COVID-19

I don't think I can let 2020 go any further down the road without a post on the situation that is affecting our lives in so many ways.  

Pandemic:

an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally hight proportion of the population

In our case -- the whole world.

I was reading a post on facebook that expressed in a few words the conflicting opinions concerning mask wearing, behaviors, gatherings, medical opinions and who knows what all. 

We have been little affected in the financial department having what is considered an "essential" business. We don't go out to eat much; we don't buy much; we have an emergency fund.

Other people have suffered much, loss of income, mental issues, coping with children learning at home or training them to manage alone all day.

I was very impressed with the way our grandsons learned to cope with each other and managing their time with a minimum of infighting.  They grew up a little during this time. 

Having my two daughters in the health care business, they were concerned for our welfare, reminding us to be careful.  Lorene did our shopping for several weeks, keeping her family away because working so much among the elderly, she didn't want to pass along the virus.  

And, Lynette in Texas, delivering babies in full gown from top to toes, masks and face shields, working with COVID patients, causing a bit of worry.

We live in an area of the state surrounded by meat packing plants with vigorous outbreaks, so we have been slow to go back to normal, as is our town in opening its doors to customers.  

This a curious virus, everyone convinced it is one causing respiratory illness, and it turning out to be one that wreaks havoc in all parts of the body by affecting the blood, or not, if one is asymptomatic. 

I have fluctuated between the idea that this whole thing is a bunch of nonsense, to not wanting to leave my house in case I get infected or infect someone else.  

I suppose the truth of the matter is somewhere in between those two ideas. 

Sensible caution, going forward.

Life Well Lived

Eight years ago I came home from the hospital after having surgery for my sinus tumor.  

I don't remember much of the time in the hospital and somehow I thought we came home from 

the hospital on the day before our 25th anniversary, but in checking the blog post of the time 

it was the 5th not the 7th of June.  

At one time we thought of taking a big vacation to celebrate 25 years, but instead I had cancer.

I found the following article in the June Reader's Digest.

"Life Well Lived

On our 13th wedding anniversary, we didn't go to Mexico as we'd planned.  Instead, on that day when we had avowed ourselves for better or worse, my husband helped me down the steps and into his car and took me to physical therapy.

This is the metaphor. Sometimes -- many times -- both in life and in marriage, you hope for the sunset overlooking the ocean off a deserted beach, but what you get is a drive to physical therapy.  That's OK. Maybe that's actually how it should be."

Excerpted from The Book on Being 40(ish) edited by Lindsey Mead