Facing Reality-In For the Long Haul

Today our governor strongly recommended wearing cloth masks out in public. I think this is a grasping at straws/trying to send a message statement, because so few people are paying attention to the directive. But even if it is only ten percent effective.....that's something.

Also today,  I received my Amazon order. Instead of throwing it in the trunk of my car, son lifted it and put it on the desk of my sewing room. While I am not overly concerned about these kinds of things to the point of paranoia  (I'm much more paranoid about the groceries and the grocery bags), I put the box immediately into a large trash bag and opened it and wiped everything down and then quickly sanitized my desk and the floor where the box was. Just to keep on top of things-I feel  to be in much less danger from delivery than from going into an actual store, but still trying to be overly, overly cautious. I live with a young adult with a history of asthma and pneumonia besides being a senior (who, me?). The rest of the boxes are in the trunk of the car. When this is over, at some point I'll have to toally sanitize the car especially the trunk area.

Folks, I've slowly come to the realization that this is not suddenly going to end. At least not with a bang and an "Oh, it's over, let's make dinner reservations" kind of day. We are not all just going to run out the door like freed prisoners  and go back to what we were doing, wherever that is or was.  Yes, I know many of you have realized this already and I am slow on the uptake.

We have not yet reached our peak (here in Colorado this will take until Easter or afterwards, who knows?), and even then the virus will be with us for a long time. Many of us will need to be more cautious and reconsider how and when we do things (and I say this as a very social person). There are countries that have not yet been affected and will be (heck there are states that are not yet seriously affected and will be). Life is going to be different for a very long time around here-and there.

In the long run I think we will all be okay.  I know I will be okay, although changed.  For now, I am learning to do things differently and mainly embrace the difference-and learn a few things. I have embraced virtual church as being available, although not superior-the church is more than just a building. On the other hand, being a movie in the real theater person, I've come to realize that streaming movies can in fact be just as good-or would be if I had a TV as large as my daughter and son in law do.  Put that one on the list for Texas, please!! I've also returned to being much more comfortable mainly alone, appreciating my own company and what my own home and space have to offer.

Having said that, I realize that I am luckier than many. Much luckier, so I really don't want to sound like Pollyanna, heaven forbid.  I do not have grandkids, just two children that I communicate with regularly and worry about as they are essential employees. While I've become more of a social person in the last few years, I am, as my son would so eloquently put it, great at knowing how to "self entertain" most of the time-and have a pile of at home hobbies (knitting, sewing, weaving, painting, geneology, reading, TV watching, baking) that keep me busy at home. I also  have people who live with me. I have a yard and don't rely on just a condo with a patio (said even as I embrace that next part of my life where I will have the large patio, greenspace and no yard).

I also have an income affected not a whit by the current economic situation. I've not lost income nor gained income. It is tomorrow as it was yesterday. And I am of the temperment that if I lost a couple hundred grand in the stock market, I would become a drinking person, full out and full up. No matter my knowledge about the long term market.

I understand others are in different circumstances. Social  people going crazy, families who cannot see each other, people with financials, or with family member financials that are in dire straights (I'm right there with the second part, believe you me). Never mind the plain old fear. 

But I can only write about what I do and what I know, and hope others appreciate it or are willing to talk about why they don't.

All of which is to say that I am moving to embrace my new normal as much as possible. There will be good days, and mediu days, and there will be bad days. But for me, I don't want to center it around counting the days and the weeks.

So as the blog continues, it will be mainly still about my frugal retirement lifestyle. Through the lens of my short term and long term circumstances, whatever they may be good or bad. I'm gonna treat (or try and treat) this blog about a life, rather than a life on hold. Some times it'll be good. Sometimes not so good. Sometime's you'll like it and sometimes you won't.

Sometimes  I'll bellyache about really wanting to go for a drive (that's honestly the only thing really killing me right now). Or about how the family is driving me cukoo. But we'll also have either Thrifty Thursday or Frugal Friday, pictures of what I'm making, frugal slow cooker recipes and all of the normal kind of blog posts. Within that lens.

Let's hope it all works.

As an aside (and I suppose I should apologize for the political).......anybody else notice that every single future suggestion for economic stabilization and income health and health care and most everything else pretty much comes from the Bernie Sanders playbook?  Even the ones being suggested by some of the far right republicans?