In a comment yesterday B wrote,
I agree it is VERY complicated. That is part of what has thrown me for such a loop in what to do and how to proceed.
I am staying home mostly, for now.
I do like to hear how others are coming to their conclusions on what is best to do and understanding their thought process on it. What they are considering . I truly want to understand. I don’t like being so uncertain in my opinions. I use facts and they are hard to come by.
I’m mostly staying home and we go grocery shopping a lot less. Andy does still go to the hardware store, and he goes up to the land almost every day. I have given up my membership at the Y after 24 years and am having no problem exercising at home. We haven’t been affected much except that Kaitlin, Torben and the pups haven’t been here in over a year. They used to come once in the summer, once around the end of the year.
We’re not having any psychological problems because Andy is an introvert, I’m on the borderline between introvert and extrovert. He would have problems if he couldn’t go up to the land, I would probably have problems if I didn’t have the internet for blogging and for all the information at my fingertips.
We are happy to wear masks because we think we are safer when other people wear theirs. We don’t try to sanitize packages or anything like that, but we do wash our hands after we’re been out.
What about everyone else? Can you share your thoughts with B?
Thanks.
January 17, 2021
I am doing just as I have done for this whole past year. obeying Dr Fauci.
he said to wash your hands and wear a mask and don’t travel or get in groups. I continue to live a very simple life.
I don’t go out except for buying my own groceries. like Monk… I don’t disinfect everything. I simply put it away.
I don’t belong to any groups. and I enjoy my brother’s company at a nearby park that we love. we get food and take it there to eat together. my days are spent happily browsing blogs and the internet … watching the news … and reading my kindle. all things eventually end. even pandemics! I am registered for a shot but it’s a mess right now. chaos really. when it’s available I’ll take it. but I’m not going to worry. I’m trying to break that habit!
xo
Thanks. 🙂
We are self-isolating most of the time and have been since March, I believe. I have only been inside a grocery store two or three times and then very early on Sunday mornings. We get out groceries at a pick-up location where employees bring them out and load them into the trunk of our car. We wear masks whenever we have to go to doctor’s offices. We wash our hands more than we used to and use hand sanitizer regularly. We have very occasionally taken a drive around the area and once down to Cave Creek (just north of Phoenix and about 80 miles away). Judy’s daughter comes over every week or two for a visit, separated by 6 to 10 feet and lately everyone has been wearing masks for those times. I am growing frustrated with the extremely slow and haphazard roll-out of the vaccine, especially since we are both over 80. The daughter got her first shot yesterday because she does hospice work. We read a lot and watch t.v. Like Andy, we are both pretty much introverts so we are surviving, though we do miss restaurant meals. And we VOTE. So this too shall pass.
Thanks. 🙂
This is quite a difficult post for me to answer as I’m in New Zealand, where currently there isn’t any community transmission. All of us are on Level 1 – But there are a number of covid rules in place, depending where you live, which I try to follow to the best of my ability.
I don’t know if anything has exactly changed for me, I’m still home alone – order food supplies and other goods online for delivery – take a cab for local medical appointments (done that a lot recently as I’ve new issues) – bus if I need to do something radical (like I need some cash tomorrow) – walked locally (that has only just re-begun) but less than a km. BUT what has changed, my concentration has affected my art making…maybe soon that will come back.
I reflect on the situation at least once a week, and I make baby steps to coming back to where I was nearly 3 months ago…although the latest round of medicine helpmates won’t be finished for another 10 days or so!
Yes, I’m in a good situation as such…take care everyone.
I’m glad you’re fairly safe from COVID. Take care. 🙂
Well, we are both high risk. And Covid is very bad in our city. So why take any chances at all, when they could mean life or death? We only go to the grocery store, and use the drive-thru for the drug store. When we grocery shop, we use masks, disposable gloves, and stay far away from anyone. We have not been physically close to our family (who only live a couple minutes away) since March. And we attend church on Zoom. We are eligible to get the vaccine now, but who knows how that will go…My husband’s sister is dying, and I hate the inevitable decision about the funeral. Funerals and weddings are where so many catch Covid.
I’m so sorry about your sister-in-law. Thanks for writing.
We haven’t changed our life style much at all. I get out about 3 hrs. a day to walk. (If it’s crowded I don’t stay but find an isolated beach). We are homebodies, no travel any more, no church, no movies, (never was much for parties & large gatherings), etc. So, knock wood, we are doing well. I do miss going out to dine.
I’m glad you are in good shape, even though it isn’t ideal.
My life has changed very little. Since I work in a grocery store I’ve worked the entire time. I’m your typical introvert who goes between work and home and little else. Other than wearing a mask when I go to work or grocery shopping life is the same for me.
I’m glad you haven’t been affected much.
Bob never leaves home, Sunday morning ride the dog, walk the dog each morning. he is the most at risk if he catches the virus, but is fast becoming at risk of mayhem from me, his spouse… 24/7 is killing me. i wish he had land to go to.
we follow Fauci also.. standard things to do, i go to senior only Walmart shopping once a week, we to no longer go to the Y.. even though it is open.
I do go inside Publix for Rx,but that has only been 4 times in the last year.
without wi fi and my e reader i would be lost. but I had decided we could go back to the pool at the y and be careful, starting next week, bob is failing fast because swimming is his only excercise. then just now i got an email and my best friend since jr high, is on lockdown because the retirement community she lives in, Savanna Ga has 4 cases and they have closed the dining room and everyone is locked down and her sons mother in law is ill with the virus.
will not go back monday
That’s hard. Andy’s being able to go up to the land every day is an important part of both our lives. He’s almost 86, so who knows how long that will be possible, independent of COVID.
We are both introverts with plenty of interests to keep us busy but like to be out and about and traveling — which we haven’t been doing. Karen has kept busy with her quilting, applique, and knitting/crocheting, and her yard work when it’s warm. I’ve been working on my civil war blog and Facebook page, beginning another journey through the war, this time 160 years after the events. The blog — http://www.cw-chronicles.com — has over 21,000 posts to schedule and publish over the next 4 1/2 years. I did a lot of yard cleanup while it was warm including cutting down several hardwood trees and splitting the wood for firewood. We’ve not been out to eat, but have gone through drive-through a couple of times and picked up pizza a couple of times. Our excursions have been mostly limited to grocery shopping (Karen) and home improvement store trips (Mike). We have had our normal share of health care appointments plus, for me, several appointments related to cataracts, including surgery for both eyes and followups. Our biggest change was the gym closing in March. I had gone almost every day in the morning while Karen went in the afternoon. We ended up getting a treadmill in June and now both walk several miles every day.
We haven’t visited family except to pick up a beef quarter a couple of times from Karen’s brother and his wife and then we were masked and socially distant. We are bewildered by relatives who seem to ignore the COVID precautions and go about their lives like nothing is different. While some have gotten sick with COVID, none has had it severely, fortunately — so far.
Stay safe and healthy!
The same to you! Apparently a lot of people get away without following the precautions, but we’re like you, build a good life around the new (hopefully temporary) lifestyle. Getting enough exercise and having projects is a big part of it.
Gotta admit, my mind’s been all over the place.
While I’m no longer the introverted, socially-awkward girl (I once was), neither am I a total extrovert like Tom. My poor hands bear testimony to all the sanitizer and hand-washing I’ve been doing. And my mask collection’s begun to rival that of my shoes. We’ve not patronized restaurants in nearly a year, but continue to shop for essentials, while social distancing. Only once have I sanitized anything coming into our home, and that was a package sent from the U.K. last week.
I hope everyone’s commentary has helped, B!
Thank you for writing! Take care.
I am self-isolating as much as possible. Mostly I just go to the grocery store every two weeks and have zero face-to-face contact with others except once a month with my cleaning service and we all wear masks. My social life before Covid-19 was quite active. I’m doing okay but I agree, without the internet and blog community I wouldn’t be doing as well from a mental health point of view. I really, REALLY miss people watching at my favorite cafeteria and going to Starbucks.
Hopefully things will get better for you soon. Thanks for writing. 🙂
The main changes here have been cancelling house cleaning and Dave’s social outings. I have become an extreme introvert these last few years so that hasn’t changed. We’ve been computer oriented for years and are very glad of that now. We’ve had our first vaccine injections with the second one due Feb 11th so Dave plans to return to some of his social life in March. Probably. Masks are a possibility but not many wear them and social distancing is not possible at their events so we’ll see how things are going in general before making that final decision. Having a view of a nature preserve out our huge windows certainly helps in the meantime.
I’m so glad you were able to start your vaccinations. That should help a lot.
Much as many senior Americans, we have altered our lifestyle to maintain the advice of social distancing and of course, wearing masks. I still go to the store, but I go with a list and try to be in and out of the store in 15 min. I do a lot of online ordering and some curbside pickup. I am picky about fruit, veggies, and meat so I like to pick my own:) The biggest negative for us is we really miss time with our family. We haven’t seen my son and family in person since Labor Day weekend 2019!!! They live in Texas. The two daughters and families are nearby but we still maintain a lot of distance. I do drive the twins home from school every day, but they have to sit in the back with masks on and I wear my mask and shield. We are both over 70 and my husband has health issues that could be aggravated by the virus. We hope to be able to get the vaccine in the next few months.
I’m glad you mentioned getting in and out of the store as quickly as possible. The length of time we’re exposed makes a big difference. Also how well the store is ventilated. I think our supermarket has enough ventilation for the number of people allowed in, and our new Natural Grocers is smaller but never crowded and is very well ventilated. We too eat a lot of fruits and vegetables (which helps our immune systems) and we need to choose our own.
I hope you can get your shots soon. And that you can start seeing your family more often. 🙂
I really did keep Roger at home for the longest time, other than going through drive throughs. Before his stroke he was a total extrovert. Never meets a stranger. He still does not do much going, but this staying home has not been good to him. Before he would at least go and walk around Walmart.
He has seen his cousin once, and my brother has come down once. We see the girls, and some of their friends. That are practically family…they have sure been good friends through thick and thin with them. And Roger’s one friend has come and seen Roger, took him fishing one time, and shooting another.
For a long time, I rushed through my shopping…I still don’t spend a lot of time, but I just don’t rush like I did. I do use the store wipes now, where at first I took my own wipe with bleach.
That’s hard about Roger and other extroverts. Fingers crossed things improve in the not-too-distant future. Thank you for writing. 🙂
Thank you everyone for sharing what you are doing. I am doing very much the same. Introvert here as well.
Everybody stay safe and I will be here.
Thanks Jean!
I’m glad I could help. The beauty of blogging friends. 🙂
We are staying home. We have grocery deliveries or do a pick up. Sometimes my husband runs to Costco but not very often. Basically I visit my son once a week with social distancing. It hasn’t been easy but we kind of have a routine now. Take care. Have a nice weekend.