I promised myself I wouldn’t jump on the coronavirus bandwagon here on the blog.
I mean, who really cares what it looks like in my corner of the world? Hasn’t it all been said already, from every conceivable angle? Isn’t COVID-19 getting enough airplay? What could I possibly add to the discussion?
But when it came time to put my next blog post together, anything else seemed frivolous, even pointless. This is the world we live in now, and the words were just waiting to spill out.
So here we are.
Coronavirus crept into my consciousness gradually over the past month or two, but didn’t really impact everyday life or prevent us from making plans. We even booked a trip to Melbourne in May for our 30th wedding anniversary, to see the Harry Potter play … who knows what will happen with that. We have travel insurance but are unsure if it will cover us in the event we are unable to go.
It seemed far away … but gradually it crept closer.
Like many Australians, I was vastly entertained by the coronavirus memes doing the rounds on social media, and shook my head in bewilderment at the great toilet paper panic. With three toilets in our house, and a stock of toilet paper in each one, I felt safe in the knowledge that we weren’t in any urgent need.
Last week I did a quick grocery shop when a work meeting took me near my local supermarket – picking up a few things that we were running low on. And I must confess, I stashed a handful of non-perishables out of sight (and out of reach unless I climb on a chair) at the back of the top shelf of the pantry, “just in case”. I felt a bit silly doing it, as even if we are quarantined for two weeks, there are still options like internet shopping, or getting somebody to drop urgent grocery needs at the front door … but couldn’t seem to fight the urge to “prepare”.
On Thursday – the day we woke to the news that this was indeed a pandemic – the threat of coronavirus literally landed on my doorstep, when I had a parcel delivered.
Before I could even open the screen door, the postie had to give me a “spiel”: asking if I had coronavirus, if I’d been overseas, if I had any symptoms etc, before handing me the parcel and asking me to sign for it on his electronic tablet with a fingertip. He assured me that it had just been cleaned with an antibacterial wipe, and promptly cleaned it again after I’d given my signature.
On Friday, I had a sudden rush of clients asking for coronavirus arrangements to be posted on their websites.
I spent most of the weekend glued to the television and social media, as restrictions on travel and large gatherings were brought in. It was sort of exciting – having never seen anything like it before – but at the same time, the uncertainty and fear of the unknown is causing me a bit of anxiety, and I found I was reluctant to go out anywhere.
The husbear has been more positive – he’s hoping he will soon be allowed to work from home. It would cut two hours’ commuting from his daily routine, and besides, who wouldn’t rather be at home!
I on the other hand, already work from home – and with my own business, have some concerns about how this pandemic is likely to affect me workwise. In a way I am protected and in a bit of a cocoon, and pretty much all of my client interactions can be moved online if necessary. At this stage I have one face to face meeting arranged for Wednesday, and am attending a workshop on Thursday morning – but things are happening so rapidly, that could change at any moment.
The reality is that if my clients’ businesses are affected, they could decide to economise and that would impact my business and livelihood. Personally and professionally however, I hope they won’t because now more than ever they need to boost their visibility in the search engines, so that they keep getting clicks and clients throughout this coronavirus crisis – and when we get to the other side!
Personally, I worry about various family members. My Dad is in the “at risk” age group; on top of that he had a stroke at the beginning of this month and has been in hospital, and is now in a rehab facility for the next few weeks.
Miss 23 has come down with a bug, and has been told not to come to work this week. However she can’t be tested for coronavirus as she hasn’t been overseas or in close contact with somebody who has recently returned from a trip. Her symptoms do sound a lot like coronavirus though. Her temperature (according to her home thermometer) is 37.3 when normally it is around 35. She has a sore throat and a cough, and a bit of an upset stomach – and, just having a shower exhausts her.
We visited her last Thursday night for dinner before she had any symptoms, and then visited my Dad over the weekend. Have we unwittingly exposed ourselves – and my Dad – to coronavirus?
Monday morning I had to get potatoes, onions and a couple of other groceries. I’d avoided the shops over the weekend as I’d heard there were long lines at the checkout; while it wasn’t quite that bad, it was definitely busier than usual, and there were empty shelves where normally I would find toilet paper, tissues, pasta, tinned tomatoes and long life milk. There was no fighting or ugly scenes, instead there were plenty of wry smiles, chit chat, and a rare sense of camaraderie in the face of this threat.
I’m struggling to focus on work even when I’m sitting at my desk, and am consciously trying to stop checking the news websites and social media for updates as I realise it’s not helpful to me; I’ll save it for the ABC news broadcast at 7pm, which doesn’t hype things up quite as much as the commercial channels.
And – what about Miss 23’s wedding, which is in less than two months’ time?!
Thank you for allowing me to pour out my heart here on the blog, and for listening. Hopefully now I can pick myself up, brush myself off, and get on with things once more. Stay safe!
How has coronavirus impacted your life so far, and how are you coping with it all?