Pandemic Narrative, Part 3

Since Sunday, the great state of Minnesota has gone from 35 to 115 confirmed cases. I emphasize confirmed because it’s impossible to say exactly how widespread the virus is right now, with minimal testing performed and available. I’m not blaming our government for this, or at least not our state government. Minnesota governor Tim Walz has proven his quality several times over since this crisis began. 

I’m looking out my window at two of my neighbors, both seniors, at getting their mail. It’s obvious they know each other and have stopped to chat for a moment — thankfully from about 10 feet apart. What the hell with this natural world, making us behave this way just to keep from getting sick and possibly dying.

I told some colleagues before break started that I’d consider it a win if I made it all through our time off and only left the house five times or fewer. Not to walk the dog or get the mail, but actually hopped in the car and went somewhere. It feels like I brought this up in an earlier post already, but whatever. I started break getting myself plenty stocked up and still feel I’m ready to stay home and indoors for a good long while, but things are beginning to look like this is going to extend past a good long while and stretch into becoming a bad long while. Which probably means I’ve got at least one more grocery run at some point. Or would it be better to take advantage of all the take out or delivery choices from restaurants while that’s still a choice? I won’t be surprised if we eventually go into a statewide lockdown, but I think we still have time before we reach that benchmark. Is takeout worth the risk? Is it any less safe than going to a grocery store during off hours? Too many things to think about that really have never been a part of our lives before. 

The biggest news has been the influx of email coming from the school district and my principal recently. Included in this has been the first indication we’ve been given of what we’ll be doing next week when we report back to work again. No kids, which is great, and all meetings and work keeping us as isolated as possible. I’ve been out for a week and haven’t gotten sick, so I’m hoping that means there isn’t any virus waiting for me in my classroom when I return, and since my room is at the end of a hallway and right by an exit, I should be able to minimize contact pretty effectively. 

One of the worst things about this for me so far has been this holding pattern. When I get faced with some kind of a problem, I usually want it solved right away, and if I don’t know what I need to do to begin that process, it’s really frustrating. At least now I have some direction and will be able to keep my head productively occupied for the weekend. 

In a way this week has been like a winter storm hitting, in the sense that you’re pretty much stuck at home because going anywhere, unless you really have to, isn’t an option. I’ve always enjoyed that to a degree, since I can keep to my introverted self and recharge in the quiet without feeling guilty about going out and doing something. 

I have a feeling that before much longer, I’m going to feel differently about what we’re dealing with now.