It’s been a month since my last coronavirus update. In that time, not much has changed here in Florida. Case numbers have been steadily decreasing and we had our first day of cases under 3,000 on Monday. (The last time that happened was June 17.) We haven’t hit the 10,000 mark since August 1 (9,642 – close enough to 10,000 that I’m counting it), but things might change drastically once school is back in session. However, we’re steadily catching up to California in terms of deaths—this week, we passed the horrifying milestone of 10,000 COVID-19 deaths in Florida. When will things get better? Surely not while Trump is in office, which is why I lay awake at night, terrified that he will be re-elected.
Since my last update, I’ve done a few curbside library pickups and also had a vet appointment for Eloise—two things that went way differently than pre-COVID times.
- Curbside library pickups – Six weeks after placing my books on hold, I finally got an alert from my library that most of them were ready for pickup! Yay! I called the library and scheduled an appointment for a Wednesday afternoon and it was busy when I got to the main library branch. The line of cars snaked all the way out onto the road! But it moved quickly. When it was my turn, I put on my mask, dropped off a few books I’ve had since early March, and then gave my name to the librarian waiting just inside the door. She was masked and gloved, found my books, set them in a container, and then used a stick to push the container over to me. It felt very apocalyptic, I have to say, but whatever it takes to keep librarians safe is fine by me! There are now three libraries open for curbside pickup near me and processing times are getting much faster, so hooray!
- Vet appointment for Eloise – When I arrived at the vet, I parked and called the office to let them know I was there. A vet tech came out (I wore my mask when interacting with her) and took Eloise into the vet’s office while I stayed in my car. After 10 minutes or so, the vet called me directly to tell me that Eloise was lookin’ good, at a perfect weight, and had gotten her shots. Then the vet tech came back out and placed Eloise’s carrier back in the car and had me pay outside. And that was that!
I’ve recognized that I fall somewhere in the middle in terms of risk aversion. Since I am not high-risk, I find myself more at ease with going places like restaurants and Target. But I’m also not throwing all caution to the wind—I try to stick to restaurants that have large outdoor patios and I stay away from crowded spaces. I prefer going out for lunch to going out for dinner since it’s less crowded. You won’t see me at a theme park or on an airplane anytime soon.
It’s probably because my county has a mask mandate that I feel more comfortable being out and about. If we didn’t have that in place, I would be much more cautious about where I’m going. I do wonder about the moral implications of going to a restaurant, though. Am I putting the waitstaff in danger by being there? Obviously, if I was feeling ill at all (even if it wasn’t COVID!), I would stay home but I could also be asymptomatic, unknowingly spreading the virus to at-risk waitstaff. Masks are only required when walking around the restaurant—once I sit down, I can take it off. Then again, since our government isn’t doing anything to protect these workers, they need to work. They need people in their restaurants. The best I can do is limit my time at the restaurant and leave a big tip.
Two things I’ve been grappling with are going back to the gym and getting a massage. I really miss having a gym to break up my workout routine, but everything I’ve read advises against going to the gym. Plus, my gym is really small and I doubt anyone is wearing masks while they work out, so it doesn’t seem like a good plan. I really need to cancel my membership, though. I don’t know when I’ll feel comfortable being at a gym again!
But oh, do I want a massage. My body has been craving one, especially for my lower back and butt. I deal with sciatica nerve pain and a massage really helps to relieve the tension, but I don’t know if I “should” get a massage. I would wear a mask, of course, and my massage center has announced very strict sanitization policies. I’m less concerned about getting the virus if I go get a massage and more concerned about passing it along to my massage therapist. Maybe I should get tested before going, just to be on the safe side?
So many decisions these days feel more charged because there are moral implications to everything we do. And it’s really easy to judge the decisions other people are making—I know I am definitely guilty of that. But we’re all trying to do the best we can and what feels right for our situation. (Well, most of us are. I feel just fine judging anyone who is anti-mask.)
I am fatigued by this pandemic. I miss my friends. I miss traveling. I miss being out in public without a mask. I miss quick trips to my nearby library. I miss getting regular pedicures and massages. I miss normalcy. I don’t know when normalcy will return. What it will even look like when it does return.
But I try not to think about the past or even the future too much. It just makes me panicky. I have to stay anchored in the present, live in this moment, and let the future meet me when it’s here.
Gah, pandemic decisions are so tough, aren’t they? I honestly think it’s fairly safe to get a massage. You would both be masked and I am sure your therapist is taking precautions to protect herself. I had to decide whether or not to keep my dental appt last month and opted to go. It felt really safe. They had me rinse with a mouthwash for a full minute (which felt so damn long) before starting my cleaning. My hygenist wore a mask and shield, as did the doctor. I am cavity-prone so I didn’t want to miss that appointment and risk getting a cavity. I felt really good about the decision to go after seeing how well they handled it.
I am high risk between RA and 2 immune-suppressant drugs for my RA plus I”m pregnant so we are being very cautious. We won’t go anywhere indoors where masks are off – so no indoor restaurants for us until there is a widely available vaccine. I couldn’t say this on my blog because my mom reads it, but our lake vacation ended on a sour note. I won’t bore you with all the back and forth and what all happpened, but my brother, his 12yo son and the oldest son of my oldest sister (who doesn’t believe Covid is a big deal) came to my parents house on Friday morning. I thought I had made it clear I didn’t want anyone else in the house besides my parents and Phil, Paul and me. I had a pit of anxiety in my stomach all day as I have not been indoors with anyone besides my parents (who we know are unlikely to be asymptomatic carriers) and my best friend and her family whose kids go to the same daycare so we are in the same immunity bubble. We went to get take out for my mom’s birthday and I sobbed uncontrollably in the car (thanks, pregnancy hormones). Phil felt so bad for me. I had told my older sister on Wed that I didn’t want anyone else in the house with us (she asked if they could come on Friday and our original plan was to leave on Sat am so I asked if they could wait until Saturday – and then she sends her son. Grrr.). So we ended up leaving at 2 on Friday since the weather was bad and I felt so anxious being in a house with all these other people. So all that is to say that I am extremely fatigued by covid and tired of my family not understanding/respecting my concerns about the virus. I understand my chances of getting it from one of them is extremely low, but the consequences of me getting it while pregnant could be very high. These were the 6 days out of 366 that we were at the lake and I was really hoping they could just stay away. now we won’t go back until there is a widely available vaccine and all family members have been vaccinated.
So basically I feel even more bleak about the state of our world after that trip as I feel like people aren’t willing to make the most basic sacrifices. I wish more people were making the decisions you are making! Even though you aren’t high risk, you are modifying your behavior out of the interest of others!
Ha – you and I are on the same wavelength today. I am really struggling with living in the moment, too.
Your cats are super cute.
I don’t see myself going back to the gym anytime soon at all. I’ve adapted to a pretty good workout schedule from home and I am planning to invest in more exercise equipment, so who knows if I’ll ever go back (although I did enjoy some classes and I miss some of my gym buddies).
I am still very, very cautious when it comes to doing “normal” stuff… even if it seems low risk. I haven’t been comfortable going to any restaurants, but we have been getting (no-contact) take out once a week and I am going to Target every other week for household items.
I definitely feel that every decision must be extra carefully considered.
That is such a good point that you just have to try to live in the now and hope for a better future. We really shouldn’t lament how things used to be, even though it’s human nature, right? BECAUSE IT’S NOT GONNA BE LIKE THAT AGAIN. Sigh.
I think your idea of getting a test before the massage is good! If you do that, and feel at ease, think about how good that massage will feel!
I would feel the same way about a gym. They’re usually small spaces with not-great ventilation where people breathe more. They’re not set up to be very safe 🙁
Apollo and Starbuck have a vet appt next month and I think I do drop off like that too which is a bummer because I love shooting the sh*t with the vet and all the techs when I go! LOL
I am so happy for you that you’ve been able to do curbside pick ups at your library! MANY of the libraries in my county have also done that / are still doing it. We didn’t because we opened our building back to the public in May (which I had feelings about), but I’m glad curbside is working out so well!