I miss my grandchildren; COVID-19 is keeping us apart! I am not happy about it, but life is topsy-turvy for everyone. The governor of Virginia today closed schools for the rest of the 2019-2020 academic year. He ordered restaurants to offer take-out and delivery only, nail salons and hair salons must close for at least 30 days, and the list goes on. Grocers, pharmacies, automobile repair shops, and banks will remain open, as will a few other businesses deemed essential.
My daughter, who has had a lung infection (unrelated to COVID-19), dials into her work computer from home following an order from her boss to stay home. My older son works for a brewery, so he is home; so is his wife ─ an accountant. Her boss told her to pack up her work station and take it home. My younger son is a radiologist, and I worry about him. For the past two weeks he’d been safe ─ alone in a dark room reading x-rays and scans. This week and next he will have direct patient contact doing procedures. A patient at the hospital where he works died today after falling ill with the virus. A fellow radiologist at another hospital within the system is ill. My younger son’s wife also is able to work from home.
My six grandchildren are doing well. The four boys are in school: two in first grade, one in kindergarten, and one in pre-k. Two of the boys attend a private school and have been attending school remotely from 9 a.m. until noon daily. Their mom reports the boys have adjusted well. The other two boys do not have online classes; their dad is assigning school work and chores to keep them busy. The girls are too young to attend school; one is two months old.
My mother is 87 and is in very good health ─ so healthy she needs no medication. No high blood pressure. No high cholesterol. No diabetes. No nothing. She is tall and thin and walks every day. Except for her daily walk around her neighborhood, she is staying home.
I am an introvert, retired, and writing a book. I have no problem sequestering inside my house; for the most part, life for me is not disrupted. My husband is at high risk because of an autoimmune disease. He works in commercial construction, an industry deemed essential. His company has said it will remain open. He, however, has chosen to self-quarantine; his superiors are fine with that ─ at least for now. My husband will be off for two weeks beginning Wednesday. Our prayer is that the virus will have peaked and he will be able to return to work with a major threat behind us. We will see.
Our family is doing its part to flatten the curve of this virus.
Please sign up for my monthly newsletter. Articles will give you exclusive content I will not share on social media and a heads-up about events, products and books you will find interesting. To sign up, click here! Let me know your thoughts about this blog post: carolyn@adventureswithgrammy.com!