In March of 2020, the World Health Organization declared Covid-19, the novel Coronavirus, to be a pandemic. Canadians and people worldwide are asked to stay home, wash their hands and social distance (staying at least 6 feet apart from other people). It's been 5 weeks since I last worked - wait, no - I was on a temporary leave of absence from work for almost 3 months. Everyone was told to stay home to flatten the curve and slow the spread. Everything was closed except essential services.
Over the first few weeks I was scared. I have MS and I take immunomodulating medications and that would put me more at risk? The fear changed to denial, next depression and lastly acceptance - there was nothing I more I could do...
I stayed home. I watched a lot of TV. My days were scheduled around what was airing - Good Morning America, Live with Kelly and Ryan, Ellen, Dr. Oz, Detroit news, Toronto news, local news - all of the news. In between those shows I watched every episode the 90 day fiancé franchise had out. I also started and finished many different series' on Netflix. To keep occupied I would work out, go for walks through the cemetery, work on puzzles, played video games, cooked, coloured, read, worked on crafts, drank a lot of coffee, and facetimed friends and family.
I didn't even step into a store for the first two months. I ordered groceries from Walmart and did curb side pick up. As soon as I got home I wiped down EVERY SINGLE THING with a lysol wipe (*lysol wipes were impossible to buy, along with hand sanitizer and face masks). The grocery bags went into quarantine and I didn't touch them for a few days. If I had to take my garbage out, I would put a plastic bag on my hand to open the door and chute and immediately washed my hands after throwing it away. I wanted to make sure I wasn't bringing the virus home through things I touched.
My first real outing was to Shoppers Drug Mart. I had to go to the post office. I remember how stressed I was that day...my glasses were foggy, I was hyperventilating and struggling to breathe. People weren't following the arrows and I was trying to hard to not get close to them. I avoided touching anything that I wasn't going to buy. I remember walking out and ripping my mask off in my car, sanitized my hands and took a huge deep breath. I survived it.
We're almost 6 months into the pandemic now. Masks are mandatory wherever you go. You need to sanitize as soon as you walk into a building. Outdoor gatherings are preferred.
This is our new normal. This might be our new normal for a while.
