Today felt strangely normal.
Not the “new normal” like we’ve grown accustomed to in the last week and a half. Most of those days have been somewhat stressed with news, some dread, and uncertainty. Also, the March weather has been March-like; coldish and rainy.
This morning was still a bit pandemic-y, as my wife went out for groceries. I don’t think we’ve ever debated the logistics of a grocery trip quite as much as this one. The online pick up dates for two stores were booked too far in advance to wait. Do she go do Aldi, but hope they have everything as to avoid going to multiple places? Try to get there when the store opens; hope it’s the cleanest possible setting and hopefully avoid any unnecessary crowds. There was a debate about whether or not to wear a bandanna / face scarf – would it do any good as preventing droplets from getting to her, or make it more likely they would get sucked into the gaps if any did exist in her airspace? Some quick research showed it was inclusive and not worth wearing. And then what about bags? We are typically bring-your-own-bag people, especially at Aldi, where it’s basically required. However, we heard that some stores were prohibiting bringing in bags, and rightfully so. So, load directly into the back of the van it was.
All debate aside, she went to Buhler’s, and had a fine experience. She felt comforted that she could see people presently cleaning while she was there, and there weren’t too many other shoppers, other than a chatty couple who should have chosen only one of them to leave the house. My wife even remarked that the young ladies who were her cashier and bagger were chipper and chatty, smiling and laughing as they provided their essential service of helping everyone get food to eat.
We also got a few items for my parents and her parents, which will hopefully keep them in the house for a few days longer. It seems they are starting to realize the seriousness of the situation; not that we were high and mighty by raising alarms sooner, but now they really seem to be more concerned than they were a week ago.
The grocery unloading and putting away process is more than I thought I would ever be doing for groceries: wiping every item down on all sides with a disinfecting wipe, staging them outside the garage, then cleaning up before bringing them up to be put away. Yowza.
Ok, so groceries were home and clean and in their places. Mission accomplished. Hopefully that’ll get us for another week and a half to two weeks, other than needing to pick up milk locally first.
The day seemed to pick up from there. The daily Ohio press conference seemed a bit more chipper than usual, even though the numbers of infected and deaths had still significantly increased. They shared letters from kids, TikTok videos, recipes, some more light-hearted materials, and the whole thing felt a little less doom and gloom than usual.
The afternoon weather was what really turned the day into a good one; it was nearly 60 and sunny. For Ohio, that’s short sleeves and shorts weather coming out of winter! The kids played outside in the sandbox and kicked the soccer ball around. Then when I was done with work, I went on a 5k run through our small town, with my son following along on his bike. We saw a lot more people out and about than I ever have before this; others were surly lured out of their homes by the sunshine and warmth, and the desire to just look as some different scenery than their walls and TVs. Only a few people weren’t the recommended 6 feet apart, and overall everyone seemed well.
Then, a nice family dinner, baths, bedtime books, and lights out. Almost like normal.
CanalSide 