Blogging During A Pandemic

Hello Everyone!

It's been awhile since I've shared my thoughts here, but I think I'm going to start up again.  There is something appealing about the idea of blogging during a Pandemic.  Feel free to join me!

Today is March 22, 2020.  My last day in school was Friday, March 13.  When I left school that day, I thought we were going to have school on Monday the 16th as well.  Then over the weekend, our district announced we would not be going in on Monday.  Luckily, on Friday, I had given all of my students 3 assignments which are officially "due" by Monday, April 6, when we were set to go back to school.  While this 3-week extended break has not yet been officially extended, Ohio Governor DeWine has clearly implied that we may not go back for several more weeks or not even at all this school year.  We are waiting on the big "final word" on that decision.

Given all this, in addition to having to deal with the fear of the CoronaVirus (Covid-19), teachers are also having to deal with the fear of what is going to happen with the rest of the school year and how we will navigate it.

As someone who was born about 60 years ago, I have never before had to deal with this sort of nationwide (or global) Pandemic.  However, the one thing I have compared this to is 9/11.  I know that might seem weird, but hear me out. When 9/11 happened, there was a cloud that hung over the US that affected everyone.  I can remember going into the grocery a couple of days later, and there was a stunned silence from everyone in the store.  Everyone was quiet and trying to function and go on with life, but the events were clearly affecting everyone.  It was the same way at school.  Everyone was affected.  I remember wondering at the time how long we would feel this intense shock.  How long would it take before the events of 9/11 were not the first thing we thought of when we woke up and the last thing we thought about before we went to sleep.  I now find myself wondering the same things about this Pandemic.  We don't know how long this cloud is going to be hanging over us.  We don't know how long it is going to directly impact everything we do in our lives.  For weeks... months after 9/11, every time we turned on the TV, there was yet another report about it, another discussion happening, another video or collection of photos, or mention of the status of everything.  Now, we turn on the TV and there are national and state briefings happening several times a day.  Many TV shows which used to have live audiences are now showing reruns.  Many shows with journalists who used to sit in a studio are now having people broadcast from their homes. Our society made long-term changes after that day that will live in infamy, and our society is going to be making changes after this Pandemic.  This is going to be with us in some form or another for months if not years.

I find myself wondering what it was like to be alive during times with Tuberculosis, Polio, Cholera, Scarlet Fever and even The Plague.  There have been other big viruses in my lifetime, but nothing that shut down schools and whole towns like this.  Of course, there is no good time to deal with a Pandemic, but during this 2020 year of political turmoil, it is even a double whammy.

Hubs and I are behaving - sheltering in place.  I went to school on Tuesday, March 17 to get some things from my room, but I only had distant contact with colleagues when I was there.  Otherwise, I have had no direct contact with anyone other than the woman who delivered my Panera Bread order at dinner, and she put the bag down outside my door and walked away as I talked to her through the storm door.

Tomorrow, we are picking up food at Kroger, and I will wear a face mask and latex gloves.  Then I will clean the groceries as I put them away before I take my gloves off.  I predict we will not get everything we ordered.  We placed the order on Friday night, and Monday at 2 pm was the earliest time we could get for pick up.  We also ordered a few other things from Giant Eagle, and we have to wait a week to pick those up!  Some stores are offering a free hour in the morning for "seniors" for which we qualify, so we might try that at Meijer.

Stay tuned as I navigate this very weird lifestyle change.  Share with me if you can.

Meanwhile - WASH YOUR HANDS!

:)Amy