Sorry for how long it’s been since my last post. First we had a rough bout of flu sweep through the house, then we had some technical difficulties with our computer. But finally everything seems to be up and running again. We are all health and happy, and we bought a new computer to replace the one that was broken. Now we are in the grip of COVID-19. The kids’ schools are closed for at least two weeks, and I’m sure daycare will close soon. Once daycare closes, I will have to stay home from work. I can’t imagine I will have enough sick leave to get paid through the two weeks. Emily (being a doctor and all) will still have to go in to work. Pets still get sick and injured after all. On the plus side (if daycare closes and I become a temporary stay at home dad) I will have more time with the kids, and frankly more time to post on this blog as an outlet for being a stay at home dad. Good conversation is hard to come by when you’re home with the kids all day.
We went to Target today to do a little supply stocking. While there I saw a person wipe down a shopping cart with Lysol wipes. My first reaction was to think that wiping down a cart was over kill, but I quickly changed my mind. I have no idea what “overkill” is these days. We didn’t go crazy and buy 144 rolls of toilet paper, but we did by some frozen foods that will keep for a while, some extra cereal for the kids, and (of course) ice cream. We’ve got a couple of loaves of bread in the freezer, a good amount of canned foods, and plenty of rice. I think we’ll be fine. But that is the real problem with COVID-19 in my opinion. I really have no idea if we are over prepared or grossly under prepared. There is so much information out there and half of it contradicts the other half. Some things you see on the news talks about this as a global crisis that could be devastating, while others refer to COVID-19 as little more than a joke. The idea of “Just wash your hands” doesn’t jive with people fighting in stores over the last roll of toilet paper.
Social Media is no help at all. I know that Facebook should never be a trusted source of information, but most of us spend a significant amount of time on social media. We get bombarded with misinformation about this disease to the point of exhaustion. And, for me, exhaustion is the point where I stop caring so much. I truly don’t know if I should be terrified or if this whole thing is a big joke. I know places like China and Italy have been hit extremely hard, but is that going to happen here? I feel like there was a big push to make us not worry about COVID-19 for a long time, but now we’ve hit the panic button.
Our response as a nation has been confusing. We’ve closed the borders as far as international travel is concerned. India and Oscar’s school is closed for at least the next two weeks, but daycare is still open. Oscar has soccer practice on Tuesday that is still scheduled to happen. The government downplayed COVID-19 for all most a month, but now we are in a national state of emergency. Should I take the kids to daycare and go to work Monday? Emily’s and my line of work can’t stop. Animals will need help no matter what is going on in the world and where there are sick animals, there will be their potentially contagious owners. If an owner is sick and infects me, and I bring it home and infect my kids…I don’t know. It would be hard to deal with. On the other hand, spreading disease to my family through contact with others is something I’ve risked long before COVID-19 was a concern of mine.
So, yeah. I know this is a ranting rambling post, but it is an honest post. And, I bet a lot of people feel similarly to me. I don’t really know what to think of COVID-19. Is it similar to the flu (and thus not to be feared [I know the flu so I don’t fear the flu]) or is this a new much scarier upper airway disease. My true fear is for India. She has asthma and I am truly terrified she will get sick and end up in the hospital again where there could be a shortage of hospital beds. I don’t want her to know my fear and spread my fear to her. I want life to go on much as it always had, but I also don’t want to bury my head in the sand and pretend like COVID-19 doesn’t exist or pose a threat to my family.
Last but not least, Emily and I were recognized and thanked for our posts in Target. Shout out to the lady that saw us in Target, I wish I had asked your name, instead of just saying “thank you.” Tell us if you guys are afraid of what’s going on with COVID-19, or if the disease doesn’t scare you. And, as always, thanks for reading.
