This is partly to organize my own thoughts and partly to keep friends and family informed...
I am prepared for a long stay at home. Some of it is just routine habit; some of it is in response to concerns about food and energy systems.
I am a homebody. I routinely don't leave the yard for days at a time. Granted, "day's at a time" is not weeks at a time, but I could manage. I routinely have weeks of home-cooked meals in the freezers (kitchen fridge and older basement fridge).
When I heard that CoVid19 ad escaped China months ago, I added more canned goods to my pantry. Nothing I wouldn't use up eventually, but stuff I normally wouldn't eat except in an emergency. I even bought bottled water for the first time ever.
As things have gotten worse, I have added to that. A pack of TP here, a 3-pack of kleenex there, a few more cans of soup, a few cans of fruit, cans of tomatoes. Bags of potatoes and oinions (I can't cook without them). I missed out on the antiseptic-wipes, I thought for sure I had several packs of them from when Dad was here. Maybe I sent them with him.
If the electricity doesn't fail for more than a couple hours, I actually have enough food for 3 months, and I'm not talking about frozen TV dinners. If the electricity fails for 24 hours, I'm screwed!
One never knows what will happen in the face of social disruption. I trust that we will all get through this OK with some cooperation. People in democracies tend to rise to the challenge.
The thing that might challenge me most is not having fresh fruit available. I like meat. Small amounts are fine. But 75% of what I eat is veggies and fruit. Its not a diet, just my taste preference.
I have mentioned before that I have been immune to influenza virus since childhood. This CorVid19 is not that virus. I might be as vulnerable to it as anyone. That's oddly scary. After a lifetime of seeming-immunity to viruses, I'm not sure about this one. It is entirely possible that the genetic reasons I have been free of them in the past makes me equally or more vulnerable to this one.
There is an ancient Chinese curse that say's "May you live in interesting times". This is an "interesting time". I don't want to live in "interesting times" like this!
But I also look at this in another way. Some bad things happen randomly. The dinosaurs were wiped out by a random meteoroid. There have also been other extinction events. Shit happens sometimes.
But I offer a word of hope. This Corona Virus is not going to kill us off. It is individually- threatening, but not species-threatening. There will be some unfortunate individuals who die from it (and probably fewer than from the regular seasonal flu).
Be careful, but don't panic... Always keep a towel nearby.
3 comments:
Thanks for letting us know that you're okay. It's kinda hard to understand what the impact of what's happening is likely to be. I'm trying to prepare myself for difficult conditions to last until Christmas - and hoping that that is pessimistic and the worst of it will be over by September. I'm concerned that everyone is gonna get 'virus fatigue' and become less committed to social distancing and enhanced personal hygiene because they're so 'over it' after a little while.
I have two part-time jobs. One of them has me working from home - so it seems relatively secure. The other is an admin role in public healthcare. Although I'm not a healthcare worker myself, if I don't go to work, a nurse has to be taken away from her normal job to do mine, so turning up is helping the healthcare system keep at least one nurse operational. Because of this job, I feel that I'm getting the best quality advice and latest information. The nurses I support provide in-home care, so the risk of getting the virus seems less than if we were hospital-based. That said, I'm fairly confident that if/when I get the virus, I'll just feel rotten for two or three weeks. I rarely get colds, I'm not prone to chest infections, I'm not asthmatic etc, so I feel that I'll be able to handle the symptoms without requiring medical intervention. However, my husband is in the high-risk category and that is making me nervous. I don't want him to die because the hospital doesn't have enough ventilators.
I hope you feel that you want to keep blogging, both here and assisting the Mews with their blog. It makes a difference to your readers - it's nice to feel connected to people around the world.
Megan
Sydney, Australia
I am glad you are keeping well and hope you continue to do so. All over 70s and those with health problems are being asked to self isolate for 3 months for our own safety.
Unless we go out we only see the people who keep their horses on our land and stables. For the past 2 weeks we have kept away from them all. We are lucky that we have our fields we can walk around and see no-one. We also have Dartmoor* close by which is mostly deserted unless you go to the villages. These are worrying times but hopefully we will get safely through it.
* https://www.visitplymouth.co.uk/things-to-do/dartmoor-national-park-p2094713
Glad you are well stocked and ready to isolate in place. We are well stocked too. I just wish I could get my mom to stay with us at least intil the threat is over. Stay healthy.
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