another time. My daughter still has two more years of high school to look forward to. It is disappointing but not life ending. Corona virus could be life ending. I know that I keep repeating myself, but it is so important to keep hitting home the message that these cancellations and restrictions and orders are not meant to piss you off or inconvenience you. They are meant to try to save lives! That’s about as big picture as you can get. I am pleased to say that I think my kids get it. There has been far less whining about missing activities and boyfriends. The depression is starting to get manageable-ish. My youngest has even taken it upon herself to try to educate her friends and try to help keep them from making foolish choices. She posted something pretty great today. Here, let me show you. This sign came from a New Jersey sheriff.
It really drives the point home doesn’t it. In some people’s minds, New Jersey is taking things to the extremes lately. The police in Lakewood, NJ busted up an engagement party the other day and charged the adults with violation of the executive order and child endangerment. There have been reports of “corona parties” The governor of New Jersey has said, “We are not going to be shy about naming and shaming those who can’t get this message into their heads.” While one part of me applauds New Jersey’s “cajones”, the other part of me finds it incredibly distressing that these are the lengths we have to go to still in order for some people to understand how important social distancing is. It’s just what we have to do right now. The sooner we get on board with social distancing, the sooner our normal lives can resume. I mean, isn’t it weird that the thing we are protesting is the very thing that will ensure that there is nothing to protest in the future and we can do what we want? Just sayin.
So, long story short. New York vacation is out the window, so what to do instead? Go on a staycation! It’s cheaper, uses less gas, and there is no packing involved. There is no overwhelming set schedule that forces you to be busy from dusk to dawn every day that results in you being so exhausted at the end of vacation that you need a vacation from your vacation. Suddenly, I am faced with the startling realization that all of my lack of productivity excuses are GONE! VANISHED! FINITO! Oh crap! This means that I can’t use work as an excuse for not working out. I could actually sort some junk.( Although I can’t actually get rid of it right now because no one will come and pick it up..lol. Oh well, different target for another day right?) I could clean my garage. I can enjoy my deck. My dogs can get more walks in than the entire time we have had them so far. I could try dying my own hair..eek! I could read a book. We could force the kids to sit down each night and have dinner at the actual dining room table. We could play games. I would say that we could do a deep Spring cleaning, but…..I have already done that, you know, in the last few weeks. We can have movie marathons with the endless amount of streaming services that we pay for thinking that we are saving money on cable, but have no time to watch normally anyway. We could enjoy home-cooked meals every night and save on take out. I can forcibly make everybody participate in the family game nights I have been yearning for for years! I could join #playontheporch2020! OMG the possibilities are endless! See, we can really make this work and save the thousands of dollars that invariably get blown with travel vacations. Ok. This is not so bad, right? So far, I have walked 5 miles a day and cleaned everything in site as if this may be my last opportunity to do so..ever! But then, I realize that I have to slow down and pace myself…..I still have a week left. Before I go, I want to leave you with some inspiring staycation thoughts.
“Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful.”-Hazrat Inayat Khan
“Home should be an anchor, a port in a storm, a refuge, a happy place in which to dwell, a place where we are loved and where we can love.”-Marvin J. Ashton
“Home is where one starts from.”- T.S. Eliot
“The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.”-Rumi
“Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.”-Mother Teresa
Hi everybody! Shelter in place day 1. How’re we doin? I am feelin the panic from everyone. I even felt a little creeped out last night when I went for my walk and suddenly my phone was overtaken by a reminder of the executive order…complete with a notice about unnecessary travel being prohibited. It literally gave me the chills for a second, like I was in one of those weird future dystopia movies or something. Then, I shook it off. You know why? Because it is not really any different than what we were supposed to be doing anyway! I know what you’re going to say. Hey! Before we could still get take out and go to the mall, etc. Hey! This is even a bigger crush on small business. Yes. Yes. All that is true. My business is being severely affected too. I can’t do any surgery, unless it’s an absolute emergency. I can’t see any people that are sick who actually need me. They have to go through the ER or stay at home. I can basically only see well patients or OB patients, if I can even get them to come in. I am not immune to this process. The scary flipside is, that I also have to risk exposure to COVID everyday. If a COVID positive OB patient comes in, we still have to figure out how to deliver them safely with the least exposure to the least amount of people and keep their newborns safe as well.
However, if you think about it, we were already supposed to be restricting unnecessary trips and travel. We really should have been following our social distancing, not going to restaurants, not going to the movies, not going to the mall anyway. There was no dire need to get our nails done or go to the tanning salon. These are not basic life needs. Before you get all ruffly, let me explain what I mean about basic life needs. They are things that are life or death dependent. Your life or death does not depend on how brown you are or how good your nails look or if you got that extra candle or how gray your hair is ( Trust me, I am battling that one as we speak). It just doesn’t, if we are being honest. I am of the opinion that if we were truly following instructions in the first place, there would have been no need to issue an executive order. (Having said that, I also get that a politician’s need to appear like they are actively doing something in a crisis may, in fact, supersede the actual need for action.) If we hadn’t panicked and hoarded all paper products, in reaction to a virus whose main symptoms are NOT GI symptoms, except for a small percentage, those of us that have been working like crazy might have had an option to wipe our asses besides the wipe with the left, eat and shake hands with the right method. C’mon people! I am looking at all the fear-mongering, crazy Facebook posts. They are unnecessary. They are not helpful. They are not helping anyone get through this thing.
I took it upon myself to break down the governor’s executive order announcement into a less than five minute summary. I will do the same right now for you. Here are the main bullet points. Stay at home whenever possible. If you have an essential job (defined on the Michigan.gov website), you can go to and from work. Essential businesses are still open. You can go to get gas for your car. You can go to the pharmacy or grocery store. You can still get money. You can still go to the doctor or to the hospital if you need to. You can still go outside. You can still go for a walk. Maintain your social distance of 6 feet at all times. No crowds. Have meetings remotely. All your basic needs can still be met. Amazon is not shutting down like rumors have said.(JK, she didn’t really address that…lol..but it is true.) Don’t panic. Don’t hoard. That is it in nutshell…in two minutes or less. Let’s just all screw our heads back on properly and dig into our common sense reserves and we will get through this together! Have a fantastic day everyone!
I saw the news today celebrating no new corona virus cases in Wuhan. Whoohoo! That means there is an end to this thing at some point, right? It sounds good doesn’t it? Now take a quick step back and remember that this cycle took several months….that we know of. Also consider that China was months ahead of us. This means we are not done with this for awhile folks. This means it is more important than ever to listen to the EXPERTS like the CDC…not google…not your friends( unless they are healthcare workers on the front lines maybe)…not your chiropractor or the kid at the grocery store. Pay attention to Dr. Anthony Fauci! Who is Dr. Anthony Fauci? He is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. If he starts talking, be quiet and listen for a minute. He says think twice before you get on a plane. He says we have to take this seriously. He says that there are no PROVEN safe and effective therapies for the Corona Virus yet. That does not mean that possible treatments are not being looked at. He doesn’t say to panic, but he does say that we all need to do our part to stay at home when possible, not to make unnecessary trips and to stay away from crowds to decrease the chances of spread. Every time I see the latest beach vacation pic lately with hundreds of people in sunny Florida, defiantly partying, I just scratch my head in bewilderment and disgust. What the heck do people think they are doing? Have we become so egocentric that we think that nothing can permeate our own little bubbles? Do we think our actions have no consequences? Newsflash! There are no bubbles right now! Every single unnecessary exposure just puts more people at risk like gigantic ripples on the ocean. I can’t help looking at those pictures with some resentment as I am going straight home from work and then straight back to work the following day. I think about the vacations that are now cancelled and everything my kids are missing. But guess what? All those things are survivable and worth it! I realize that the government is not just trying to ” control” me or “mess with me.” They are trying to take what steps they can to stop the spread of this thing. Believe it or not, the same folks that are defying the guidelines while complaining about being controlled are the same folks that are taking the one element that we can control( social distancing) and throwing it to the wayside, unilaterally deciding for all of us how the course of this virus will go. I had to go to the store today for the first time in awhile. I was standing in line and these two people stumbled up next to me, obviously under the influence of something and were making out in line. Then they decided to plunk their items down almost on top of mine and then snatch them back, run back to the aisle and pick out something else and then plunk that down on top of my purchases. They were also both coughing with no attempt to cover whatsoever. I looked at the guy and said,” What are you doing? Now is not the time for that.” They just stared at me, shocked, as if it completely escaped them that I would not want to be coughed on, bumped against, watch them slobber over each other, or have our purchases hang out together like some kind of slumber party in the middle of a pandemic! Imagine that! To be honest, I wouldn’t enjoy any of those behaviors even if there were no pandemic, but who’s counting..lol) It is just this kind of ignorant and belligerent behavior that is going to get us all into trouble, make this pandemic last longer and completely close the small window of opportunity for us to get back to our normal lives a little sooner. Please people. We have to do better. It won’t kill us to stay in our houses more, cook at home, stop making unnecessary trips or avoid crowds. Life will go on temporarily without trips, festivals and concerts, but if we don’t try a little harder to follow these temporary guidelines, we will end up having to forcibly surrender all of the autonomy that we thought we were fighting for in the first place.
