Recent observations as Wife and I have tried to follow the instructions for "social distancing," a phrase I sincerely hope I will never again hear in my life when this is over:
-- I'm working remotely, officially beginning this past Tuesday, March 17, but which began for me last Friday, March 13. I have worked from home part of each week for the past 15 years, but never on a consistent day-to-day basis, nor when most of my colleagues are doing so. We have a regular morning call each morning at 9 to check in with each other and hear the latest from the company leadership. Most of you know I work for a bank, and while the front-line customer facing folks need to be on-site, many of the back-office functions can be done remotely. It presents challenges at times, but it can be done.
-- Older Son, DIL and their son were here over the weekend, in from Atlanta. When they got word our grandson's daycare would be closed, they decided he and his mom would stay here this week so she could work remotely and have childcare (us and her parents, who live nearby). So we've had the lovely distraction of having one of our two-year-old grandsons here this week. They've alternated days where he's here during the day and she works at her parents' house, and the reverse of that. We will miss them when they go back to Atlanta Friday.
-- Wife and I have quickly seen we need to limit our daytime news consumption. Since I'm working, it's not that difficult for me, but she was finding herself drawn to non-stop news. I am NOT an anti-media person and frankly, I think most of them are doing the best they can to report what is happening. And as a consumer of news, we need to be smart. If we watch Fox News, they are going to tell us what a great job Trump is doing with this and they're going to underplay the effects of COVID-19. If we watch CNN or CNBC, we can expect, as soon as Trump has had a press briefing, for the folks on those stations to immediately tell us how what he just said contradicts everything else he has said and how his administration is leading us off a cliff. So we have established a routine of watching our local evening news, then the national news on NBC, and leaving it at that. We might read the occasional news alert that comes on our phones, but we are rationing our news consumption and staying away from the aforementioned 24-hour news stations. We have decided it's not healthy. Yes we stay informed, but we are limiting our news intake.
-- Our church held live streaming services this past Sunday and it worked well. They already have the technology in place to do it, since they already do it each week. But like working from home, we're not accustomed to everyone attending church that way. During the time we greet each other, we sent text messages. Wife and I lead a small group in our church and we're sending out emails every few days to stay in touch and let folks hit "reply all" to tell us how they are and any prayer requests they might have.
-- We're trying to walk a lot, even though we've had tons of rain (which doesn't help to lift our spirits). Some neighbors who have a young family stopped us a couple of nights ago and inquired as to our wellbeing and asked if we need anything. Translation: "We think you are old." That's 100 percent OK, and I'm glad we're looking out for each other.
More later.
4 comments:
*sigh* Another phrase I think I'm tired of is "new normal". I went to my grocery for "penny deals" today, usually a fun experience, but it didn't pan out that way. This is like the panic before an ice storm on steroids!
I'm trying to limit my news to what I see in my paper (and can choose to skim or skip) and the nightly broadcast. Occasionally I run across an article I find interesting on the internet, such as one I read today from Francis Collins (NIH, BioLogos), a scientist whom I greatly admire.
I know it can't be helped, but I miss my routines that bring me into contact with others.
Here, people are stocking up on ammo. There is irresponsible talk about the government and 'martial law'. Stuff like this frightens me more than the virus itself. My stepson is adamant that this is all a government plot.
My sister is a nurse who figures that this is all media driven, that the 'regular flu' kills more people every year. I tried to explain that this is one strain of flu, and she's comparing it to numbers of many different strains of flu, which makes a bigger pool of numbers. She doesn't get it. We have agreed not to discuss it.
Tim and I still work. I am not sure how long that will last. My company declared bankruptcy some time back and this sounds like a death knell to my ears. Of course this is new and uncharted territory. We can only wait and see.
I quickly realized that limiting my news consumption was a necessary thing as well. I too have just been watching the local and national evening news and then doing something else. Lately I've been flying through a lot of books in the evening.
Personally other than the scary side of all this, it has almost been a dream come true to have all my social obligations cancelled and having the ability to spend the time at home with my family. I'm sure that part will wear off before this is all said and done.
For most of this week, I have not watched much news but have faithfully watched the President's midday new conference... Early in the week, he seemed to be making sense, but then it started going downhill. I would often watch the Dow drop faster as he began talking... This week, I'm going to take a break from that press conferences. We've also been streaming our services for several years, so it is not too hard to continue to provide such services. We are also using Zoom for meetings and bible study groups. Hang in there!
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