Greetings fellow shut-ins. The pandemic continues to grow. Two more states are now requiring those in "non-essential" jobs to join our company. Every day we hear promises of miracle cures and increases in the length and extent of social separation told in almost the same breath. It is a confusing time and having an accurate grasp on how any of these matters affect us is difficult to grasp. In such times neither sink into despair nor fly on gossamer wings of overoptimism. Do what you can to maintain or improve your situation. Don't fritter away resources today that might be your salvation tomorrow. At the same time, it is not necessary to live the life of a prisoner in a Soviet Gulag either. Keep yourself grounded in what you do to keep mind and body together.
This is Day four for my family. So far, all are well (97.4). We have good news, our daughter is engaged to be married to a fine young man in Tennessee. She now plans how best to accomplish the task of getting herself to her intended's location. Life continues... as it must. My beautiful bride's park is now closed, but the need for her hard work in service of the public continues. My mother is feeling the separation from her friends deeply today. Two of her friends who were visiting Florida from New York decided to go home two weeks early rather than being confined to a hotel room in a town where the restaurants no longer serve people on the premisses. My mother called and asked to be taken for a ride somewhere. We currently are not under a stay-at-home order yet, so I was able to take her for a cruise which took a roundabout trip to my house. I am certain there are many families with elderly members that find themselves in a similar co-social isolation situation. At my house my mother was give a healthy dose of vitamin C (for canid). She got to have quality time with her granddogs. They bathed her with doggie kisses and lifted her spirits. Pets of all kinds can be the best medicine. If you can't bring the pets to the person... send pictures and videos.
In our isolation we all need to take the pulse of how our fellow inmates are faring. Reach out to one another. For co-separations it is possible to take a short cruise on the highways. For the rest we have many ways to reach out without violating the need for physical distance to defeat the purposes of the virus. Don't forget to be the person you would most like to meet in this world. Take care of each other and we will emerge from this storm and rebuild our world.