AZDonna

I haven’t done a very good job of keeping up my blog in the last few years. One or two posts a year recapping events, trips and family news has become my norm. But amazingly, I still come back occasionally and reread many of my old entries, which is proof that my blog still gives me enjoyment.

This past year, which will forever be referred to as “Covid-19 year”, was the most unique of my lifetime. The old saying “Life goes on” was put to the test, as everything seemed to stand still. My own family lost 3 members: Carrie’s mom Bonnie (April 2020), my cousin Cindy (April 2021), and my cousin Carlene’s husband Paul (April 2021). Paul died of Covid-19 after a months long battle in the hospital. Bonnie’s death had been anticipated for several years, but Cindy’s took us by surprise. She had been managing her cancer well for several years, but in the last few months, it suddenly became more aggressive and all treatment efforts began to fail. She got the shocking news on March 29th that there was nothing more that could be done, and she likely had weeks to months left. She died just 3 weeks later on April 16. These passings have made me very aware and appreciative of my own good health.

In May, I drove to Boise to visit the Holsingers. It had been 21 months since I had been there. It was great to see everyone, meet Megan’s fiance Christian, and let all the kids take a test drive in my car. They thought autopilot was pretty awesome. While I was there, I cautiously ventured to church for the first time since Covid shutdown, and sat in the back corner by myself. (Robin was working behind the scenes.)

Our family has all been vaccinated, so we have resumed our occasional social gatherings. In fact, just this morning we received an invite to Brian & Carrie’s for a July 4th get together. Hot dogs, hamburgers and pot luck will be the food fare; games, swimming and chatter will be the activities of the day.

I’m making plans for an RV trip later this summer. My Minnie is in the shop, but as soon as she is back in tip top shape, I hope to go east to camp with Dale in New Mexico. We had such a great time there in 2019, and it’ll be a good re-entry to RV life for me after nearly two years off the road.

As I’ve been typing this out, I’ve thought of a couple other family happenings that I should record, and I’m going to make separate entries about them.

But the bottom line is: life is returning to normal, and it feels GOOD!

My annual review is posted here.

Anyone can find all the statistics and news information they want to know about the 2019 CoronaVirus pandemic on the internet. But I thought I’d document some of my personal experiences while we are still in the middle of it. As of this writing, there are 3.3 million cases with 231K deaths worldwide, and over one million cases and 62K deaths in the USA.

The virus started in Wuhan, China around December-January, and by mid-late February had made it’s way to the US. The stock market took a dive the third week of February, and I sold a few shares of Marvell just to ensure I had enough cash to get me through the summer. Turns out, I shouldn’t have panicked, because a month later, the market was back up quite a bit due to economic provisions the government made. But as Daryl always tells me, don’t waste a lot of time comparing the price you got for a sale if it was the right time to do it. At least I didn’t sell much!

I made a big grocery run on March 5, stocking up on all the supplies I thought I’d need for several weeks. It was a good decision, because ten days later, the country began to shut down as the virus began to rapidly spread. Since that provision supply run, I’ve done three grocery orders from Fry’s that I picked up in their parking lot. I’ve also gotten a few items delivered from Amazon. But I’m pretty proud of myself for taking care of business without going into any stores and exposing myself, and more importantly any of my family, to infection.

The only visitation outings I have done is going over to Brian and Carrie’s a couple times a week. I can only do that because both of our households have been practicing a strict quarantine protocol, and we can be sure we are all virus free. Both Brian and Carrie are working from home, and both the boys are keeping up with their school work via online education. Carrie suspended all of Lauren’s therapists and care givers from coming to the house, and she has been providing all of Lauren’s care with help from Brian and Nathan, and now Carrie’s father.

Carrie’s mother died on April 8 following a years-long illness, and several weeks on hospice care. It was a difficult ordeal, but came with some blessings; Bonnie is no longer suffering, and she passed peacefully at home while Dennis was holding her. Now Dennis is spending a lot of his time at Brian and Carrie’s doting on Lauren and participating in family activities, including many game nights and movies.

And me, I am home the majority of my time. My days consist of trying to get my walking miles in, taking a little nap each afternoon, and many hours of watching TV, reading and surfing social media!

Of course, there have been political implications and many hateful differences of opinion on the way the country is responding to the pandemic and trying to slow the spread and keep the most vulnerable safe. But as the graphs begin to show glimmers of hope and optimism that we may be seeing some success in that regard, the cries to get back to normal are increasing. Some states are starting to slowly reopen a few businesses with strict limitations in place regarding sanitizing, limiting the number of mask-wearing people allowed inside, and expanding pick up and delivery. Some folks will rush right out in celebration, but others will remain very cautious about coming out of our safety cocoons. It will take months or even years before the nation (and world) recover from all the set backs.

Each day as I walk out in the sunshine I think about how lucky and blessed I am to have my comfortable home, plenty of food and supplies in my cupboards, good health, financial stability, and many family and friends who love and care about me. I know that is not the case for millions of people around the world, so I don’t take it lightly. Keeping focused on those positives, along with being an introvert who doesn’t hate living alone ;-), helps me deal with this unique season of life with continuing joy.

Stay healthy, everyone!

My annual review is posted here.