It has been a week since the world
turned upside down for me.
God knows, the whole world is reeling from the spread of this virus - we are ALL upside down now.
Was it just last Thursday when I dithered about if I should go to a weekend Fiber Fair just hours from my house? Spend some down time at the ocean. Or maybe skip the fair but spend quality time only with the waves and the sand.
How can it be that thought process was only one short week ago?
I have binged watched all the coverage of this pandemic and now it feels like I should take a break. My head is weary from all the bad news - and I just need to hit the 'pause' button. But how do you do that when each and every day the pattern of our lives changes yet again - new cautions, new closures, new restrictions, new predictions (dire ones), crashing stock market, death numbers climbing - it would be irresponsible to turn away when you need to stay informed. But, oh the weariness of it all.
Today I realized exactly what this feels like. I am a huge fan of end-of-the-world fiction. You know, apocalypse stories, pandemics, survivalist fiction, zombies, Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) events that interrupt the societal norm ... stuff that never happens, but is so interesting to read.
Except - pandemics do happen as it turns out and other stuff in that genre can also happen. Ok, maybe not zombies, but real life right now feels more like fiction. What I want to do is just close my Kindle book right now - and everything returns to normal - until I pick up the Kindle again.
Can we just have a 24 hour 'pause,' please?
Maybe if we politely took a vote and everyone raised their hands for a pause
we could get one.
I am getting quite good at washing my hands, wiping down surfaces (inside and out) that I might touch with Clorox wipes, making sure I stay many feet away from others, and cancelling commitments for the next 8 weeks or so. I am buying ahead like everyone else - maybe not enough to last months, but certainly if I buy one of something normally, today I bought two. Two or three of almost everything. Except the stores have gotten wise now - after they were totally cleaned out last weekend - and they mostly limit you to two of stuff! My household foods and supplies are now at an all time high. And I don't feel guilty about it at all. What I hear (since I can't seem to stop listening) is that the next 5 to 7 days will see a dramatic rise in Covid-19 cases (despite the efforts that have been put in place to slow the spread.) So if I don't have to go out to the store next week - that would be just fine.
The first few days I was constantly reminding myself to do all the protective stuff. It was exhausting to be so focused on everything single action. But I discovered today that these cautions are becoming part of my normal way of behaving. I never touch public surfaces now if I can help it - and when I do I whip out the hand sanitizer. Yes, I have some of that golden liquid that everyone seeks - from last spring - when I got the flu. And I have 3 boxes of disposable gloves spread around the condo - some in the pockets of my coats or in my purse. I hope all this effort makes a difference. I can't imagine going through an illness that can make me more ill than that flu did last spring.
What I can't seem to wrap my mind around is that these practices probably will be part of our lives until a vaccine is available. That is at least a year away. We might get a break during the summer months, but this little bugger virus will be back. We are talking at least a year or more of vigilance as our only protection!
Is it possible to be that regimented in your personal practices to maintain that level of protection for so long? I guess the answer must be a resounding YES!
What we are really talking about is a permanent new reality!!
Or, we are all living inside a novel - permanently trapped - with no way to escape!
Am I just over reacting
or do others feels this is a unreal world right now?
10 comments:
Having been taught what the Bible says from before memory, it doesn't feel unreal; more of "hang on; if this IS the end it's going to be a bumpy ride, but it'll be alright (much BETTER than alright!) on the other side." I feel like an observer in some ways....
It does seem a bit surreal. I have made it a point not to listen to any new from the time I wake up until the evening news comes on. It's not that I am ignoring it. I just can not let it consume me. Do keep busy I have been deep cleaning somewhere each day. After dinner it is movies and knitting. Stay well!
Being informed is good. Overload is bad. We all know the news media thrives on bad news, so making the most of this is natural for them. It's all about ratings. The blamers and the finger pointers are the worst. I refuse to give them my attention.
Part of the reason we'll see a rise in cases is because testing is becoming available. More people will be tested, so of course, we'll see the numbers go up. Some people will get that, and others will use the numbers to keep things stirred up. China's numbers have been dropping for awhile now, so it's not like the disease itself will go on and on indefinitely.
Being stocked up and conscientious are common sense. These are things that should be part of our way of life. The chaos we brought upon ourselves. Group dynamics are powerful. I experienced the pull of that mob mentality in the store last week, and almost started grabbing stuff I really don't need.
Comparison charts are out now, comparing Covid-19 to many historical pandemics, and really, now that the facts are getting out, this is a wimpy virus by comparison. It puzzles me why people panicked over this one, and not SARS, H1N1, Ebola, Zika, or HIV. Why this one? I honestly have no answers. A sign of the times, perhaps?
It is a tough balance to keep informed without fixating on the coverage, which is not good news and you can only absorb so much of that without it causing anxiety. I don't know what to think about a lot of it, solutions elude me and it seems the Governments are just as Clueless about what to do to attempt to stay ahead of it.
I must have written this . . .
It has been in my head anyway . . .
Thank you . . .
Granddaughter scheduled to be married August 5 . . .
I casually mentioned to the dad, (my son) just today . . .
might want to mention to your daughter, my granddaughter . . .
venue may cancel.
(Not liking being “a dismal charlie” but seriously . . .)
We are at a place where CONSTANT CHANGE is the name of the game!
A family home, bring food to share wedding, might be in order.
I am marrying them . . .
This new world is exhausting. I have given up on most of the news and all of the commentary. Just the facts please. I hate to go outside, have only been out to help a sick friend who was in emergency at the hospital because of cancer. It was like running the gauntlet to get in there. I was so nervous too. We are in for the long haul by the look of it.
It does feel like we're in a dystopian future in a book sometimes . . .
I'm starting to work on balancing what I take in about the virus. To keep up to date, I try to listen to a bit of each day's press conference from the Whitehouse, and our governor's daily briefing. We also listen to the nightly (6:30 pm) national news. But, regardless of anyone's politcal leanings (and whether or not one supports the current administration), listening to the information at the source is the only way to know if the evening news (or daily talk show hosts) are delivering useful information. MY exprience in this is that conservative and liberal media all muddy it up more than they need to. With source information at our fingertips, the media (of all stripes) are becoming more and more irrelevant, IMO. OTOH, I do appreciate when they go out and interview real people, or relevant experts. I wish they didn't then feel like they need to comment further. Seriously... sometimes news people just need to get out the way so that those with something to say can say it.
And then I use my other on-line time reading friendly blogs, or watching uplifting video podcasts. Or go exploring new subjects - completely unrelated to the present situation. I wish I could get my act in gear and be productive with new crafty things, or cleaning and organizing my home - like Leftycrafter above. Maybe after this week of general unproductivity, I'll get my act together. This week was actually a bit of decompression for me as my knickers were in a knot the two weeks before - wondering why we weren't getting on top of this thing earlier.
It's going to be a roller coaster for a while, no doubt.
It sounds like you and I had similar ideas for a blog... I think that your comparisons to dystopian novels are spot on. I just have to try and keep a sense of humor, I now realize, being an introvert is a super power now! Take care, keep well...
Cat
I read a comment from a doctor today who said we should stop watching the tv news, except for tuning in once a day in case there are any important announcements. The repeated tragic stories are too much sometimes.
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