Tag: coronavirus

Watch What You Say

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 16 Comments

Earlier today I wrote a blog which, after thinking about it for a while, deleted.

I have that instant temper thing; it rarely comes out, but when it does, I want to tell the person — or the world — what I think. I take a lot of baloney from the world, most of which I try to ignore. Let it roll off my proverbial back. Mostly because I can’t do anything about ignorance and ignorant people.

But I’m seeing so many people these days making blanket statements about people and situations that they know nothing about. Hearsay. Second hand information. Guess work. And what they are saying is hurtful.

We all make guesses about everyday things. We’re not there in the front row — guesses are often all we have. Even when we have all the facts.

It’s hard staying optimistic during these trying times. It’s hard staying in a good mood. We do our best, even though the world is falling apart around us. 

Sometimes I think the answer is staying away from the media. Social media, print media, broadcast media. For every positive story about people doing their best to help each other out, there are other stories of people being nasty to each other just because they don’t see eye-to-eye.

This world makes me sad, sometimes.

We all have the best intentions, but sometimes, in a crisis like what we’re all going through, those intentions get mashed up with our fears and insecurities until we don’t even recognize ourselves.

I know I hate being cooped up inside. I hate wearing masks. I hate not seeing my family. I hate that some of my friends are unemployed because of this virus. I hate that my friend’s kids won’t have a graduation party or can’t try out for the soccer team because there is no soccer team.

But we can’t break down now.

We can’t start being mean and selfish just because we can.

I know I’ve written about this before. Usually I spout and move on. That’s what you have to do these days. We’re not world leaders; we’re not doctors or lawyers or policy makers. We are regular people with regular fears and loves and dreams.

But I seem to find I’m having a harder time moving on these days.

Maybe it’s being on lock down. Maybe it’s too much Internet and not enough painting or writing or needle-pointing. Maybe it’s too much focus on a virus that may or may not get me.

I know someone who had C-19 and recovered. That should give me hope. It’s almost summer. That should give me hope, too.

Think before you post. Before you speak. Before you call. If not for the other person, for yourself. Turn off, delete, block. Don’t let others control your reactions by their actions. Find your golden rule and stick to it. Be nice to each other.

We’re all we’ve got.

 

 

Is This Retirement?

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 17 Comments

From the outside, being newly retired and being under lockdown for the Coronavirus are the same thing.

In both, you get to sleep in. I’ve kept up with my cleaning, I’m cooking more homemade and sometimes fancy meals, go for walks with my dog, stay up late, binge on TV shows and movie series, and continue to search for my circadian rhythm.

Sounds perfect, doesn’t it? It was all I wanted when I was putting in full days behind the computer.

But under the surface they feel different. They are different.

And it all comes down to one’s interpretation of personal freedom.

I have a lot of that under lockdown. My husband has to still go to work at night, so I’m alone 3-4 evenings a week, so that has turned into my personal time. Writing, wandering, reading, lower-energy things for evening time. I take naps, text and call friends, research books, and binge on the Ming Dynasty if I want.

But I don’t feel free.

Retirement meant going out and meet friends for coffee whenever I wanted. It meant getting a little more active in my community, joining groups like the local Art Alliance and going to a meeting or two. Being retired meant running to the store for bling supplies mid-task or stopping by my grandkids house Saturday mornings for a playtime or two. It meant taking off for a couple of days and visiting a new place or a week off at the cabin.

Now I’m not free to do any of those things. 

Believe me, my staying at home mode is more me than the governor’s decree. I’m a little older, a little slower, and have had my share of medical scares. I am not going to jeopardize my future with my kids and friends and my blogging friends by hanging where the virus may be lurking. 

I want this virus to go away. I want my friends and family and even people I don’t know to stay healthy and not be affected by it. I don’t want to accidentally spread it nor accidentally get it.

Bur I want chocolate shakes with friends and evenings with music to be on my schedule, not some virus’s. I want to be that retired person who has ten times more things to do than when I worked in the world. I want to pop into the store to buy something fresh for dinner and throw parties for my family and volunteer at the local art gallery and take off for Las Vegas for the weekend if I want.

I want to be retired the old-fashioned way.

Not this way.

Stop Yelling at Me

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 20 Comments

Well, the madness about the Coronavirus is taking over like a runaway train, smashing down gates, panicking everyone, along with  showing many people’s true colors.

It has also has spotlighted one of my (many) character flaws… Im getting hurt way too easily. What a baby.

You would think a chick in her mid-late-60s would have her $hit together enough to not let the panic of the pandemic rattle her cage.

Well, my friends, my cage has been rattled.

One thing I’ve noticed is that people are getting very opinionated and vocal about this pandemic. I am reading responses (this happens to be on Facebook) from people that are bordering on nasty. And like a runaway train, it keeps on going. Faster and faster.

Schools are already closed in my state, along with churches, restaurants, and activities of any sort. Now the discussion/debate is whether we should be “social distancing.” If we should stay away from public gathering places like restaurants in order to not get/spread this virus. I gave my simpleton response to someone’s FB question and was dutifully pounced on for it.

Look. I am old(er). My family and friends are either getting up here or past me. I have young kids and younger grandkids. We are all concerned. We are all in various stages of understanding something like this, and are doing our best.

But there are increasing numbers of people who are losing patience. People who are yelling and scolding online to people they don’t even know. Even people who make jokes to get through the darkness are being sent to the woodshed. The big bravado provided from behind a computer screen makes people pull that “what’s the matter with you?” card.

It makes me hesitant to post anything anymore.

 I understand the reasoning behind ultra caution. What I don’t understand is the bullying.

Look, people. I’ve survived cancer, family members dying,  car rollovers, and surgeries. I will survive the coronavirus, too, without stocking up for Armageddon.

Everybody gets it. This is a bad time for healthcare. World War II and Vietnam and the Holocaust were bad times for healthcare, too. But we survived.

There is no need to get naughty and nasty about sharing your opinions. These are your fellow human beings you’re talking to. I don’t want us to become a world isolated from itself because some still don’t “get it.”  We need to share ideas and opinions so we can learn. So we can grow.

Stop yelling at me. Or my friends. Or at people I don’t know.

Stop being a bully.

This, too, shall pass. But the hurt feelings won’t.

People and the Coronavirus

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 15 Comments

Wednesday or Thursday evening has become my grocery shopping night. I’m either on my way back from cleaning the Chicago house or spending some time with the grandkids, so why not stop on my way home and save a trip tomorrow?

So hubby and I stopped in a big superstore in Waukesha, a fairly big and bubbling city in Wisconsin.

The above picture was the scene for the check out line. It ended at the far wall of the superstore, in the last frozen food aisle. See where the arrow is pointing? That is the beginning of the check out turnstyles.

People kept falling in line behind the last one in line. And on and on. We wandered to the front of the store where there were way shorter lines and got out in a jiffy.

But everyone was buying water and disinfectant. And toilet paper.

Toilet paper.

Standing in line for over an hour just for toilet paper. Limit 2.

People, people, people. What is going on?

I understand using caution with the coronavirus. People are popping up with this infection all over the place. In the U.S., everything from March Madness basketball games to local choral concerts to music concerts to Little League Championship Baseball Tournaments have been cancelled. Universities are closing immediately until further notice. (My niece is one who is being sent home today).

Cases in the U.S: (updated on March 13 at 9:30 .a.m., WebMD)

Deaths in the U.S.:

Washington state: 31. Twenty-two are associated with the Life Care Center skilled nursing facility in King County, Washington
Florida: 2. One is a previously known patient in Santa Rosa County who had recently been on an international trip The other is a person in their 70s who tested positive in Lee County, also after an international trip.California: 4. One was in an elderly person from Placer County who had recently gone on a Princess cruise to Mexico. The other is a woman in her 60s from Santa Clara County. The third was in a woman in her 90s who lived in assisted living. The fourth was in a woman in her 60s who had traveled overseas. She died in Los Angeles County but is not a resident there.

New Jersey: 1. The state’s first death is in a man in his 60s from Bergen County.

Georgia: 1. The state’s first death is in a man in his 60s with underlying conditions.

South Dakota: 1. A man in his 60s from Pennington County. Gov. Kristi Noem said he had underlying health conditions.

Compare that to:

So far, the CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000.    (Health, 2020).

I am not downplaying the seriousness of any virus. Not at all. I’m old and am at risk just like everyone else.

But PLEASE. Standing in line for an hour just in case you are kept in your house for a week or two? Stocking up on water — like your faucet won’t work?

I was amazed, appalled, astounded, astonished, alarmed, and basically just freaked out by how many people were stockpiling. Each one looked at the forever-line and just fell in behind them.

What is happening?

It’s as easy to catch the flu as it is to catch the coronavirus. And just as easy to prevent it. We’re not talking about those who are weakened by another condition, just to be taken by the flu or the virus. We are not talking about those with weak immune systems.

We are talking about John Q. Public.

Wash your hands. All the time. Sanitize the air if you must. Stay away from large crowds if you must. Even if you get the virus, the chances are ENORMOUSLY RARE that will you die from it. You probably will get hit by a car before expiring from the virus.

All I’m saying — I think many of us are saying — is just use COMMON SENSE and we will all get through this.

Now excuse me while  I sanitize my insides with a little Moscato Wine….