Opening Up?

Look, I get it. I realize that we cannot stay shut down forever. People are ready to get back into their normal routines. And, for some, this is completely worth risking their own lives and the lives of others. 

But, can we do this with some degree of care? Would it really be so bad to have places limit the number of people inside for a while? I, for one, would love to see restaurant tables spaced out enough not to be able to hear every word of the conversation at the next table! 

I am also aware that we vulnerable folks are going to have to be careful for the foreseeable future no matter what the government decides. I will be the one still wearing a mask, washing my hands more often, avoiding crowds, and not shaking hands for some time to come. I will not mind having my temperature taken before I enter a medical facility. And I am fine doing business through windows for a while. 

Another thing I am hoping will happen after "reopening" is that stores might consider continuing "senior hours" at least one day a week. This virus is not just going to go away and this gesture would be appreciated by those of us who qualify. I can also see more employment opportunities for Instacart and other pickup service workers. 

If those of us who have a steady income can help our friends and neighbors who are out of work right now, we might be able to obtain that balance between safety and the economy. 

It's worth a try. 

Expendable?

Expendable: of little significance when compared to an overall purpose, and therefore able to be abandoned. 

As the regulations on gatherings and essential businesses go on, I know that a lot of people are itching for an immediate return back to business as usual. I get it. I do. There are a lot of people out of work who were already living paycheck to paycheck. 

I was reading the comments under one such post this afternoon. One person said that "This is America! Survival of the fittest!" I know other people are thinking that, even if they are not saying it out loud. 

I read respected local medical professionals opinions about the need to continue safety practices for a while longer. Our relatively small hospital has been known to get overwhelmed in a bad flu year, let alone one where a much larger group of people could require intensive medical resources in a very short time. 

Believe me, I am all about a return to some semblance of normal. But does it have to be immediate and does it have to happen all at once? As a fairly high risk person, I have a feeling that my life will not be going back to my previous normal any time soon. I see masks, gloves, and some degree of social distancing in my life for the foreseeable future. Being that higher risk asthmatic, immunosuppressed, over 60 person with a neuromuscular disorder, I tend to shy away from crowds or anyone who is obviously ill anyway. 

Are there alternatives to just throwing the vulnerable to the wolves? My Christian faith seems to make a case that the ill and elderly are cherished children of God and worthy of being treated as such. 

Today it really hit me that in many people's eyes, I am expendable. People like me are nothing compared to the economy and the convenience of the healthy. In the grand scheme of things, I don't matter. And that hurts. 

I think I still have at least something to offer this world. 

I just hope I get the time to do it. 

A Strange Easter

This morning, I awoke to a very different Easter. 

First of all, I decadently slept till after 6 AM. This would not happen on a normal Easter at Hermanville United Methodist Church. There was not an Easter card from my husband on the kitchen table this year. I'm sure he knew that I would have his head if he had gone anywhere and lingered long enough to look at cards. His chocolate bunny is pitifully small this year, but it was the only one I could quickly find while in a local Dollar General (to which I will not be going back anytime soon!) replacing my broken tea pitcher, which IS an essential item in my house. 

I will not be eating Easter lunch at Granna's with my family. It will be lunch for two with just my husband and me. I did spend much of yesterday cooking what is pretty close to a normal Easter lunch with the items I was able to have delivered by Instacart and could find at Honeybaked Ham. We will have stuffed eggs and candied yams. Because of the possibility of inclement weather today, I made plates for Granna and some other elderly friends and delivered them yesterday. I know that they will especially miss being with their families this year. I want everyone to have at least a little taste of "Easter food." 

Instead of a live church service, I will watch a local service on Facebook. I will sing along with hymns, even if my husband looks at me funny. And I WILL celebrate the risen Christ regardless of the current circumstances. Easter has been distilled to its essence. That is not a bad thing. 

Happy Easter!