Covid Support Thread
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The governor of PA has shut down all schools. My workplace is requiring people to work at home three days a week. BoF* will be working remotely most days. SOF** is supposed to have a remote learning curriculum but it’s not clear how that will play out. HoF*”* will not be getting pets from strangers on her walk, lest she pass germs.
We are much luckier than most in that we can keep going with our lives and are not in any immediate danger of losing our jobs and income and are comparatively young and healthy. Still I am a little worried about everyone’s emotional well being crammed together like that without regular social contact. BoF has come up with some craft projects for SOF to do and I’d like to try to do regular Skype calls with friends and family, particularly those with also at home kids. I imagine that lots ot tv will be watched. Other than that, I don’t know.
I think that it’s plausible that this goes on until summer at the earliest. Anyway, I’d appreciate anyone’s thoughts, but I’m mostly just trying to put words to the stress I am feeling.
*Bride of Fyodor
**Spawn of Fyodor
*** The mighty and terrible Hound of Fyodor.I’m in PA, too. How old is SOF? I’ve got a bunch of recommendations for stuff to do with kids if you/anyone is interested. I’m stressed, too. We just canceled visiting some family tomorrow. They sort of laughed at us, which was annoying. They are in the immunodeficiency camp, too. I’ve been freaking out a little bit. Unfortunately, I tossed out seldom needed anxiety meds awhile back. I’m really regretting that now.
I’m a fairly solitary person even when there isn’t a plague going on, so I don’t really mind being at home. My two closest friends live in other states, so I’m used to communicating with them by skype and phone and text.
There are two challenges for me. My mom’s senior community is locked down, and I usually stay there a couple of nights a week. It’s not that I’m worried about her, they’re going to extremes to keep the residents safe and it’s the best place for her to be. I just feel like I should be there, should be helping her, keeping her company, etc. I’ve been in caregiver mode for so long that it’s hard to let go of it.
The other problem is staying active. I’m a couch potato by nature, and I’m going to have to make myself go for walks. It’s too easy for me to spend the entire day on the sofa, since I’m not shopping and running errands.
@anonymousse, SoF is nine. I was thinking of going back to teaching her chess. We started before but she can’t stand losing even a little and you need to lose a bit to learn chess.
We just got the work from home orders here too. Not much different from my usual work method but we only just got back into the office after all our big events. It’s going to be hard to get motivated enough to put on pants.
Thanks for starting this. I was in Paris and, coincidentally, flew back to the US the morning after Trump announced that they were stopping travel from Europe. My flight suddenly filled up with coughing, sneezing passengers. I’m self isolating while I’m monitoring my temperature, and it’s really, really tough to keep my anxiety in check. In my twenties, I had rough panic attacks about health fears, and I’m really concerned about things getting reactivated. I always feel gross and exhausted when returning from an overseas trip, but of course now I feel like every headache or throat tickle is a sign of impending doom.
My partner and I decided that my job today is to avoid the news and read a physical book. I think the link to friends and family our phones give us is wonderful, but I know a lot of the scrolling and news checking is making me spiral.
Chess sounds great. Have any of those epic, 10-hour tabletop board games? Also, maybe finding organizations in the area that are doing good work. Things like mobile deliveries that are helping kids who need lunches while schools are closed. Maybe SOF could get into finding a (digital) way to help out.
We were told to stay home and be prepared to do so for up to a month. My husband works from home anyway, and I had been home 2 days a week. They have not closed my puppy’s daycare, thank God. When he was neutered a couple weeks ago and had to not be active, he was going crazy.
Anyway, we have weights, a yoga mat, and an erg machine at home. For years I’ve been doing workouts on the Beach Body app at home. They mix cardio and strength. The weights are those clickable ones where you can easily select 5lbs or 50. My husband does pushups, sit-ups, and weights at home, and can erg in inclement weather. Otherwise he can row on the river. We go for walks with the dog.
We live in a 3-bed apartment and each of us has a room with a door that closes, that we use for an office. We can both be on calls at the same time. When I’m at home, I still have to get dressed and look presentable because it’s all video meetings. When meetings are over for the day, we get together, walk the dog, then have dinner together.
I do wish the weather was warmer right now, as my aunt’s nursing home room is on the first floor and her chair is next to a big window. I could totally bring a lawn chair and sit right next to her and call her. I visit every week but I can’t do that now. I think I’ll do that anyway with the window/phone thing, but a nurse will have to do her nails for her, and I can’t bring flowers.
My parents are sensibly self-isolating in a town of 2500 on Cape Cod, but they still have to go to stores a bit. I’m not too worried as long as they stay there.
It would be very hard with a kid and I don’t know what to say about that. I’d probably take her to a park and run her around until she’s tired, and have plenty of books and movies and games on hand.
Thank you for starting this thread; I hope you don’t mind, but I changed the title a little to reflect a broader scope of coping with the pandemic. I’ve also pinned it to the top of the forums so it’s easy for people to find. Let’s use this thread to share our ideas for staying stimulated at home, keeping our kids entertained and educated, and how to cope with the anxieties, fears, and frustrations many of us are and will be feeling. Humor is also welcome! We’re all in this together, guys, and we WILL get through.
I called one of my close friends last night who is a primary care nurse at a VA clinic in chicago. They are building an emergency clinic to treat the ill when they arrive (no confirmed cases yet, but they know it’s coming). She’s receiving training, including how to suit up in the hazmat like suit she’ll have to wear to treat covid patients. They have thousands of patients, most of whom are in high risk categories, and she’ll be on the frontlines treating them. I’m worried!
Also, my kids are starting to freak out despite our efforts to minimize our own anxiety around them and act like this is NBD. Jackson is in third grade and the kids have been talking about the virus for a couple weeks. He keeps telling his sister, who’s in pre-k and doesn’t really understand what’s happening on the same level he does, that lots of people are dying. We keep telling them that most people who get the virus are fine, they don’t die, they get a little sick and then they get better, and kids are not even getting sick at all let alone dying. But Jackson, who is prone to anxiety, is still freaking out. He doesn’t want to leave the house now, even to go for a walk in the park. That is a change since yesterday afternoon when he was happy to go to the (empty, wide-open) park and ride his bike a little. We’re only on day two of being home together and the kids are already fighting and being testy with each other. Joanie keeps asking if her grandparents (my parents) are going die.
I hate this!
There actually is no TP at the supermarket within walking distance to us, but we already had a lot, and my husband bought a ton of moist wipes. I snuck some TP and a pack of wipes upstairs to the guy who’s 85 and had back surgery. They were out of his almond milk too, but we got him a gallon of lactaid and some Raisin Bran. He says he has plenty of canned soup, but I could tell he was interested in TP when I said we have some. I’ll look around for more today.
I also found an unopened box of veterinary insulin in the fridge that’s still good, and we have 2 boxes of the syringes. I’m going to hold onto them in case shit really goes bad and someone needs it.
Hopefully it won’t come to this….
https://mobile.twitter.com/associatesmind/status/1238821102262116353
