Sheltering In Place

[tamara_rose]

So many places are shut down. Building projects stopped in the middle of contruction. Schools have been closed. We go for walks every evening after dinner and see other people out walking their dogs or walking with their partners. The restaurants are open for take out, but the tables and chairs are stacked up and pushed aside so there is no doubt about that establishment not offering dine in service.The grocery stores and gas stations are still open. The grocery stores aren't as crowded as they were a week and a half ago, and the shelves are slowly filling back up. The cashiers at the one store I go to now have a hard plastic sheet that is attached to the conveyor belt and acts as a shield between them and the customer. Between each customer, they spray down the conveyor and wipe down the card machine. They expect you to bag your own groceries and you have to use the pull out shelf at the end of their station. All the stores have tape marking off on the floors intervals of six feet, showing you exactly where to stand away from others. The cops are patrolling the parks and warning people to stop congregating. Soon they'll be giving out citations. The courts are on hiatus for the next 60 days and a lot of the local government workers are either going to have to work from home or go on temporary leave. I'm lucky in that I still can work, and for now so can J, but my trainings in May might be cancelled which will then put me two years behind where I should be with my certifications by now. I'm trying not to think about how tenuous this whole situation is, and how this world is really on the brink of a magnificent disaster, but my dreams have been difficult to remember and what I do remember of them is a general feeling of dread. I know that's more about me and my own feelings and reactions to what is going on, but I also think it's a harbinger of the worst to come.

I am happy I have J and that we adopted a sweet little kitty last December. Those two make things much more bearable. I'm also grateful I have a stockpile of books, cds, movies, and art supplies. I knew those would come in handy.