It's all insane. Governor's are overreaching their authority, businesses are permanently closing, am my "day job" position has been eliminated. I've been working in an IT position in a large health care system for many years, and due to the shutdowns our Governor ordered the losses my now former employer is experiencing are continuing to mount.
People are afraid to go to the hospital. I keep encouraging people to go, don't put off life saving care, go to the ER if you normally would for whatever is going on. If you need surgery, get in as soon as you can. The hospitals are the cleanest they've ever been and you're more likely to get better care than usual
The healthcare system is going to need a bailout bigger than the Big 3 and banks combined, hospitals will be permanently closing as a result of all this. Doctors will probably be rethinking how they are working now, many may move to concierge services instead of being with a larger system, things will change, we just don't know how yet.
A few weeks into the shutdown and stay at home orders, my friends were posting about how clean their houses are and how they're gaining weight. I've been experiencing the opposite. Losing weight, even though I'm baking more, and my house is so NOT clean. I have yet to get my craft room back together and I've been working on it for many, many months. The good news was I kept finding fabric and had put much of it in a "to be donated" pile that I'd yet to take to the thrift store down the street
The first three weeks I cranked out over 300 cotton face masks using that fabric stash before I broke my second sewing machine (that's right I broke not 1 but 2 machines). The vast majority of those masks have been handed out to essential workers and dropped a stack at the local truck stop. I've gotten my newer machine fixed, but my old sturdy favorite is still awaiting a "part donor" machine. I will have to fix it myself as no sewing machine repair guy will touch a machine that requires "donor" parts due to liabilities.
Due to a lack of funds, I haven't been able to get any of my old Singer 15-91s that are hanging around back up and running. They need new motors and wiring, I can get the parts, however that takes money I don't currently have to do that. I'm considering setting up a GoFundMe to buy parts. Then any extra machines I get running can be gifted to people who need one, which is what I typically do with the machines I tinker around with and restore.
I developed Shingles due to the stress of not working, my mother had a mastectomy, and my oldest friend who is a police officer had one of his guys ambushed and shot by a career criminal. The city I'm nearest had rioters and looters destroy the downtown area. I had to explain to family and friends in other states not to believe the media, the actual protests were peaceful, the riots and looting were done by people not associated with the protests.
The day after the rioting, the sweet young women who had organized the peaceful protest showed up downtown ready to clean, along with thousands of others, restaurants that had been nearly destroyed showed up with food ready for the folks who were cleaning up. Artists came out to paint the boarded up windows, and our community grew stronger as a result. We've had a few more protests, all peaceful. The rioters and looters are being identified (many be their family and friends) and people seem to be a bit friendly to one another.
There are still those who want to protest the masking orders and are rude to the workers who have to enforce orders that they themselves may not agree with. I've tried to encourage everyone to talk to their neighbors, co-workers, even friendly strangers, because when you take the time to listen, you'll find we have far more in common that our media or politicians want us to believe.
One of my "favorite" things about all this is I've gotten to know newer neighbors better. Several of our newer families happen to be Black, and one that is a few houses away have a pit mix puppy that is just so "vicious", she might lick you to death, lol. She is the sweetest, wigglest, happiest puppy on the block and we love to see her and her humans. The day they moved in I stopped to introduce myself and ask about their pup, she is the prettiest color I've ever seen.
Their daughter graduated high school this year and is going on to an Ivy League school. Everyone in the neighborhood celebrated her achievement, with proper social distancing of course and a drive by party. I love stopping by on my daily walks and chatting with them. I can't wait for Halloween when their youngest will be stopping by for Trick or Treat.
Our neighborhood has always been full of walkers and "free range kids", but with everyone working from home, I've gotten to meet more of them. One of our sweetest neighbors got to celebrate her cancer going into remission, several of the kids graduated high school and college, and another one got her driver's license the moment the offices were reopened. More new neighbors moved in as people started fleeing the downtown area for more space, while older neighbors finally downsized in a nearby neighborhood that's currently under construction. The younger kids are playing in the yards, having bike races, playing kick the can, freeze tag, driving golf carts, minibikes, and go-karts. They're playing basketball and soccer, anything to be away from the ever present screens.
Parents are exchanging tips on homeschooling, the teachers in the neighborhood have been helping parents and students navigate the new "normal". Veggie gardens abound in our neighborhood and we've been playing the "zucchini drop" game, leaving veggies on each other's porches with no note or explanation.
My sweet neighbors across the street lent a hand when our lawn mower wouldn't start (mice ate the wires over Winter), and the wife/mom graduated with her THIRD Master's degree so she can now land a job in her field. They spent some time in London before moving here, I've had fun hearing about life there from them as well and meeting more of their family members.
Life simply goes on in the time of COVID. It would be nice if everyone would calm down a bit, not get in each others faces about masks, take a deep breath and realize our politicians are all a bit nuts over all of this, and take some time to enjoy the outdoors and this rare opportunity to slow our lives down and realize what is really important.
Stay safe, stay healthy, wear a mask when you can and the "rules" require them, and be kind to our essential workers who've kept the food stocked and helped get toilet paper back on the shelves.
