Who would have guessed a few years ago what the new normal would be in 2020? None of us living today have ever lived through anything like this pandemic. As a hairdresser, I would have been impacted hard like the working force of today if it had struck when I was still working.
But being retired I have been able to just self-quarantine and stay away from most people. It has been a long road of staying home all the time since I started my quarantine on the first of March. We order groceries online and let Wal-Mart do the shopping and let them bring the sacks out and put them in the trunk.
We even wear our masks when we are there to get the online groceries even though we don’t get out of the car. There are always at least 6-8 cars in the parking spaces on the south side of the building for pickup of online groceries. We call the number on the sign above our parking place to let them know we are there and which parking place and they bring our order out. They are all wearing masks when they bring our groceries to the car.
We went to Wal-Mart one day to pick up a prescription for me. I am glad they will even bring out the prescriptions to the car so those at risk don’t have to go into the store. The people that work in the pharmacy take every precaution they can to protect the customers.
The woman that brought out my prescription a week or so ago looked like she was going to perform surgery. She had on a covering for her street clothes and a mask and gloves when she brought the sack out to me. I really appreciated that since I am one of the vulnerable ones to bronchial viruses like the Coronavirus.
When we were leaving the parking lot that day we noticed a young woman taking a little girl out of her car and setting her on the ground. The little girl was dressed in a pink print outfit and she had blonde hair. The woman had on a mask and she handed the little 2-3-year-old girl a mask.
The little girl was putting on the mask by herself so she could go inside the store with her mother. The mother then made sure it was on her face right and checked the bands that hold it snug. The face mask for the little girl was pink. She looked cute when she headed into the store. I would bet that this cute little girl had a mask to match every outfit she had in her closet.
Seeing this little girl with the mask she was able to put on for herself made me think about all the sewing my Grandmother did for me when I was small. I always had can-cans and socks to match every dress she made for me and I am sure if this virus had been around back then she would have also made a mask to match every dress or outfit she made for me.
I loved to walk to town with my Grandfather when he would allow me to go along with him. I would have happily worn a mask back then if it meant that I could go with him. I’m not sure how I would have managed to drink the cherry 400 I always had at the drug store, while he was talking to the old men. But I bet I would have figured out how to drink with the mask on.
Maybe Grandmother could have made a little slit so I could put the straw through so I could drink my favorite drink. Or I could have slid the straw up under the bottom edge of the mask to my mouth and still kept the face covered. Where there is a will there is a way when your favorite drink is in front of you.
I have not been in a store or restaurant this year. We order our burgers at the window and then park under a tree to eat. I miss not going in and enjoying sitting down to eat. But this too will eventually pass. I know most people are going back inside restaurants to eat and the seating has been adjusted so people are far enough apart, but I am not comfortable doing that yet.
I had a doctor appointment today and was a little nervous about going but he was the one that took care of me when I spent a week in the hospital two weeks ago and I feel comfortable with him. I was a little nervous about the people in the waiting room, but I really didn’t need to worry about that. At the big clinic on Waldron, they had the chairs spread apart more than 6 feet. So that was not an issue.
I had lab work yesterday before my appointment today and that actually made me more nervous than seeing the doctor. But they handled that very well at the clinic on Main. I think the people that work at the clinics are handling this pandemic a lot better than I am. Both places are doing a great job of keeping the patients safe.
They keep saying they are close to having a vaccine for this Coronavirus but we haven’t seen it yet. I will be at the doctor’s office to get the vaccine as soon as they are sure it is safe and is available. I am looking forward to the day we can all go out and about and not wear a mask.
Hopefully, Masks are not going to be the norm for another year and our normal activities can resume and we can come and go as we please. I miss seeing people and getting out and about and yes I even miss going into the grocery store and picking out my own groceries.
I hope everyone will do what they can to keep from getting and spreading this virus so we can get back to living and masks will not be the norm again in the coming year. To contact Sandy: [email protected]
