Here we go, as Bob Dylan said, the times they are a changing. Yesterday I had a brief talk with the boys. Things have been moving so fast we really haven’t stopped to address the elephant in the room. Life has changed. It probably will be different for some time to come. So as a family, I said some things that needed to be said. I’m sure we all know what’s going on but I thought it important to not only stress the seriousness of the situation but also let them know we’ve never seen anything like this in our lives and it’s all new to us too. As I thought, they get it. The tough part is not going anywhere and basically self isolating ourselves from everyone.
Eagle County where we live has been hit pretty hard. So have 3 other counties that have ski areas. This of course is because so many people travel here from everywhere. In any case, it’s bad everywhere and is clearly a pandemic and worldwide problem. Our plan is to keep Lori away from the rest of us until we get her results which hopefully come today. I think she has it but even if true, we think she’s over the worst of it and getting better. Her fever seems to have almost gone away and her cough is mostly gone too. Of course we’re not sure as there’s no history with this so no one really know. That of course means I slept on the couch for the 4th night in a row. Hope it’s not 10 more nights!
As far as work, two surgeons in the clinic have shut down for 2 weeks and I think Lori’s will too. She moved all surgeries this week yesterday. In my Company, in a few hours we’re having a Company wide conference call where I’m installing a travel ban for everyone. Many States, rightly so, are shutting down all restaurants and bars as well as movie theaters, bowling alley’s, gym’s, and just about anything else you can think of. Our three cars are gassed up and shelves stocked. I might make a quick run to the grocery store for some cooking oil, coffee creamer and any meat I can get. I have plenty to last months but would prefer to keep using food from the store before we have to rely on our stores. I will wear a mask for the first time.
As part of my talk I told the boys every company in the Country or World is figuring out how to deal with this and how to stay in business. This is true for us too and we have no choice but to have a 20% pay cut for everyone. We are keeping everyone and continuing to provide health insurance. The smarter move would have been to lay a few people off and cut more expenses but that’s not the human thing to do. I also pointed out there are families trying to figure out how to get food every day as many don’t have the funds to go out and buy a bunch to have on hand. Luckily as you know if you’ve been reading this daily, I’ve been buying seriously for over a month.
So there you have it, life has changed. Lori says her mom is bored as I know the boys and most of us are. Say a prayer as prayer helps! Also practice social distancing.
Update, the stock market opened and immediately closed within 5 minutes as it dropped 10% which triggers a shutdown. Wow.
Boys, strange times these days. You’re both handling the way I would expect, with maturity, strength and understanding. No matter what happens, know we love you and this will pass. Keep faith in God always and you’ll be ok. Love mom and dad.