Recognition of Reality

I had to get from point A to point B to return to the grocery store.  Although it had become a personal quest to go until the first of May, I am now mentally and physically prepared to meet the Monster in the grocery store, at the post office, in the hardware store. 

It took some time to get here.  To recognize with proper protection even those on the front lines - our paramedics and the emergency room providers - are not getting COVID because they are dialed in to protecting themselves.  What does this look like for them?  A N95 mask, gloves, gown, and eye shield.  Even more important, taking it all off properly so as to not contaminate oneself in the process. 

Chief Hansen tells a story about a hazardous material training he took part in where the contaminate  was detectable under a glow light.  They were unaware and at the end of the training, the instructor turned on the glow light so they could all see how contaminated they had become during the one-day training.  They were all significantly contaminated with the benign material. 

Taking a Warrior stance, I am ready to go back to the grocery store.  We could easily make it through the month.  The pantry shelves are more orderly and remain well-stocked.  There is a freezer in Hoback with the main refrigerator and a standup freezer in the back room.  Both have plentiful selections of meat (elk, beef, and some chicken), some frozen vegetables, and nuts and other things.  There is a chest freezer in Freedom and two refrigerator freezers as well.  All are well-stocked. 

The decision has not as much to do in solving an inventory problem as it has to do with solving a staying-safe problem.  I feel safe now.  I feel ready.

As the nation, our states, our counties, and our towns grapple with the conundrum of "opening things back up", it will be critical for everyone to recognize that the virus has not gone away.  Disciplined vigilance will be needed "when this is all over"; a comment I keep hearing over and over again but is essentially meaningless until a vaccine has been developed.  Perhaps summer will wipe out the virus.  I am not going to make a bet on this happening.

As Spring wins the battle with Winter and snow banks melt away like the Wicked Witch of Oz, guarded optimism and hope sprout up like daffodils from the chilly ground.  This is the one time of the year, where there isn't quite so much to do.  The longer days afford a pause in a lawn chair, soaking up the sun in the back yard.  No snow to move, too early to plant, too much daylight to waste inside on an afternoon that is warm enough to sit outside.  One is forced to enjoy the luxury of sun rays and bees flying in the air.  The pause is interrupted only by a dog showing up needing a scratch on its head, a husband taking a break and sitting down alongside, a timer going off to announce the sourdough bread is done cooking.  Classical music emanates over the outside loud speakers; frosting on top the tranquil mood.  Life can be strangely peaceful in these uncertain times.  The Monster seems so far away from the tiny yard atop the hill at Hoback Junction, soon to be in the shade from Munger Mountain, towering over on the west side of the Snake River. 

So where do we go from here.  Seems to be this week's question.  I believe we will be "open", isolation phase over, by May 1.  Consideration for mental health has begun to weigh as heavy on the Decision Makers as the threat from COVID.  Just like grocery shopping, it took awhile to get here but we are smarter, and we all hope, better prepared to meet and conquer the Monster.