Happy Valentine’s Day, Aaron! Thank you for the virtual hug. I’m sending one back to you. I wrote a more detailed comment but it didn’t post. We’ll see if this one does. Off to make breakfast for my husband. Look forward to many visits to a Well Lived Life! ❤️
I had the privilege of having a heads up from my friends in China around new year 2020 that the virus was very bad and that people there were in strict lock down and how people there were managing. So my journey with COVID really started then. People here in AR were either A.) totally oblivious, B.) in denial that it would be a problem here, or C.) convinced the whole thing is a ploy of the government to kill out the inferior people and essentially send us into a post apocalyptic lifestyle (my mother is still one of these, 🙄🙏🏻). So I started gathering food in reasonable amounts, first aid, household items like toilet paper and disinfectants. I gathered up a solid month’s worth of food and things just in case the 💩 really hit the fan and I’ve pretty much maintained this stock for a year. (Which is coming in handy as we are currently waiting out an ice storm. *sigh*) I’m an in home caregiver and I have two people that I help with and one which is very seriously medically fragile and pretty fragile physically, and would be very mad if she knew I said such a thing. So around April we completely stopped going to unnecessary places and just tried to wait it out. By March we saw that it was going to take a little longer than expected. By July we were all heartbroken and stressed by the idea that the next time we went out could be our last. I have really had a time sorting out those who get to be in my life. Anti-maskers have all been cut out of my life and those that don’t respect the general CDC guidelines. As I’ve had to explain to many people including my partner, if I carry COVID to my fragile person, she would be dead within three days of developing symptoms, and that is not something I am ever going to be prepared for. I even had to tell my other client in April, “look, I love you and I love working with you, but I’m not ready to be 22 with blood on my hands.” Everyone knows that if they aren’t being careful that they will no longer be seeing me. Including my clients, family, roommate, partner, and my partners family. So, fast forward a year, I’m still scared every day that I’m covered in virus when I walk through the doors of any home, including my own, but we’re another year older and wiser. Hopefully the wisdom will continue to grow and stick with us. And I hate not being able to fully smile at strangers and hug my loved ones that I haven’t seen in 2 years, meet the babies my friends are having, visit my best friend in China who I haven’t seen in three years *sob*, and take my partner out for dinner without worrying about the health of every other person around us. But we’ll make it through this. “Good Lord willin’, and the creek don’t rise,” we’ll make it through.
Wow Jaile... Thank you for sharing your experience! I want to reiterate... You're not alone. So many people have had their lives upended, and your experience is being lived by thousands upon thousands of people world-wide. You're in an especially delicate position being an in-home caregiver... I can't imagine.
So many of us have fragile relatives. Thanksgiving was remote in my family, and Christmas was socially distant with masks. It's such a pale reflection of what we had before.
As an educator, I was just given my first dose of the vaccine. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to hug people again soon :)
I love this. This is what so many people need to hear right now. Thanks for writing this.
Hey, you're welcome Matthew! Thanks for taking the time out of your day to make a stranger's day
Happy Valentine’s Day, Aaron! Thank you for the virtual hug. I’m sending one back to you. I wrote a more detailed comment but it didn’t post. We’ll see if this one does. Off to make breakfast for my husband. Look forward to many visits to a Well Lived Life! ❤️
Happy Valentine's day, Mary! So kind of you to make my day like that :)
I had the privilege of having a heads up from my friends in China around new year 2020 that the virus was very bad and that people there were in strict lock down and how people there were managing. So my journey with COVID really started then. People here in AR were either A.) totally oblivious, B.) in denial that it would be a problem here, or C.) convinced the whole thing is a ploy of the government to kill out the inferior people and essentially send us into a post apocalyptic lifestyle (my mother is still one of these, 🙄🙏🏻). So I started gathering food in reasonable amounts, first aid, household items like toilet paper and disinfectants. I gathered up a solid month’s worth of food and things just in case the 💩 really hit the fan and I’ve pretty much maintained this stock for a year. (Which is coming in handy as we are currently waiting out an ice storm. *sigh*) I’m an in home caregiver and I have two people that I help with and one which is very seriously medically fragile and pretty fragile physically, and would be very mad if she knew I said such a thing. So around April we completely stopped going to unnecessary places and just tried to wait it out. By March we saw that it was going to take a little longer than expected. By July we were all heartbroken and stressed by the idea that the next time we went out could be our last. I have really had a time sorting out those who get to be in my life. Anti-maskers have all been cut out of my life and those that don’t respect the general CDC guidelines. As I’ve had to explain to many people including my partner, if I carry COVID to my fragile person, she would be dead within three days of developing symptoms, and that is not something I am ever going to be prepared for. I even had to tell my other client in April, “look, I love you and I love working with you, but I’m not ready to be 22 with blood on my hands.” Everyone knows that if they aren’t being careful that they will no longer be seeing me. Including my clients, family, roommate, partner, and my partners family. So, fast forward a year, I’m still scared every day that I’m covered in virus when I walk through the doors of any home, including my own, but we’re another year older and wiser. Hopefully the wisdom will continue to grow and stick with us. And I hate not being able to fully smile at strangers and hug my loved ones that I haven’t seen in 2 years, meet the babies my friends are having, visit my best friend in China who I haven’t seen in three years *sob*, and take my partner out for dinner without worrying about the health of every other person around us. But we’ll make it through this. “Good Lord willin’, and the creek don’t rise,” we’ll make it through.
I hope you are well & warm my friend. ♥️
Wow Jaile... Thank you for sharing your experience! I want to reiterate... You're not alone. So many people have had their lives upended, and your experience is being lived by thousands upon thousands of people world-wide. You're in an especially delicate position being an in-home caregiver... I can't imagine.
So many of us have fragile relatives. Thanksgiving was remote in my family, and Christmas was socially distant with masks. It's such a pale reflection of what we had before.
As an educator, I was just given my first dose of the vaccine. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to hug people again soon :)
Hugs are so important! I hope you are able to find comfort in our virtual correspondences. Warm thoughts!
Here is my hand. I need a hug.
You got it Kathleen! Sending one through the internet now!