What now?

2 weeks left in school. Jag has his only test in AP Calculus tomorrow and then has his Senior Project presentation Wednesday. Ty has ten days to finalize all his work and get it all in. Lori needs to make a few quick decisions as things are starting to happen a bit faster at the house now that we’re getting close to the end. I have about 14 days to get in around $750K of orders. With all that going on the big question is still, what now? Are we getting back to normal? I personally think that’s a misleading question as I don’t think we’ll ever be back to normal as we once knew it.

Things are different and sadly will be different going forward so what is the new normal? First up is to figure out what these changes will do to our jobs and incomes. Then it’ll be our food supply, health care, doctors and dentists, and on and on. Then next we’ll worry about the kids and school. Entertainment like going to the movies, out to dinner or concerts are way down the line. As you can see almost everything we do is going to be impacted in some way or another. Is their a chance all this is unnecessary and in a couple months we will be back to normal? Sure there is as there’s so much unknown. The problem is most of what we know or can piece together really doesn’t tell us much more than we knew a month or so ago. Think about it, we’re still not sure all the ways you can contract the virus. We don’t know how long it’ll stay with you or if you can get it again if you had it. No one even knows if you can get it by drinking from the same drinking fountain. Kids in New York are coming down with some mystery disease and no one is sure if it’s related. I could go on and on but you get the picture. Lot’s of unknowns.

For us, we’re venturing out where needed but keeping our distance and sort of sitting on the sidelines watching and waiting to see what the loosening of restrictions will do. Some of our friends haven’t left their homes for two months! Others are out daily as if all is normal. For us, we’re somewhere in between. Camper and trailer sales are skyrocketing. Summer vacations have pivoted to camping and exploring our own Country while overseas trips and vacations have plummeted. Just about any place where you have to fly to get to is off most people’s list.

Then we have the impending food shortages. Most people ignore this but I think we’re currently at the stage with potential food shortages as we were with masks in January. In other words you could buy masks off Amazon in January but 8 weeks later they were nowhere to be found. Hope it’s not the same with food as it was with masks, but we’re not chancing it. Crime is way up, especially in the larger cities. So are infections in those same places due to high populations of homeless people.

So what now? What can and should you do? For us, food and tangible supplies are at the top of the list. We’re topping off over the counter medications like aspirin and cold medicine when we can. Food is a big item but personally I’m in a holding pattern until we move as I have no place to store anymore and don’t want to buy it to move it in 4 to 6 weeks. We do constantly stay on top of things like shampoo, coffee, soap, make up, hair gel and things we go through fast. Personal protection is a big one for everyone but we’ve got that covered. For those of you that don’t, even if you’re not comfortable with firearms or have no training, there are things you can do. Go buy some wasp spray from Home Depot. This works well in a pinch. Make sure your doors have secure locks on them and if they don’t, call a locksmith now. Make sure you have a few good flashlights and spare batteries. If you have sliding doors, get a piece of wood and put it the track. Last, be the grey man. This means be low key. Don’t look like you have a ton of supplies or more than your neighbor. In short, try to blend in with everyone else. You don’t want to look like the only guy with water in the middle of a desert. You get the idea. That’s a short version of what now. Tweak this to fit your wants and needs. Some of you may want to stock up on chocolate as you can’t live without it. Other required items are water, vitamins, the always mentioned toilet paper and more. If you’re not sure, write down everything you use on a daily basis for a couple days. Then you’ll know what you use daily and need to stock up on. It’s only 143 days until October 1st! Hard to believe.

Time to go as Lori just came down. I have a Zoom call at 9 and then will start packing more stuff. We have large black and yellow storage tubs stacked in the living room full of stuff ready for the move. They have them for $9 each at Office Depot. I need to go buy 10 more! Make it a great day and try to get into a groove. The one thing you shouldn’t do is just sit around doing nothing waiting for everything to go back to normal. It’s just not going to happen. God Bless.

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