Tag: virus

Random Thoughts. . .

Uncertainty . . .

Some many things are uncertain right now, this pandemic has reeked havoc on everything. We do not know one day to the next what new limits will be imposed on us. We have imposed some limits on ourselves. The hubbs and I have weekly calls with our managers and co-workers to stay up to date on this ever changing environment. The boys have meetings with their teachers and coaches weekly too. We still do not know if schools will be back on campus in August. This is the end of Big T’s junior year of high school and we normally would be planning college visits. Not sure how all of this is going to play out but we will attack it as a family.

Thankful Tuesday. . .

I am very thankful for my husband, there is not anyone any better than him to have to endure this “thing” with. He is my rock, my love, and my best friend. The other day I was working and we had been very busy so I had not had a break for food. My very sweet husband had fixed dinner for the boys and brought me a plate downstairs to the office so I could eat. When I am working the boys will come down and visit with me, if I am not on the phone. Big T has entertained me with his Ukulele on numerous occasions. Did I mention that he is teaching himself how to play the Ukulele?

Awww the Ukulele. . .

The Ukulele is an interesting little instrument, it is small and has a twang to it’s sound. I am not sure where Big T got the idea to learn to play the Ukulele but he is actually pretty good at it. He has been teaching himself via YouTube and other online tutorials. He is also learning to play the electric guitar. My hubby played the guitar many moons ago and so we still have ALL of the equipment. I love listening to Big T play his Ukulele he is quite talented, he gets that from the hubbs. I could not carry a tune if you strapped it to my back.

Big T and the Ukulele

The Garden Grows. . .

The garden is growing and we are so thankful the frost we got in this early May did not kill anything. Our peas did not come up as well as we had hopped, luckily though I still have some in the freezer. We had some volunteer Tomatillos come up and those will be a blessing since the ones we bought have not done well.

Lock Down Update. . .

What a crazy world we live in. . .

What a crazy world we are living in these days. The government has told us to stay home unless you are doing something essential. What is essential exactly? Is it essential for your kids to have sleep overs? Does a family BBQ with fifty of your closest friends and family constitute essential? Is it essential for you to buy seeds to plant your garden that you and your family live on throughout the year? Who decides what is and is not essential? Who??

What is essential. . . I know you were wondering. . .

Apparently being essential depends on if the government sees your employer as being essential. Healthcare, grocery, take out restaurants, and hardware stores seem to all be essential. These are the places that are open and going strong around us. There was some talk of stores not allowing folks to buy seeds, art supplies, crafts, books, music or any entertainment. In my personal opinion all of those are essential. If moms and dads are staying home educating their kids they need access to all of these items. Books are essential for everyone no matter the age.

These two goofballs are why I stay home they are also why I keep them at home.

Why should you stay at home???

When you are on a stay-at-home order by the government it means you are suppose to stay at home unless your job is essential. The hubs and I have been on a self imposed stay at home since he was told to stay home by his company and I was sent home to work remotely by my company. That was about March 15th. We both work in healthcare so we see the ramifications of not staying at home. We both understand how these little buggers are transmitted and the obvious ways to curb transmission. We stay at home to protect our kids and our loved ones in other households.

This is my “Just Saying” moment. . .

This is not the time to go to the beach, this is not the time to have a sleep over for your kids because they are bored. You should be thinking about your health as well as those around you because you do not know who is and is not infected. I saw the statistics from the CDC on one of my first COVID 19 follow up webinars through work, one cab driver was connected to forty other cases in New York. This is how easily and simply this virus is transmitted. So please think before you plan that BBQ with your family and friends.

Stay safe and love your loved ones at a distance for now.

Here’s to Twenty-eight Years Together. . .

Twenty-eight years. . .

The hubbs and I have been married twenty-seven years this weekend. Together twenty-eight years, we met at my very first job right out of college, we were lab partners. Working third shift right out of college in a town I knew nothing about and the only person I knew was my roommate a friend from college. The hubbs and I were friends and lab partners first, we ran the same test in the lab.

Love at first sight. . .

It was love at first sight for me, not sure about my hubby. We hung out as friends those first several months and then we had a “date.” We still argue of what is and is not a date. He says what I considered a date was not really a date. I do love what he considered our first date. He took me to dinner and then on a horse and buggy ride in October, so we got to snuggle. A true romantic at heart, he will never admit that though and I am perfectly fine with that.

Hope for the future. . .

I hope that my husband and I have shown our boys what real love is about. We argue and we fight but we also compromise and make up. We work together to keep house and make our house a home. During this virus quarantine he has really come through with taking care of our family. I have been working night shift from home and he makes me dinner before I have to go downstairs to the office and log on. He also has been doing most of the cooking and making sure the boys are doing their school work.

Marriage and the quarantine . . .

We have been shelter in place long before the governor made it so. The hubbs and I knew it was the best practice to keep our family safe. These next few weeks will be trying, keeping the boys occupied and keeping ourselves from going stir crazy. Someone said that these circumstances bring out the true character of someone. It can make someone who is generous be more generous or it can make someone that is a jerk be more of a jerk. I have seen the true character of my hubby and it is someone that is generous, caring, and very talented in all that he does. I hope that my boys will follow his lead growing up and growing into young men.

Conclusion . . .

We will celebrate quietly tonight as a family our twenty-seven years together: no fan fare, no exotic trip, no large group of friends, just the four of us. That is what being on quarantine means. This is what you do to keep those you love safe. Please stay safe and stay at home to keep everyone safe.

We celebrated twenty-five years together in St. Lucia, WI.

Fair Warning, this is a RANT!

This is the product of being at home almost two weeks with: my husband (cooking all the time) and my two teenage boys eating all the time. And here we go. . .

What is going on????

What is going on in this world? People think just because their kids are out of school and they are on furlough or work from home order that they can pack up and go to the beach. Why would you do that, why would you put yourself and others at risk by going out of town to stay where you do not know anyone or have any family near by? What happens if you get sick then your family is stuck where they do no know anyone and have no help for your kids if you get put in the hospital? What happens when your hometown goes on lock down and you cannot get back to your home, family, pets you may have left?

Folks you need to wake up. . .

Folks you need to wake up and realize that this is not a vacation it is a serious issue. My husbands Bass club plans to have a fishing tournament two hours away in an area that has many cases of this virus and has been on lock down longer than we have. My husband is not going nor is his brother, they have a little more sense and wives with more sense than that. The shelter at home orders are for everyone’s safety. This is not a time to go visit older relatives, this not the time to pack up the family and go to the beach. My husband and I have been on shelter in place since March 17th, that was when I started working from home full-time. I work with the Organ Donor organization for our State, we started our precautions to protect employees as well as: doctors, nurses, donors, donor families, and recipients. The boys have been on lock down since they both have been home from school.

What I would like to see. . .

What I would like to see come out of this Pandemic is, people starting to care about someone other than themselves. I am tired of hearing about the poor seniors that did not get this or that how about we start caring about those that are sick and dying and worry about how we can keep everyone safe and healthy all that other stuff can be done when this is over. I would like to hear how the Senior class of 2020 is going to do something to help the folks affected by this pandemic not hear them, “oh woe is me.” It is not even the kids that really care about it, it’s the parents that are crying about it.

I will get off my soap box now. . .

Yes, it is sad that the Seniors may not get their graduation in a timely manner and they may not get a Prom. Let’s look at the BIG picture and think about the lives that are saved because they stayed home. I am sad my sons’ did not get to have a complete season of lacrosse and bless Sprat’s heart he has had two seasons cut short. Life happens and it does not always go the way we would like it to go. My prayers through all of this are that God is watching over our young people and that we make it through this and we are better for it in the end.

I Detest the Media. . .

Growing up. . .

When I was in school and we talked about journalism and news reporters we talked about bias. We were taught that reporters reported facts not their own opinions. It did not matter what their feelings were on the subject they were reporting they did not interject their opinion. I know I sound like I am 100 years old but, I am not. It has only been in recent years that the media has lost sight of reporting fact.

“And that’s the way it is. . . “

That was the sign off for one of the most respected men in journalism, Mr Walter Cronkite. I wish more reporters would strive to be as honorable and forth right as Mr Cronkite. He gave you the facts without his opinion or personal commentary. There was no wondering if what he was reporting was the truth or not, you could trust him. These days I have no trust for any reporter, lying and stretching the truth has become part of the job description.

Reporters today . . .

Reporters today are trying to sensationalize everything just to get the rating points. It seems the more of a frenzy they can whip up the better it is for their job performance. What ever happened to reporting the truth? What happened to giving the public the facts of a story?

Case and Point. . .

The Coronavirus is a perfect example of the media blowing everything out of proportion. Some idiot on Facebook was telling everyone from a news source that there are 100,000 cases the Coronavirus in the United States. That is false per the CDC web site as of March 13th there were 1,629 cases affecting 46 States. Of the 1,629 cases 1,362 are under investigation so they are not even positive cases yet. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html There are 41 deaths due to the virus but let us put that into perspective; flu deaths are estimated, per the CDC, between 20,000-52,000. Those deaths are from October 1, 2019-February 20, 2020. Think about that, why is the media not reporting that?

Conclusion. . .

In conclusion, please do your own research before you believe anything that you see or hear anywhere. Oh, and please wash your hands and keep them away from your face!! That is the best method of preventing spread of all virus and disease.