coronavirus – Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie

Surprise

March 23, 2020March 23, 2020 by annemariedemyen, posted in family

Granddaughter Genie stopped by for a short surprise visit yesterday with her younger siblings. It is a bad time to socialize but we did our best to keep physically distanced. Nobody was happy about the no huggs and kisses policy but they all complied.

Genie has been working a lot at Superstore these last few weeks. They are making things better for store clerks – shorter hours to allow for extra cleaning and stocking, limited customers at one time, special shopping hours for seniors and for store staff, sneeze guards to protect cashiers and wage bonuses for all staff. So grateful to their powers that be that they realize how important their staff is to them and to us all!

It was great to see Rory, Maddy and Prim. With Mom and Genie working lots of hours, Rory is stepping up to cover a lot of the house cleaning. Maddy is growing up fast. She is helping out with cooking and baking. Prim is doing her part to keep things lively and helping where she can – no doubt keeping the dogs, cat and turtle on their toes.

A few things of note:

1) They are all great kids and it’s amazing how they pull together to help out.👍

2) We miss them all – thank goodness for technology that keeps families in contact while we are kept apart.📲

3) It is really hard to keep physically distanced in our little house. Going forward – no visits until it is warm enough to visit outside. Fortunately, we have a huge yard and warm weather is coming. 🌲

4) I am now pretty much out of gummy bears, toffee and Pepsi. 😂

5) Rory was as happy as the girls😊. I just caught him at a serious moment. (Probably when Genie and I made fun of him for referencing ‘Fifty Shades of Blue’). Apparently he hasn’t seen the movie. If it is a sequel to ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ that is no doubt a good thing.

Update from Saskatchewan

March 17, 2020March 17, 2020 by annemariedemyen, posted in life

Things are shutting down in a big way today. All city buildings are closed – at least to the public, including city hall. Most entertainment – theatres, casinos, playground type places are closed or closing. Bars and restaurants are closing – for lack of business if nothing else. International flights are allowed only at specific airports – none of which are in Saskatchewan. Canadian borders are open to Canadians and Americans only.

All public schools in Saskatchewan are closing this week until further notice. I am behind anything the authorities are doing to slow this virus down – including closing schools. But, the government has announced that every child passing their classes at this point will be passed into the next grade and all grade twelve students will graduate. So what were the schools planning on teaching these kids for the next three and a half months? Will this not leave a knowledge gap when they go onto the next grade or move onto college or university? Hmmm….

Grocery stores, pharmacies and the like are to remain open. The construction industry is still plugging along. Any ‘events’, training classes, etc. are being cancelled. Contractor are issuing their own policy for managing work sites while the coronavirus is a part of our reality. So far our suppliers seem to be processing orders and freight companies are rolling.

Dan was laid off for three weeks last week due to a data breach at Evraz. It was dealt with sooner than expected so he was called back this week. That is kind of scary. There are a lot of people who work at his plant, people coming and going from offices in the USA and a lot of workers who travel at every opportunity. Not the healthiest place to be right now.

The streets are getting pretty quiet out there. It is, no doubt, good that people are taking this ‘social distancing’ seriously. It is good that government and business is taking this situation seriously. But it is unsettling. It is getting surreal.

Hitting Home

March 14, 2020March 14, 2020 by annemariedemyen, posted in family

There are two presumptive cases of coronavirus in Saskatchewan, Canada. At this point, it would be logical to follow expert advice – avoid crowds, avoid travel, wash your hand often, stay home if you are sick, plus anything else that will slow down the transmission of this virus to help manage the strain on our health system.

What is not logical is the mass hoarding and panic that has erupted in Saskatchewan. Our stores are suddenly slammed with shoppers, pushing cart loads of everything from toilet paper to baby formula to canned goods. Shelves are empty, and I am sure it is virtually impossible for store personnel to restock during the day, with the crowds being as rediculous as they are.

I am not overly worried about contracting coronavirus or how I will be affected by it, if I do contract it. I will cross that bridge if I come to it.

What I am worried about are these fools who are cramming stores and panic buying, and hoarding product that others may actually NEED. This behaviour triggers more panic and it has already gotten way out of hand. Not only are these people putting a major strain on the supply chain, but they are creating disasters waiting to happen and putting a major strain on all who staff our stores.

Two of those store staff people are my daughter and granddaughter. They are concientious and diligent. They are working extra long, extra busy shifts, pushing themselves to cash out as many customers as possible. I know, they are being run down and exposed to coronavirus plus every other seasonal cold or flu that is out there right now. I am worried about them, I am worried about what they will bring home to the rest of their family. I feel for them and for anyone working in our stores right now. It is totally unnecessary risk that they are being exposed to. They are not machines, they are people – my people.

I don’t know what has triggered this panic/hoarding nonsense or what kind of people indulge in it. It is senseless, it is greed, it is pure stupidity. Someone is going to get hurt or worse. I hope it won’t be my girls.