Sheltering At Home: The Beginnings of These Strange Times

I have so many things to say about this whole sheltering at home thing. For me, it seemed to come on suddenly. The coronavirus wasn't really on my radar in January and February. In early March, I think, Leah asked me about it, and I googled and read a little bit...  Olivia and Julie both asked me about it, and someone mentioned that we may want to get a week or two worth of groceries "just in case"....so I really did not think much about it. I rarely watch national news (like 10 minutes of the Today show 3-4 times a year). I do read our daily local newspaper every day, but until early March, I just don't remember much coronavirus news in there either.

Then on Wednesday, March 11, Clay called me saying that news he was hearing around campus indicated that the coronavirus was spreading, and that the college was most likely going to extend his Spring Break (which would begin March 14) for an extra week.  We debated for a day or two about whether he should fly home as planned, or drive his car since he would probably be here two weeks instead of one. We finally decided for him to drive. I cancelled his flights, and I am so glad I did! They never opened campus back up for classes or for the students to return to the dorms.  Like most college campuses around the country, his college transitioned all their classes to the online format, and he finished his semester here at home. In fact, just today he is allowed to go back on campus to retrieve all his belongings and move completely out of the dorm. The school has strict social distancing policies in place for the move-out. He is allowed 4 hours to move out, and only 10 students can move out per dorm at one time.  Clay drove all day yesterday to Florida. He will pack up my SUV this morning (with a luggage carrier on top and a carrying tray on the back), and drive all the way back home after lunch.

Beginning on March 14, things began to look slightly different around town.....the local schools and colleges extended their spring breaks another week, lots of people were at the grocery stores stocking up on food and supplies, and activities and meetings began to be cancelled. We were off school and Jimmy was off work the week of March 16 for our Spring Break, and by the end of that week, our town was beginning to shut down. Our mayor limited gatherings to 10 people, and restaurants and other businesses began to close or offer curbside business only. Our church switched to online services.

The rest of March and most of April here looked like all the rest of the country. Most people stayed home. Our state and town issued a few different orders at different times: safer at home, shelter at home, shelter in place, etc. All I know is that we stayed at home. Of course Jimmy went to work, but the rest of us stayed home. I did grocery delivery once (which was a delight), and the other weeks I have done grocery pick-up. A couple of weeks ago I wanted to buy my own groceries, so I went to both Kroger and Sam's one morning. It was so strange! I went back to pick up last week, but I plan to go inside the stores myself when I need groceries again. They are out of so many things, and I feel like I need to see what else is available and make adjustments to my list based on what the store does have.

In upcoming posts I will share what we have done to pass the time at home, what some of my struggles have been, and what blessings have abounded because of these strange times.