The Coronavirus Diaries | Update #11

I remember when I started writing this series. I thought to myself, is it even worth writing about? This is all going to go away within a few weeks, right? 

Oh, sweetie.

It’s now been four months since my last day in the office. Four months since I sat at lunch with friends and heard one of them say, “Oh, shit, COVID-19 is now a global pandemic.” Four months of social distancing and wearing face masks everywhere I go and worrying when normal life will resume.

Health experts have been eyeing Florida as the next potential epicenter for the last few weeks, and it appears we are here. We are constantly creating new statistics, like having the most cases in one day (15,300), and our governor is not doing a damn thing about it. COVID-19 shouldn’t be a partisan issue. I shouldn’t have to feel like all of this lack of action is due to having a Republican governor. And yet, the Republican party has made it a partisan issue. Our president refuses to wear a mask (except for one time and no, he does not get credit for that) and deal with the issue at hand. Instead, he’d rather talk about cancel culture and tearing down confederate statues than the fact that 138,000+ people have died from COVID-19.

Sometimes, I imagine how an actual empathetic and reasonable president would have handled this pandemic. I’m not even talking about a Democratic president! Just someone who would actually be saddened by so many deaths and want to help families who have lost loved ones.

I know I use a lot of these COVID-19 updates to discuss politics, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s hard to separate politics from the virus. They’re inextricably linked. If we had a competent administration, one that values science and facts (…and one that didn’t disband the pandemic response team), we could have controlled this virus early on. Trump knew what was coming, and he refused to do anything about it. That’s on him. That’s on Republicans.

It feels weird to be the state that’s in the news. Every breaking news alert about Florida makes my heart drop. It’s hard to believe where we are today versus where we were in early May. That’s when we started reopening, and we didn’t do it slowly. Nope – we opened restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, gyms, and movie theaters. It was full speed ahead. Sure, we had a “phased” reopening plan, but things in our first and second phases were way down in other state’s final phases.

Here’s what the past few weeks have looked like in my world:

WORK

• I continue to work from home and there’s currently no plan to bring employees back into the office. Originally, my company was going to open the office twice a week for up to 25 employees to come in and work (with all common areas shut down, including our break room). They are putting that plan on hold for now with the rise in cases. Apparently, about 40% of businesses in our office building are back in the office (which is staggering to me!), so I’m very glad that my company isn’t requiring that for us.
• Investing in a second screen has been LIFE-CHANGING for my work-from-home life. I can’t believe I spent three full months working remotely with just my laptop screen!

FRIENDS/FAMILY

• My family did a big get-together for the Fourth of July that I opted out of. I had a lot of FOMO about not being there, but I know I made the right choice. We had a big group this year (16 people, I think?) and I just had a strong feeling that social-distancing guidelines would be hard to follow. My Fourth of July was spent at home, keeping watch over the cats who were a bit bothered by all the fireworks.
• I haven’t seen any friends in months, except for a quick visit to one of my nearest and dearest to pick up some masks. She’s been sewing face masks for coworkers and friends, and I requested two—one for me and one for my mom. I loved the mask she made for me and I promptly asked for more. <3
• Family from Georgia came into town for the holiday and while I didn’t attend the big Fourth of July get-together, my mom, stepdad, and I went out to dinner with them while they were here. My plan was to wear my mask the whole time and not hug them buuuut that swiftly went out the window when I saw them and I had to give my beloved family a hug! Balancing risk vs reward can be tricky, but I do not regret seeing them.

PUBLIC OUTINGS

• I went to a restaurant for the first time in early July. And then promptly visited restaurants three more times. I really thought I would stay away from restaurants for a good long while, but there was a Friday night when I was helping my mom out by picking up my stepdad from his truck stop and he wanted to go out for dinner. So I acquiesced. And then there was dinner when my family was in town. And then visiting two restaurants during my mom’s birthday week. It’s not something I want to make a regular occurrence, but it happened and I feel fine about it. (And maaaaan, was it nice to have fresh bread delivered right to the table! Takeout bread is just not the same.)
• I had my first pedicure since February. My mom has been wanting one, and I decided her birthday was the perfect time to do it. I felt very safe at the nail salon I visited. A friend had gone there and reported back that she felt really safe while there (she’s being even more cautious than I am, so I felt really good about it). lt was super nice to have all the dead skin on my feet sloughed off, haha, and my toenails painted. The salon was huge and everyone was spaced out. We were seated at two chairs in the corner with three chairs between us and a set of friends. I was really happy with my experience!
• I’ve started visiting more retail stores—visits to Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond. I foresee more shopping dates like this over the next month or two as I prepare for my move. It is what it is. I always wear my mask and try not to touch too many surfaces.

MENTAL HEALTH

• My anxiety has felt fairly manageable over the past few weeks, and I am so very thankful for that. I have been feeling little moments of despair here and there, which is natural. Everything feels very out of control right now and it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen next. (Well, other than cases exploding even more if we don’t start to shut things down.)
• My sleep has been all sorts of jacked up ever since I started staying at home. It’s a combination of too much caffeine and not enough Vitamin D, I think. I’m not moving around as much or getting outside in the sunshine as much as I used to. I’ve implemented a system of cutting off caffeine by 3pm every day and spending at least 10 minutes outside in the middle of the day. It’s helping! My sleep has definitely improved, especially with the caffeine goal. I always forget how much it affects me until I begin to limit it.

MISC

• I am really glad I don’t have to worry about the upcoming school year. I see teachers and parents on my social media timelines fretting about what to do, and I really feel for them. Parents in my school district can choose to send their children to school or do digital learning, but what a hard choice to make. My brother and his wife have made the decision to keep my nephews home for this school year, which means my sister-in-law will undertake the arduous task of working from home while making sure a five- and 11-year-old do their schoolwork. Oy vey. I also highly sympathize with teachers who are worrying about the upcoming school year and what it will look like for them. Teaching during a pandemic is not something anyone is prepared for!
• My library books are still in transit. I don’t think I’m ever going to get them, ha. It’s been six weeks since I requested them and I guess they will forever be in transit. Is it because I have a $1 fine??? 😉 Oh, well. I’ve got plenty of other reads to keep me busy for the time being.

How are you holding up? What’s it like where you are?