**Disclaimer: I am by no means a scientist or a doctor but I would like to share my experiences during this difficult time as a mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend!**
Back in January, my family and I had just gotten back from a winter trip and I remember I was ready to start looking into a summer trip because my daughter starts kindergarten in the Fall. As I talked to my husband about the places we should go I started reading tons of articles about this new virus that was taking a toll on the people of China, specifically in the Hubei Province. I mentioned it to my husband who initially thought it was not a big deal as well as many others but something just felt different with this one. I decided to hold off on buying tickets because the World Health Organization started making briefings explaining that this could be the next pandemic. I knew this couldn’t be good news because the WHO doesn’t just jump into any and all viruses found in the world like they did with this particular strain. Come February you can see the virus is starting to shift out of China but still not enough to cause worry to most. As I see the map start filling up with positive cases, you can see a wave start blanketing the globe from the East to the West but people are still not taking it seriously. As all of this continues I am working but start taking baby steps of buying extra water and some home goods just in case this blows up and nothing is left on the shelf. Sure enough come March, after Italy is plagued with what we now know as COVID-19 and then the rest of the European countries things get more serious. By this point it has now hit the US and everything is surreal with more questions than answers from the most prominent people of the world. Shelter in place orders are introduced, schools are shut down, people are asked to work from home, wear face masks, traveling stops and more!
It’s now nearing the end of May and States are reopening with caution. But what can we do to help each other to make it a little more safe not just for ourselves but for our families, children, grandparents, friends and even our furry family members to get back out into the open?
Below are tiny steps my family and I are now incorporating into our daily lives when heading out:
- Wear masks in public areas (except for exercising, including walks).
- Stay 6ft away from others.
- Always carry hand sanitizer or antibacterial wipes.
- I limit my cell phone use while shopping to minimize cross contamination between phone, basket, products, etc.
- Remove shoes before re-entering my home. I leave them at the entrance of my home in a designated area or leave them in the garage.
- Wash hands immediately when returning home.
- I do NOT spray down or clean all items from grocery store BUT I do wipe down my countertops after every grocery run with lysol or antibacterial wipes.
- More washing hands.
- Limit interaction with large groups.
- Overall, do what YOU feel works BEST for you and your family.
Our world and lives have definitely changed these past few months but life is still relatively good. We can still have family walks, go to the stores, pick up great food from restaurants, travel in our cars, shop online and spend as much time together with our families that I know I needed very much! Life will resume once again and even though it will be a “new normal” let’s not forget how much we need each other during this time. Working TOGETHER not against each other is the only way this is going to work until a vaccine is discovered and ready to be distributed. We will get through this like every other virus, disaster and war that our country has encountered but please remember to be kind and respectful to each other.
I can’t wait to travel again, attend a “normal” birthday party, have a family gathering, visit a vineyard or have a mommy’s happy hour but until then my friends, please stay safe and healthy!
