Starting our Shelter in Place

Day 1

Social Distancing for Coronavirus 2020

Could I say today was the first day of social distancing?  Not really.  Today was a Monday after a full 6 days of family visiting from out of town, birthdays being celebrated, watching Megan perform in her high school musical's Cinderella and me helping with costumes.  Today was a day of shopping for household items that will last us a month, finding cat food and cat litter, buying general medications in case we need them, finding homeopathic ingredients for old-fashioned cough remedies, and purchasing some last minute items at the grocery store.  Today was a day of forwarding email from my children's schools to their private email accounts, asking if they have their text books and making sure that their computer/phone has the correct apps downloaded to start digital school on Wednesday.  Today was busy.

Today was also a day spent with my family playing Will's new game, Terraforming Mars.  We have only gone 5 rounds as we try to figure out how to play the game.  It is quite complex and really fun for science nerds like us! Today was also the day where we had all four of us together for a complete family dinner.  This has not happened in weeks!  We chatted about school, how did Megan's first video conference go, or what are Will's friends doing today since they were out of school.  Today is also the day we watched a movie as a family.  Blind Date on Netflix was so sweet and cute I really did not mind the French subtitles.  Today we spent together.

So, back to my first question.  Was today the first day of social distancing?  In a way, yes.  We slowly distanced ourselves from the world, buying everything that we think we might need to stay away from the masses for several weeks.  Stocking up on home projects to keep us occupied for the long wait ahead.  We also distanced ourselves by the wonder of technology, allowing class and work to continue even as we sit in our warm pajamas.  But I will say we did not distance ourselves from our small family.  We talked and joked.  We complained and argued.  We ate and laughed.  We were present.  

I do not know where this virus issue will head.  Will we all get sick?  More than likely.  Are we going to slow it's spread in the US?  I hope we do, just so the health care system will be able to catch up with the demand.  The future is uncertain and I think that scares a lot of people.  My trust is in a higher power and I know that everything will work out as it should be.  I just know that for today, we did not practice social distancing from each other.  

Today, we were together.