Social Distancing
I for one in finding the mandate to stay home wonderful. I am cooking more and getting to things I’ve been ignoring for years. We are fortunate to have a comfortable home and all the amenities that go with that. We are also fortunate that the first hour of the day at our favorite supermarket is for ‘at risk’ individuals. Given that the 3 of us in the household fall in that category, it’s a godsend to have.
It does remind me of storms that left us stranded at home. Most power outages from storms, leave us without the basic niceties. One of the easiest ones was a storm that left us without power for a week. It was a lovely time of the year so there was no need for heat or air conditioning. We had a generator that supplied enough power for the refrigerator, the coffee pot, the fish tanks, the internet, 1 tv, a couple of lights and a power strip to allow us to charge devices. The greatest challenge was the hot water. We all became very adept at quick showers and using the water just enough to get wet and rinse. The day the hot water started turning cold, the power was restored.
Many years ago, when my girls were still fairly small, we lost power because of a catastrophic ice storm. Our water was supply via a well and pump. Without power, there was no way to get water to the house. It was ten days of frigid temperatures. This house we did not have a generator, so we had to be resourceful. We would hack off chunks of ice to keep in the fridge to ensure nothing spoiled. We used the grill not only to cook but to melt ice to be able to flush the toilet. We closed off all the bedrooms and made a huge bed with all the pillows and blankets we had in the house. All of us would cuddle under the mound of blankets to get warm enough to sleep.
Having vacationed at the shack, without the benefits of screen time, my girls found this to be just another adventure. Easily entertaining themselves day after day. Four or five days into the event, the roads were finally passable. We had the foresight to leave the car at the top of the hill that was my driveway. A friend called to let me know she had power and if we could get there, we were welcome to use her showers. I suspect none of us recall how ripe we were getting as we were all in the same predicament.
My significant other of the time quickly gave in to cabin fever. We were less than twenty-four hours without power when he determined he needed to go out to hunt for hot food. I do remember the ribs he found tasting great.
With the inconvenience many are experiencing in an attempt to follow the social distancing guidelines, I’ve been seeing many positives. Families are cooking and sharing meals. Families are spending quality time together. I’ve seen more of my neighbors walking in the neighborhood then I have ever seen. I see neighbors checking on each other. I see people coming together to thwart a common, invisible enemy. We will get through this together, hopefully, a kinder, gentler people. With many legacy moments to follow.
