Good morning! The shelter in place continues.

I really thought with the time I have at home now that I would be blogging more, but that just hasn’t happened.  We spent so much time this past weekend getting prepared around our home to shelter in place that I’m finally getting a chance to catch up on blogging and reading the blogs I visit regularly.

I read my blogs through Feedly.  Having a feed reader just makes it easier for me to make sure I get to see every post from the blogs I follow.  I currently have over 300 posts to catch up on.  Yikes!  But I’m slowly making my way through them.

Hubby and I spent this past weekend making sure we were ready around our home.  I spent an entire day taking inventory of our pantry and freezer to see what food we had on hand and what we needed to buy.  Since I am considered high risk, hubby was brave enough to make the trips to the grocery store.  He also got food and supplies for my mom as well.  She lives a couple of blocks from us and I hate not being able to see her as much as I normally do.  However, we have been FaceTiming and texting daily.  I’m so thankful to at least have that.

I did place another order for our vitamins from Amazon.  We started these a couple of weeks ago and I love them. Hubby and son are taking the men’s formula.  Compared to what I was taking before, I wasn’t getting enough of some of the essential vitamins I need daily.  These are Certified Organic, Non-GMO, Kosher, and vegan.  I am not a vegan, but I appreciate that these vitamins don’t have a lot of extra stuff that is potentially harmful and unnecessary.

Hubby left for work Sunday and should be back in tomorrow.  He is a truck driver and he has been keeping me updated on how things are looking out on the road.  As you may know, many truck stops and rest areas are closing during this time, so we made sure to send him out with plenty of food and water.  He’s been fortunate to find a place to rest at night and take his breaks, but he reports that the roads have much less traffic.  The loads have slowed down, so he may be done for the week when he comes in tomorrow.

The kid and I have just been trying to stay busy while we shelter in place.  The kid hasn’t been anywhere in almost two weeks (except for our walks around the neighborhood), and I haven’t been anywhere in almost a week.  That will change on Thursday.  My principal has enlisted all of the faculty to help pass out sack lunches to our students each week.  My day to do this is on Thursdays.  So, I will make the drive to school and back.

I’ve been making sure to check my email in case my students reply to be signed up for our reading app at home.  I’ve been cooking or making three meals a day and we finally broke down and ordered out Saturday night.  It was a nice break from the home-cooking duties.  As of today at 5 PM the city is shutting down inside dining at all restaurants and shutting down city hall.  All business must be conducted over the phone or online.  The parks will also be closed.  We live right down the street from one and I hate it because my son and I love to go look at the ducks at the pond, but the playground is such a high-contact area, so I completely understand.  As for us, we will continue to shelter in place for as long as possible.

I’ll leave you with a sweet picture of Jake exploring the backyard this morning.  He has been a very dependable little alarm clock for me throughout all of this.  His morning routine is to be let out, come back in for breakfast, and then come back inside for the afternoon for a nap.

I found myself in a yucky place mentally yesterday.  Each time I walked by our pantry I started second-guessing my shopping choices.  Did I buy enough groceries?  Do we have enough food?  Should I have bought more?  Each time I used a paper towel or toilet paper, I wondered if we were using too much.  What will happen if we can’t get more?  Are my home and family ready for this?  Each time I visited social media it seemed like more bad news, business closures, and cancellations.  My cell phone was blowing up from text messages from co-workers and friends passing along the latest.  I had a horrible tension headache all day long.  My shoulders were tense.  My mind was preoccupied with worrying about all of the “what-ifs”.

After supper last night I decided to take a hot bath.  It really helped me relax and shift my mindset.  I prayed about things and I also ran across some very inspiring blog posts and social media shares about finding the good in this situation and making the best of what we have.  I had to remind myself that the good Lord knew every single one of my days before I was born.  This is not a surprise to Him, even though it is to me.  I just have to trust and obey.

Today marked the first official day my son and I found ourselves with school and work canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  We have actually been home all last week, but it was Spring Break.  We woke up to a chilly, cloudy morning.  I honestly wanted to stay hunkered down in bed.  However, I got up.  I had my morning coffee and breakfast.  I washed and dried a load of clothes.  I checked on my mom and grandmother.  After lunch, my son and I went for a walk around our neighborhood.  The sun was shining and it felt absolutely amazing to get some fresh air.

Right now, especially if you have children home from school, you are probably being absolutely bombarded with how to keep them occupied, a million links to educational resources, printable schedules for them to adhere to and so much more.  You may be feeling like you have to pack a million little things into your days now.

If your child needs to do work remotely, by all means, get it done.  Just don’t feel like you have to spend the entire day doing school work.  I’ve decided that my son will be doing his work, but we will also be using this time to do a little resetting here.  We will continue our walks.  We will continue to check on friends and family.  We will slow down and savor this time at home.  I have to admit before this happened I was feeling very overwhelmed and stressed at work.  I was still trying to get over having the flu and pneumonia all within a two weeks span.  It seemed like life was just charging full speed ahead with no brakes.  I was emotional, irritated, and very discouraged in my work.  This pause is giving me time to restore my health, my physical and emotional well-being, and providing my family with some quality time together.

I know this time at home won’t be all sunshine and roses.  I’m sure by the end of the week we may be climbing the walls.  I’m just thankful I can be home with my son and I don’t take that for granted as many families are scrambling for daycare and having to make some tough choices.

Well, that escalated quickly, yes? Just checking in with everyone to see how you are feeling about Coronavirus right about now.  I’m very concerned at this point.  I am still not panicking, but I’m definitely inundated with information and opinions at every turn.  I guess this blog post is no different, huh?

Strange to think just a couple weeks ago when I made this post about keeping my classroom sanitized that the very items in that picture would be considered gold right about now.  My husband and I ventured out to Walmart on Thursday to check to see if his glasses were ready for pickup from the vision center.  Just the sheer number of vehicles in the parking lot was alarming.  It honestly looked like Black Friday when we pulled in.  Once inside, people passed us at every turn with shopping carts filled to the brim.  I was curious about what things were looking like in the paper products aisle, so I went to look.

The cleaning products were wiped out also.  Friday morning we headed to Kroger to do our little weekly grocery shopping.  The store was busy and the only cleaning products left were laundry detergent and dishwashing liquid.  No Clorox or any sort of disinfectant.  The toilet paper aisle was reduced to this:

The food was fully stocked.  We were able to get the few things we needed and get checked out in a timely manner.

My son and I have been on spring break this past week and his school has decided to delay going back until Tuesday.  Their teachers will be meeting Monday to sort out things like home learning and all in case things get worse.  I report back to my school on Monday and it’s a teacher workday, so I’m assuming we will be meeting as well to discuss things.

*insert sound of needle scratching record here*

My school has also canceled for this next week. I feel like the kid’s will too. The governor of Mississippi has declared a state of emergency and requested all public schools close.

As I’m writing this, only 6 confirmed cases are here in Mississippi.  One is about 45 minutes away.  All of the universities in the state have closed for an additional week and will make decisions after that.  Churches are still meeting, but with very specific precautions about taking communion and things like that.  No major business closures other than the university.

I’m still sticking to my plan of being prepared and not scared.  However, I can’t help but question myself as to whether I have done enough.  I’m trying not to dwell on that, though.  I’m checking the coronavirus map and watching the numbers daily.

What are things looking like where you live?  How are you feeling about the coronavirus and everything in general?

This weekend I kept seeing videos popping up in my social media feeds of people panic buying because of Coronavirus (COVID-19).  People were literally in lines that stretched around the outsides of stores.  Shelves were being wiped completely empty of water, cleaning supplies and canned foods.  I had to wonder if the workers at Walmart thought I was doing the same with my purchases this weekend.

The truth is, I wasn’t panic buying because of Coronavirus.  These are just everyday supplies I use in my classroom at school to try my best to help keep my students and me as healthy as possible all during the school year.  I regularly wipe tables, doorknobs, and computers with Clorox Wipes.  I spray Lysol in between class changes.  I keep hand sanitizer handy for when students make bathroom trips.  I know people fuss about using hand sanitizer, but soap isn’t always readily available in the restrooms.  This is mainly because instead of students using it responsibly, they make huge messes with it.  I just do the best I can with what I have.  I’d rather them have hand sanitizer than nothing at all.

I’ve loosely paid attention to all of the news about this virus, and my own personal philosophy about it is that I just want to be prepared, not scared.  I regularly try to keep a little extra of the things we use on hand anyway just in case I’m sick and can’t get to the store.

It can be hard to know who to trust when you try to get information about COVID-19.  I just try to keep a level head and not be swayed by people writing articles trying to sell you supplies you might not necessarily need or those screaming doom and gloom.  The truth is, it’s good to be prepared at ALL times, and not just pandemics.  Losing a job if you live paycheck to paycheck can be devastating, but having some extra food and supplies on-hand to get you through a tight financial spot could help tremendously.

I’m personally just concerned with getting well and staying healthy at this point.  I’ve had a bought with pneumonia and the flu in a matter of weeks.  I’m still not 100%.  I’ve ordered some elderberry gummies to add to my daily medicines to see if it will help.  I’m also a little concerned about how this might affect my job if it reaches to where I live and schools are closed for a week or so.  But, I am not panicking.  I’m just washing my hands as much as I can and trying to keep our home and my classroom as clean and disinfected as possible.  I know it’s wise to stay away from crowds as well, but because I work in a school, I don’t have that luxury at the moment.  I’m just doing what I can and praying that we all stay safe.

If you do want more information on how you can be better prepared, I suggest the following blogs and articles I’ve recently read that didn’t leave me feeling like all was hopeless concerning COVID-19.

G. Donna’s Generations Before Us

How to Prepare for Quarentine- The Organic Prepper

The Survival Mom on Facebook

Are you doing anything differently to prepare for a possible quarantine due to COVID-19?