Not affected by the pandemic, NOT!
We are living in what will be one of the most memorable years in the history of humankind. Yet, in the beginning, it did not feel like my life changed by much. In fact, it was only affected minimally. I have a kind of boring life but that does not mean it is less occupied. My only outings were taking my teen to school, picking her up, and sometimes going grocery shopping. On weekends, probably more grocery shopping, or visiting some family, or going to the park or mall. Once in a while, I would go to a restaurant and eat there. But some days, I would not go out of my home at all!
What happened to me? I always wanted to go out and about because I felt I was missing out on something; but, that stopped around 7 years ago. For instance, I would make plans to go out but then I would be so comfortable at home that I would not go out at all. Sometimes, I would start making up all kinds of excuses in my mind so I would not want to go out. I had to start online dating, for God’s sake! Coincidentally, I, fortunately, met my husband online. More of that one-of-a-kind love story here.
Seriously, there is so much to do at home, and I am not talking about cleaning or working. I could just sit down on my couch or wherever and read or do a puzzle on my iPad. Write on my computer, decorate something, organize, bake, etc. However, with a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old, I barely have time to cook, do some cleaning, write, and maybe do some time on a puzzle, not every day though. Some days I do not have time to do all of that. After I put them to bed, I relax with my husband while watching a show or read a book or something.
So Covid-19 came, and the only thing that changed in my routine was that I was no longer taking my teen to school and picking her up. For her though, things changed quite a lot. As for me, I could still go grocery shopping, but with some inconveniences. The main inconvenience was having to wear a mask that required covering my nose and mouth. Then, wondering if the virus was around me like in stuff I had to touch, such as the shopping cart, groceries, or the credit card reader. That is why I carried hand sanitizer in the car. I am so glad we are not at that phase anymore. We (husband and I) were sort of paranoid: we had to wipe everything we bought with disinfectant when we got home. Then more hand sanitizer on our hands, took our clothes off, more sanitizer, then a shower. Maybe not in that exact order but sort of!
Almost 5 months since California started to quarantine, there is still a shortage of Lysol and other similar brands. Also, as of last week, I could not find Kirkland tissue paper at Costco (my favorite.) I found some a couple of days ago and I wanted to buy 2 but my husband said No! We do not go through it fast. It is that I just did not want the inconvenience to have to use another brand of paper anymore when there is a shortage again. I still do not know why there was a shortage of toilet paper at the beginning of this pandemic. I have not heard that one of covid symptoms is diarrhea but to some it might be…
Even though my life was not affected much at the beginning, I think now, it is starting to get to me. We quarantined since the middle of March until the end of May. I saw my step-kids, my father in law and his wife, and my husband’s grandma until the end of May. And after 4 months of not going out beyond grocery stores, or visiting some close family members, we finally went to the beach and Downtown Disney just recently. Those visits were not on the same day, but let me tell you, the difference was enormous! We wore masks while walking towards the beach. However, when we sat on our chosen spot, not too close to other people; we put our masks away. We have been to the beach only three times, and we enjoy it there. The girls got to roam free and burned some energy off.
Now, Downtown Disney is another story. Disney staff enforce all the rules. They took our temperature upon entering. Also, my 3-year-old had to wear a mask. All the kids had to wear one. We had to wear a mask at-all-times. The only time we could take the mask off was when we were snacking; however, we could not snack and walk. If you were to have a snack, you had to sit down. The staff told me that my 3-year-old was not wearing her mask properly around four times. My 9-year-old step-daughter was not wearing it properly around three times. And those were the times that the staff saw my toddler. I saw her a couple of more times and told her to wear it right. It was a hot day so the kids were not really enjoying that trip. They wanted to go inside some of the stores, but the lines to get inside were somewhat long. Also, people waited in those lines for quite some time since only a few were let in at a time because of the 6 feet apart social distancing rule.
So that day, when we went to Downtown Disney while seeing the roller coasters and such, I got so nostalgic I made a decision. I decided that we did not have to go to these places like that. It is not enjoyable anymore. And even though some people say that we have to adjust because this is the new normal, I refuse to think it is. I rather think that this too shall pass! We do not need to go out to places like that and wear masks and be reminded that we could get the virus. It is not comfortable for the kids and definitely not enjoyable. I am okay with staying at home and just visiting close family, going to grocery stores, and going to the beach (until it gets too cold to go). I am sure my kids think so too because I said something like that on our way to the car and they agreed. We are just going to wait it out and see how the rest of the year goes.
