Michelle's Musings

08 April 2020

A global pandemic

With so many diseases eradicated, I never thought I would see a global virus take hold. I had heard of SARS and ebola, but I just didn't imagine anything like this. As I am typing this, we could be on this side of the middle of the crisis, yeah we may not be even halfway finished with this mess. I started typing this two weeks ago and there were only 24,000 in the US affected, it is now so much more. I am purposely not looking at the global numbers as it is just surreal to me and I don't want it to be the only thing I think about. I also think it would be depressing to read about all of that. I am only keeping up with Kentucky and I am enjoying the positive outlook the governor of Kentucky is taking.

Many states have imposed a healthy at home or a stay at home order. Not for a controlling nature but a measure just to keep us safe. I personally see it as a measure to save lives, while I MIGHT be ok if I got it, it could kill my husband or some of my friends that have conpromised immune systems. I would not want it on my back that I gave them the infection that killed them when I could have prevented it.

I made some masks this past weekend. They may or may not help but I am giving them to my friends that need to be doing essential work and to a nursing home that desparetly needs them so they can provide the best care to their patients. It sounds weird, but I am glad my mother-in-law is not here during this. I can't imagine her suffering like I have read John Prine suffered, especially in the mental state she was in when she passed. Today there was a positive case in the nursing home where she lived. I pray for all those residents in there and the staff that are so needed by those residents.

I started this post on March 21, 2020 and now I am finishing it on April 8, 2020. So much has changed in these few days. Not only in the world, but right here in my little corner.

Today is my son's 18th birthday. No party for him, his friends did drive by and his teacher sent balloons, but it wasn't like the 18th birthday we hoped for. Who knows what graduation will look like for him. Then there is no prom, but his big thing is the spring musical. He had been cast as one of the main characters. He has expressed his sadness over that more than anything right now. He and his fellow seniors did film "We go together" from Grease on Smule. They debuted the video at the moment their last show would have started and it has gone virual The kids have gone on local, national and international news with it. First our governor featured it on his daily updates as a positive thing to be social with your friends. Then a local TV station (but not the one in our hometown until much later) and Olivia Newton John tweeted about them and just yesterday they made the CBS news. It has been a nice experience in this gloomy gray cloud.

Outside my house the governor, in an effort to save lives, has said you can travel but you will have to quarentine for 14 days if you do and you really shouldn't be doing it. He has closed down non-essential business unless they can do in contactless (you have no idea how much this self checkout person LOVES this contact free stuff...germaphobe). I was struggling with a craft store run, but I figured out how to make that work to me, I am using all my supplies up. I have painted my utility room a color different than I would have just because I had blue paint on hand. We are making it just fine here. Virtual churches, zoom meetings, google hangouts, lots of texts, tons of emails, working from my studio and staying at home. I am pretty happy but I need people to stay home so we can get this over with and my son can graduate. Everybody wants to have a graduation from high school, please stay home!!!

How are you coping?

Most of us are stuck in our houses these days. I personally don't mind that because I have lots that I want to get done. I am working eight hours a day, but getting off at 3 and having a 30 second commute makes for lots of time in the afternoon to get things done. That is all good and fine but there is only so much cleaning and painting that a person can stand, there has to be time for mental health too.

Of course I am reading. I was in a reading funk for a while where it took me an entire month to read a book, but I am recovering from that and have read two books this week. I am also watching lots of YouTube videos. There is so much stuff out there that is exciting to a person that like muscial numbers and old movies. I have been focusing lately on clip from shows and movies that conjure up good feelings and wonderful memories. That translates into anything Jeremy Jordan and Jerry Orbach musical numbers.

I would love to know how you are taking care of your own mental health. Drop me a line and let me know.

Review: The Girl with the Louding Voice

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This girl was FIERCE!! I can't imagine what her life would be like, I would not want to. When she talked with her friends and elders they all thought it was ok that a 15-year-old would marry a man older than her father, become his 3rd wife. Only SHE realized this is not what I want from life. I do not want to be sold to a man I don't love solely for the purpose of making heirs. When things don't go the way she planned she becomes a fighter with a goal, to go to school. That is all she wanted, to go to school. A right we take for granted, she had to fight for it. Next, she was sold as a slave, and still, she had to fight and fight she did. I love her (wish I could spell her name). I loved the ending of this one.

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