Well, we’re still living in the new pandemic-world, so it’s taken me a while to get back into a routine of writing! I realize that seems counterintuitive, because there should be more time than ever to write, but it’s weirdly hard to be motivated (with anything… damn you, delicious snacks!) during the uncertainty.
During all of this, I feel like I’m more well read than I’ve ever been, haha! I’m reading all the Washington Post, New York Times, USA Today, Time, and pretty much every other news outlet you can imagine. And of course, I’ve been watching all kids of press conferences.
If you’re like me, all of this uncertainty leads you to wonder what in the world is right, what’s up, what’s down, what day it is, and more! I feel like I’m living on the edge going to the grocery store. I was going to do grocery delivery, then my husband was like, well, then someone who is visiting many other people is coming to you house, and they’re touching all of your items I was like, crapppppp! I read an article that said getting delivery is better, but there could still be risks. I ended up going to the store that time, but think I will order in the future.
Plus, if people are contagious up to 2 weeks before they show sickness, what are they shedding if they’re not coughing or sneezing? Well, I Googled that today, and apparently it can be through speaking droplets. The WHO also said to stay 3 feet away from people, so that made me feel a little better. If we’re being told to stay 6 feet away from others for social distancing, hopefully that gives us a little extra protection.
Here are some great charts from the CDC:
Thankfully I’m a preemie mom. It has trained me well for this. Since having my daughter (who had a serious lung issue in the hospital), I’ve been obsessive about hand washing, sanitizing and staying away from sick people.
Before I had her, it was almost like a badge of honor to never take a sick day from school or work. Like, nothing can keep me from missing work.
How stupid. For real.
I guess it’s one of those “you don’t know what you don’t know” things, but it never occurred to me how seriously dangerous, dumb, and unfair it was to go to work while sick. Thankfully, it’s exceptionally rare that I get sick (fingers crossed that continues!), so it didn’t happen often. I also sat in my own corner, with very high cube walls, and didn’t have many in-person meetings.
After I had my daughter and the doctors made it perfectly clear that she could die even if she caught a “small cold” from us, I realized the gravity of OTHER people’s decisions, and their ability to impact her health (and I had the realization of how stupid I was in previous years. People with chronic condition like Cystic Fibrosis, those on Chemo, and those with many other illnesses could suffer the same fate).
Per doctor’s orders, we had to isolate for 6+ months, so it was very similar to what we’re living now. No one was able to come to our house, and we didn’t go out, with the exception of my husband going to work. He did a NICU-style scrub when he got home, then changed, and put his clothes right in the washer, then took a shower before even coming near our daughter. Cell phones got scrubbed, everything got Lysol’d, it was very stringent. We’re now back on that protocol at home!
So, other than our own home routine getting amped back up, it’s so crazy trying to navigate the world at large! I look at people while I’m at the store, or walking in our neighborhood, and I’m like, wait, are you 6-feet away, have you been out, who else have you been around? I flash back to articles, and am thinking oh man, is this walk risky? Do I need to be in the grocery store??? I feel like I’m on supermarket sweep (which was always fun to play when we were young, but now with the element of danger, I’m not sure I like it as much, haha!).
When we order takeout (which we’ve done primarily through delivery), I’m not sure if I’m being patriotic (by supporting small businesses and gig workers) or being wreckless. It feels like every decision you make right now leads to second guessing yourself. It’s scary. Are we all going to get this, or can we truly avoid getting it through the precautions?
I have to say I’ve enjoyed NY Governor Andrew Cuomo’s daily press conferences. First, I love that he has the powerpoint next to him (especially at the end when he has the one labeled personal opinion – he doesn’t take the chance that anyone is going to misconstrue his opinion for anything except that). It’s seriously so great. I love his charts, and I love that he talks sense to people.
He doesn’t screw around about the seriousness, which I love, but he’s also super positive about things. He reminds us daily that 80% of people who get COVID-19 will recover without issue, 20% will have serious issues and may require hospitalization, and of that group that gets hospitalized, a much smaller percentage will require long-term ventilation and will die (so scary!!!!!!). He also always shares a very clear plan of action.
Listen, I have no idea what his politics are like outside of this (I briefly Googled, but didn’t get too involved), but I can tell you I love the way this guy handles a pandemic! Here are some of my favorite screenshots of his conference today:
Closing with lighter topics, I have been cracking up at some of these memes online.
Here are some of my favorites – note, I have no idea where these originated. They were not created by me, so I don’t/can’t take credit, and unfortunately don’t know the original source:
