Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Hello from the lockdown

Things have escalated rapidly in this whole coronavirus pandemic. Our school district, under the direction of our new progressive Superintendent, has been quietly preparing for emergency "e-learning" for a while now. Of course, they thought they were preparing for weather emergencies like hurricanes or snow days, not this. Every student has a district-issued laptop where teachers can post lesson plans and video lessons from home and students can log onto the Google Classroom app and do their work. They even did a few class periods online last semester as practice. Last week the Superintendent sent out directions for teachers to begin making virtual lesson plans "just in case" school closures were on the horizon. So when the governor announced on Sunday night that all South Carolina schools were canceled, our whole district was ready to go. It's been astonishingly easy for our students to make the transition and despite only being 2 days in, there were very, very few parent phone calls. The teachers are reporting a great first two days. Our administers, guidance counselors, office staff, cafeteria workers, and school nurses had to report to work yesterday and today while last minute kinks got worked out, but now we're done, too. No one has any idea when we might be able to go back. I actually got teary-eyed when I got the text a few minutes ago that we're not to report to work anymore until further notice. It drove home how real this all is.

Today was also Gregg's last regular day at the pet store for the foreseeable future. He plans to go up there every other day an hour or two before opening to maintain the aquarium systems and care for the animals, but that's it. No more contact with the public. Almost all of his side jobs maintaining aquariums are gone, too. At best, he's looking at earning only about 15% of his normal salary for the duration of this thing. I don't care....I'm glad we're both off work to ride this thing out at home, money be damned. Hopefully our small savings will carry us through until things go back to normal. Gregg can't afford to take chances with his reduced lung function and other risk factors.

I won't lie to you. I'm scared. I've never seen anything like this, and I just hope it's not too late to get it under control. Lots of people are disappointed for various reasons: vacations canceled, weddings and parties put on hold or scaled down, even some of my coworkers who are afraid their high school senior kids won't be able to take part in a graduation ceremony or senior prom. My birthday is next week; I don't expect to have any kind of celebration whatsoever. But as long as we can manage to not get sick, that's the best anybody can hope for right now.

I imagine I'll be blogging much more frequently now that I'm hunkered down at home for the next few weeks. How are you doing with all this? What do you do to cope? I made a run to the ABC store the other day and stocked up on gin, vodka, and whiskey. I imagine a drink or two is going to be sorely needed in the next few weeks!

33 comments:

  1. Take some comfort we are all experiencing the same conditions and cancelations and concerns.
    I too will be at home - blogging and drinking more than usual. :-)

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  2. spouse and I are still working, since we do not come in contact with the public. my company has only 7 people. we are doing ok. the grocery store panic has died down; our store is opening on reduced hours to give the workers time to disinfect everything and stock shelves.

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    Replies
    1. You two please take precautions and stay healthy!

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  3. Some private schools here in Australia are preparing to run on very small skeleton staff for the benifit of children of essential medical, food transport, etc. workers that have to keep working.

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    Replies
    1. It's amazing to me how this thing is such a world-wide phenomenon. Crazy. I hope you and your family are keeping safe and well.

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  4. Every day is some other closing. It is sad for the workers but it has to be done.

    Daughter works at Starbucks without a drive thru and it amazing how the people act. They are mad that they can't sit inside and still crowd in. My Trader Joes only let so many people in at a time and wait for people to leave. He said everyone was polite, and didn't crowd in or grab stuff.

    I like Gregg have health problems and I hope you both can stay healthy.
    parsnip xx

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    Replies
    1. It really is sad for workers, but as you say, it's necessary to try to control this thing. I don't doubt for a minute that people are acting like that at Starbucks--the caffeine mecca for the overly entitled. Sigh.

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  5. I'm taking it day by day. Each day brings new emotions, new thoughts, new perspectives, new worries. Does Gregg own his own business? There's supposed to be loans for small business owners to get them through this.
    Hang in there, sweetie. And I highly recommend the daily Washington Post online crossword puzzle.

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    Replies
    1. Well, Gregg does own his own business in a manner of speaking, but it's strictly a service based kind of thing. I don't think he could get a loan, and honestly we don't need to (at least not yet!) because we do have some resources. Thankfully I still have my income, too, and I think we'll be alright financially.

      I'm trying to hang in there. Gregg is still dealing with the aftereffects of what we're pretty sure is/was flu type A. That's been rampant in this area lately. Just this morning he was nauseous and kept feeling like he was going to throw up. I thought at first it was from stress (he's not sleeping well) but then it felt like he was getting feverish again. He's back in bed trying to get some sleep, which is how I know he feels bad....he's usually NOT a napper.

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  6. Jennifer, I'm so sorry. You have good reason to be frightened. Is there anyone you can lean on for some help? If you want to talk to someone who won't deny your feelings, you are welcome to call me. Email me at dumpedfirstwife@gmail.com to get my phone number. The truth is that during the toughest times I sleep a lot because I'm depressed anyway. When I'm up to it, I like reading, writing, and watching movies. Sometimes I get caught up in projects such as re-organizing my closet.

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    Replies
    1. That's so kind of you! Thank you! I may take you up on that offer soon. I plan to spend this time at home cleaning, organizing, getting our taxes done, reading, and I have a knitting project that's been languishing for years in the back of the closet that I may pull out and try to finish. Staying distracted ought to be easy enough.

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  7. You two stay in and stay healthy! I’m still recovering from surgery so staying in has not been a problem. However we are missing our grandkids very much. I spend a ton of time working in the gardens and the greenhouse but have to take a lot of breaks. If we stay healthy we will all get through this.

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    Replies
    1. You take care!!! Working in the gardens and greenhouse sounds like the best possible thing you can do for stress relief, relaxation, and health. I plan to get outside as much as possible and work in the yard, walk the dogs, watch the birdfeeders, etc. Spring has sprung here!

      Thank you! Take care!

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  8. I'm glad you and Gregg are both home now. It sounds like your school really is well organized for e-learning. This is all so strange. It almost feels like we are walking through a bad movie or something. The thing I'm most worried about is the unknown. And right now there are a lot of unknowns with things changing on a daily basis. You and Gregg take care of yourselves!

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    Replies
    1. It IS like a bad movie. I'm feeling kind of adrift at the moment. You take care of yourself, too! xx

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  9. You and Gregg will be healthy at home and can be good company for each other. Being home alone is tough (whine whine, I know), and Bounce just announced he is here for me, the sweetie. I have a nice stock of beer, my favorites beers are IPAs. I think it counts as medicinal. Be well, dear friend.

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    Replies
    1. Oh, Terra. I'm sorry you're alone and I hope the loneliness isn't too hard. Dogs (and cats too of course) are great company. You have my phone number--please feel free to text or call me if you'd like to. :) Take care, we'll all get through this.

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  10. It's amazing that this is a world-wide phenomenon. We're all in the same boat, and have the same concerns. Now we can only look forward to coming out the other side, although when that will be no-one knows. Best wishes from locked-down France.

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    Replies
    1. And best wishes and warm thoughts right back to you from locked-down South Carolina!

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  11. As Cro says, we're all in the same boat and have the same concerns.
    I decided yesterday to work from home until it feels safe to use public transport again. Also, I have cancelled my birthday party which was to be this Saturday.
    You two are doing the right thing in staying away from other people as much as you can!
    Your school sounds very well organised. I am not surprised that the students have no problem adjusting to elearning - they are the "digital natives" and much more used to doing everything online than us older folks! :-)
    My stock of alcohol should last for a long time; out of principle, I do not drink on my own, and it is not certain yet that O.K. can/may/shall come visiting this weekend.

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    Replies
    1. I read about you having to cancel your party. I'm so sorry to hear that! Actually, I tried to leave a comment on your blog post, but I was typing on my phone and somehow the comment got lost.

      Our school district has done an amazing job rolling out this e-learning initiative. The teachers at my school are also doing an amazing job supporting their students. I'm proud of us all. :)

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  12. It feels quite surreal, especially when you think there doesn't seem to be a corner of this planet that isn't affected.

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    Replies
    1. I'm so thankful to have blog friends all over the world who can give me updates on what's going on in their little corner! It helps a little to know we're all in this together (although I wish it wasn't so widespread, of course).

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  13. Gin, vodka, and whiskey. Very wise. Eventually, you won't even care that there's no toilet paper. May you both stay well and occupied!

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    Replies
    1. I just realized last night that the big bottle of what I thought was vodka is actually another brand of gin! Oops! That means I have two bottles of gin and the only vodka in the house is a little bit left in the bottom of an old bottle. Sigh. Gin and tonic, anyone?!

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  14. I'm not actually worried too much, and I'm in that 'age' group. I've been off 4 days, but get to go back to the store tomorrow. Being a Big Box Store, we're considered essential, though I don't know how that will effect those of us considered Seniors. Believe me, I would have absolutely no problem taking off for the next 2 weeks. Stay safe.

    ReplyDelete
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