projectdavid

There are a lot of really funny memes out celebrating what life is like right now.

March 13. We made fun of that week. There was a full moon, Friday the 13th, a pandemic and snow in the forecast. It was also the last day of normal life - spring break started on the 14th and that was the day most of us officially started what they called 'social isolating'. A lot of people decided we need to call it physical isolation because we need to intentionally connect even though we can't do it physically.

Anyway, that was a soft start into it. At that point, we were still allowed to gather in groups of 50 or less. Most churches had already decided to move services online and though we went shopping for a new washer and dryer (ours conveniently died and all the money I've been saving for years to either buy a camera or a couch, I haven't decided which I need more) went towards appliances. A little side note here. I really resent how it's always my money that pays these things. I spent my Christmas money buying clothes for people who are not me, but who's clothes had worn out. Those same people hid their own Christmas money in a secret account. Anyway, I guess I need to deal with my resentment because there are no other options.

By the time our appliances were delivered on Tuesday, things had already changed again and we were being told not to go places we didn't need to, and that while we could still go for walks outside, we should avoid groups larger than ten.

I'd already asked Andrew not to go into TWU to work. Out of our compound, we have one person in each family who is considered high risk. Andrew's that person in our family. I decided that I would do the shopping and venturing out. At this point we were still hanging out with each other on the compound, but not seeing anyone else.

Thursday I had to go into work to grab some things I needed to work from home. I'd worked at the office on Monday to process payroll, and then it became evident that we in Central Office wouldn't get a spring break after all. Although we'd taken a lot of our things home so that we could work from home, I decided I needed more. I stayed for a Hangouts meeting - over 30 of us participated in - and then told my bosses that I wouldn't be back until Covid was done.

At this point, people were pretty sure we wouldn't be coming back from spring break, but we weren't sure if we might be back in May. I started googling Spanish Flu and saw that it took 2 years for the world to come back from that pandemic and started steeling myself for 2 years of this.

From the beginning, my Chinese homestays, Victoria and Larry, schooled me on how to act. Don't go out unless you have to, and when you do, ALWAYS wear a mask. Then a friend of mine shared a video that showed us how to bring your groceries in the house. My new practice became shopping alone and in the middle of the day instead of at night. For one thing, grocery stores have new, condensed hours. The first hour is for seniors and the immunocompromised. I always wear a mask in the stores, even though most others (like 98%) don't. I sanitize my hands frequently and don't ever touch your face!

When I get home, I unload everything into the garage. I have a table set up with one side sanitized. Each item is unpacked, I wash my hands, then each item is sanitized and placed on the clean side of the table. If it can stay in the garage for a few days, we leave it there - no one really knows how long Covid survives but if we can avoid bringing it in the house we do. Then, once everything is sanitized, the kids bring it inside. When I'm done, I strip and shower and wash my hair. Considering how low on stock the stores are, I often have to visit three or four places to get everything we need, so this entire process takes four or five hours. No more running to the store for the one item we're missing for dinner. If we don't have it, we do without or find something else.

Church, school and work are all online now. That transition was actually a lot smoother than it could have been. I'm so impressed with the school my kids go to and with my kids for how adaptable they are.

So that's life in a nutshell. Things are quite different. A lot of stores have line ups now, as they try to limit the number of people inside and make sure we can all keep our distance from each other. As one of the only people in a mask, I try to smile at people more and communicate with my body language that I'm not scared or scary. We spend a lot of time in our yard and I'm hoping that will continue. Not so much time with the rest of my family even though we all live here, but I am seeing mum more. I haven't found yet that I have a lot of extra time, except on weekends. And I've been filling my weekends with projects so far, so that's good. A lot of people are complaining about being bored or scared. Andrew and I are both blessed enough still to have our jobs. So though I feel a great deal of sorrow, I'm not scared anymore. The first week was hard. I had a lot of sleepless nights, bad dreams and anxiety. But I learned a lot when I was off work in 2018 and I've used those tools now.

The other biggest change, which isn't just here, I've seen it documented on the news, is how much wildlife is enjoying the humans being gone. Deer in particular seem to be popping up everywhere (Italy, not just our backyard). Any time you go outside the birds are having a blast. So much noise and fun being had. There have been news reports about pods of whales where there aren't usually whales, and waterways clearing up, less air pollution (which on sunny days I'm sure we can see farther). So interesting. I wish we could keep that aspect of things!

Final note for today. In two years I've had a nervous breakdown. Been off work for 5+ months. Quit my job, started a new one, learned that, switched jobs and learned an entire new one. Been really sick, had my homestays graduate, welcomed new homestays, said goodbye to a homestay, lost relatives....I can't believe how calm I am. I can only attribute that to God. His peace really does pass all understanding.