Reflections During a Pandemic

I don't know about you, but I've basically been home since March 17th (as I recall). That was the day our country/state/city began to recognize what was happening with COVID-19 - the coronavirus. It had really begun to be clear on the Friday before but it took our office a day or so to make the decision to limit office attendance.

And so, now it's Easter Weekend - April 11th. My emotions have darted all over the place. As the government imposed more and more restrictions, as death tolls began to climb, as more and more tested positive with the virus - including people I know - the nearer and nearer the danger seemed.

In the beginning, I joked that my health is strong and I'd like to sign up for an 11 day Mediterranean Cruise for $798. That was before - before it all seemed real, before we were talking about being carriers of the virus and infecting others unknowingly. We were simply sent home and charged with serving 1 day a week at the office to monitor phones and take care of things that aren't so easy to do at home as our files are confidential. We expected to be home about 2 weeks and then we'd "return to normal". Isn't that what we all thought?

We took a little family trip and gathered with others who had drastically limited their contact with others. We sprayed down every inch of our hotel room with fabric disinfectant and wiped every surface with disinfectant wipes. The hotel no longer offered daily housekeeping so no one else entered the room during one's stay. We avoided restaurants and stores along the way. When our granddaughter (and grandmom) needed to potty along the way, I wiped down all surfaces with disinfectant wipes and of course, we'd already been following proper handwashing procedures for a couple of weeks.

Then we were home, but not at "shelter in place" status. We gathered with one child's family at an ice cream shop and took our camp chairs which we set up in the green area in the parking lot. That was nice. I picked up my granddaughter who was learning to walk, but no snuggly kisses and lots of hand sanitizer (new norm).

Grocery shopping has been another whole thing. I've resisted buying large quantities of anything due to the limited availability of items and a desire to avoid hoarding. Great idea except it seems others are hoarding and they may have been right as now we're strongly encouraged not to go anywhere especially grocery stores. (Kind of wish I'd hoarded a little more.) Here's our recent grocery shopping method:

1. Limit frequency.
2. Sanitize hands before going in.
3. Carry sanitizing wipes and sanitize cart myself (no matter what the store is doing).
4. Don face mask.
5. Limit touching things. Don't be like the lady climbing all over the refrigerator to get the cream on the very top and back, no gloves, no mask, grabbing another cream (that she didn't want) to knock over the ones in the back with, presumably later expiration dates. Note: there were only 4 creams in the fridge anyway. (Pardon me while I roll my eyes and glare at you!)
6. Anticipate shutdowns, restocking delays and buy (a little) more.
7. Go to a tiny grocery  - they have everything in stock, even flour, yeast and frozen vegetables.
8. Wipe card reader with sanitizing wipe before use.
9. Take groceries to car myself.
10. Sanitize hands.
11. Remove mask.
12. Sanitize hands and steering wheel. 
13. Cry a little because who expected all this.
14. Unpack groceries - putting away just the cold stuff because you're too worn out from the stress of being around other people who don't seem to respect the advice of medical professionals. 
15. Maybe cry a little more.
16. Spend a little time in prayer and giving thanks for what you have.
17. Put on some lotion.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. And now, it's Easter weekend. I've suggested to the kids that we Zoom during our virtual worship service so that we can sing and pray together. The babies might be loud but that's okay. (Reminder to self: Have hubs hook Chromecast back up so you can watch on big screen vs laptop.) My Easter lunch will be for we two not my normal crowd. You may wonder why we're not making an exception since "we're all quarantined". First of all, we're not all quarantined. Not really, just mostly. One child is a police officer and is still reporting for duty - though his doesn't require much contact. His wife works for the court and still has to report a couple of days a week. My husband and I have still made the occasional grocery store trip. My husband still has to go to work some and even though everyone is social distancing, contamination risks are still possible. So, yes, we could probably safely gather. But should we? We've decided no.

As I've processed that decision, I've also been reminded of friends whose grandchildren are far away and they couldn't have gathered anyway. In fact, most of our military years, we weren't home for many holidays (and my kids grandparents had to get by - we can too). Also, if one got sick because I had to have my time with them, I don't know if I could stand it. 

I feel as though we have been very conscientious. We've greatly reduced our in person interaction with everyone. When I dropped off Easter goodie bags to my kids, we didn't go inside. We didn't pick up the grands. We stood back and talked for a couple of minutes then left. And, we sanitized our hands before and after. 

I realize it's totally imperfect. I also realize you may do things differently. Maybe you're more restrictive, maybe less. Maybe your family has really, truly isolated themselves and can gather knowing for sure you've not been around anyone. I don't feel that sure and so we're not. It's that simple. 

But here's the thing. No matter whether we're physically together or not, Jesus is alive and we will celebrate His resurrection. We will  worship in spirit and truth. We will look forward to the time when we can gather again and gather we will! 

My tears have come in short bursts and I've allowed them. I've also spent time reflecting on good things. Joyful things! True things! I've prayed and asked God for all kinds of help for those in need. And I've given thanks for our many, many blessings. And in that, just as promised in Philippians 4:6-8, I've found peace. Peace that surpasses my understanding. And don't forget what Jesus says about worrying (Matthew 6).