I haven’t written anything for the month of March yet, and there’s a good reason for that. Much of the United States, and the world, is in the middle of practicing “social distancing” in order to further prevent the spread of Coronavirus, a respiratory illness.
I have been at home for a week and a half, and that has not been on purpose. Last Monday was my last day of work for the newspaper I worked for. The paper had to shut down due to lack of financial stability. However, I do have a new job lined up and I will start next Monday (more about that in a later post.)
Derek has also been home for a week and a half as well. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga was on spring break last week, and then the university decided to cancel this week’s classes. Derek and his colleagues have been using this time to figure out how to best structure their classes in an online format. Classes will resume online next week, and will continue that way until the end of the spring semester.
I am glad that our circumstances lined up this way, and that we are doing our part to try to keep ourselves and others healthy. In the past two weeks we have only gone out for the essentials.
My Aunt Susie was supposed to come for a long visit this weekend, but we have decided to cancel that trip. We are both disappointed, but we know it is for the best. My parents are supposed to visit next month, and we do not know if that will have to be postponed as well.
All of the major attractions in Chattanooga are closed down for about a week to a two week period, and a lot of restaurants and bars are either closed down, or are only offering delivery and to-go services.
As of this post, there are 79 Coronavirus cases in Tennessee, and three in Hamilton County.
The first confirmed case was a priest of a prominent downtown Chattanooga church. Before he knew he was affected, he attended conferences, officiated a wedding and a funeral, and shook hands with everyone at his church services. It really makes you think about how many people you come in contact with on a daily basis, and how great that number can differ based on your profession.
There have been a lot of jokes on the internet that this self quarantine period is the kind of thing that introverts live for, and I am an introvert, but I have been going stir crazy. Last week was worse, not knowing if I had a job or not. I enjoy getting out of the house and doing activities. I would have been checking out a different hiking trail every day, but the weather has not been ideal; raining just about every day. I am sure a lot of us in the Tennessee Valley area would perk up if we saw the sun.
I have been walking around our apartment complex to get my step count up, but after doing that so many days in a row that becomes boring too. Today I took out my macro lens and photographed little bits of nature. It helped break up the day a bit. I am posting the photos below.
Tomorrow calls for warm weather and cloudy skies, but no rain. We will go outside, and probably head to Coolidge Park and walk the pedestrian bridge. It will be good to get some fresh air and exercise, and a change of scenery.
I don’t know how long the outside world will be shuttered in. No one does. Derek and I can easily do our part, but what about all of Chattanooga’s small businesses? I fear they may have to reopen soon, whether the amount of Coronavirus cases have slowed or not.
