It is always hard for me to start and sometimes that is because I know where I end up or the point I want to make. Today day 18 of my personal dealing with the pandemic of 2020 or whatever they end up calling it. I have no idea where we are going. I am doing my part. I have been out in public about once a week to go to the grocery store.
I have to start back at the end of January was when I first remember hearing a story on the radio about this Corona virus and that young people for some reason believed that this virus originating in China was caused by or could be prevented by drinking Corona beer. This seemed stupid to me as I learned the virus is spread like the flu. It is a respiratory disease that is passed from person to person. The logical person that I am was like we can avoid this by staying healthy and washing your hands just like avoiding getting the flu. I am and was at that time quite confident that I can avoid this.
March 11 was the first day there were two confirmed cases of Corona virus in Pinellas County.
I say day 18 since March 17th was day one of my personal reality check. My work which didn't allow employees to work from home, wanted me to test working from home. Besides the "come see me" message I received from my manager to see the director of our department standing in his office, all I kept thinking is I didn't do anything wrong. It is natural for me to believe I must be in trouble. I try to fly under the radar at work. That day I was asked to do something no one had done before. I felt empowered and scared at the same time. If I mess this up I mess it up for a lot of people. So I was given an hour to get my computer home and hooked up and online and back to work which really was unrealistic but I did it. My manager was waiting to see me connected and asked, how it went and I said, I did it. I worked the rest of the afternoon and sent an email the next morning with the challenges that I had. I had never worked from home before and with no training manual I was getting through my personal challenges.
By the end of the week I had a routine down. The next Monday March 23, day 7, I sent a message to my manager and he said the company wants you to come back to work in the office. Now the situation in the world hasn't gotten better. I truly felt like I must have failed. Maybe I didn't work hard enough even though the day I was on the phone I took 90 calls which is really a pretty good day. So I packed up my computer and monitors and went back to work. The other employees questioned why I was back and did it not work? I just kept saying it did work. By this time we were to social distancing at work. They spread out people across two buildings using every empty office and conference room. A strange new normal had begun. I still had my morning social with my friends that arrive early, we never sat closer than 6 feet apart before so now was no different.
We learned this week that we are considered essential employees. The term is to define employees that still need to work versus those businesses that are not essential should close and their employees should stay at home. The jokes began. My essential pay is no different than my non-essential pay. Essential employees drive better than non-essential employees.
March 30, 129 confirmed cases of Corona virus in Pinellas County
Another week passes and now on day 15 March 31, and while at work I hear a voice I don't know trying to get everyone's attention. This voice is from a person I don't know but find out that it is the Vice President over our department telling us that they are going to send half of the department home to work. Once again I pack up my computer that afternoon and take it home and set it up and the next day start working from home again. I do miss the people I have my morning social with. We now text each other in the morning before work. We are all usually at work 30 minutes early so we have a good talk before it is time to work. Gossip is a little harder to come by but don't worry it is still out there.
April 1, the biggest jump in confirmed cases in Pinellas County to date. 61 confirmed cases almost doubled the day before. Brings the total confirmed to 213. As of today when I am typing this April 4th total 300 cases in Pinellas County with 7 deaths.
The world seems to be sliding down hill. Some aren't taking this social distance stuff serious and maybe I don't take it serious enough. I refuse to wear a mask over my mouth and leave my nose exposed as the people I see at the grocery and I don't wear gloves to touch everything and then take the mask they aren't wearing properly off before removing the gloves. I wash my hands, I try not to touch my face and I try not to have close contact with anyone. But Thursday just before going to the grocery store I learn that 2 employees have been confirmed to have the virus that work at the two stores closest to my house. The part of me that likes to worry has been nervously anticipating the thought that at some point this thing is going to get close. But after reading another article I learn that the employee at the store we normally shop at hasn't been at work for 10 days and that the store has been sanitized multiple times since then.
Like I said at the beginning we don't know where this is going to end. My father being in his 70s has been taking this serious from the beginning and has not let anyone come over. We have all called to check that he doesn't need anything. My sister dropped off eggs to him. Leaving them on his porch to get once she got back towards the car. My one sister that works in a drug store is still working normally, my sister that is a dental assistant hasn't worked for a couple weeks, my sister that works at an elementary school hasn't worked in the traditional sense since their Spring Break a couple weeks ago. She gets online and is available to help students as needed. My brother that works for the City was told last week that he had the next two weeks off except two days a week he comes in to pick up trash from parks. My nieces and nephew that are in school are adapting to online school.
Brian and I are home together nearly 24 hours a day. It is a good thing we love each other and more importantly like each other and even know when to walk away from each other. I can't watch tv like he can so I spend a few hours writing or working outside.
These strange times have brought strange commercials about contact less pizza delivery and restaurants doing family style meals for pick up.
Since these are historic times weather or not everyone living through them realizes. Some day 72 years from now (because that is when this year's census data will be available to the public) Genealogists will be looking at data from the 2020 census which hopefully you logged in and participated in. Will note that it happened during the outbreak or the pandemic or whatever they decide to call it by then. They will know who you were quarantined at home with and they will compare data on some families and learn that some people were alive for the census but died soon after and wonder if the virus is what killed them. They will then look for a death certificate to confirm.
Stay safe.
