It’s been 20 days since the Worldwide Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a worldwide pandemic. Of course there was plenty of stuff leading up to that point, and I have much of it documented and journaled. I’ve followed the signs every post-apocalyptic writer talks about and secretly reveled in my accuracy to call things. I mean come on, this is a post-apoc writers dream, actual real-life research, but I’m happy to say that even though there’s a lot of fear and uncertainty right now, we’re going to come out of this far better than our fictional friends. And it’s all thanks to the men and women out there keeping this country afloat, food and essentials on the shelves, and those slaving tirelessly in the medical field.
I must pause to give a huge shout out to my readers, like Danielle who’s a trucker out there keeping food and essentials rolling during this critical time. Without people like her, we’d all have a lot bigger issues to worry about right now. Mary Catherine who’s job was deemed non-essential and stepped up to pick up a new one at Walmart during this time. Julia and all the other nurses and doctors out there holding down the fort. You are true heroes! And a special shout out to my bonus-daughter Rachel who will be starting her first job as an EMT next week working the front lines while on standby with the National Guard. These are names of only a few, but there are so many to be grateful and thankful for right now.
Yesterday Virginia Governor Northam officially executed a stay-at-home order for all Virginians. This order is in effect until June 10th. Yes, we’ve been behaving, mostly keeping at home except to go out for essentials, and following all of the guidelines laid out for us. My pool of people I have seen in real life over these last 20 days can be counted on one hand. And I’m aware that many of you have already been on quarantine for a month or more. But today is our first official “stay-at-home” day here.
We are just at the start of this nightmare and the worst is yet to come. Over two months of non-essential workers who cannot work from home being laid off, the additional strain on the economy, the added stimulus and spending at the national and state levels to keep us afloat for more than two months still, and many other factors will cause additional issues and concerns throughout the country. Isolation leads to loneliness and if you find yourself in that situation, please reach out to me, someone you trust, anyone. You are not in this alone!
Many of you may only know me as a Paranormal Romance writer, but I actually started my career off with Compounders in the genre of dystopian/post-apocalyptic. No one writes post-apoc if they haven’t seriously thought through situations just like this. Sure we’ve had a few bouts of panic, and the toilet paper crisis has taken on a life of it’s own, but overall, I’m proud of my American brothers and sisters, and others around the world. The compassion and kindness being displayed during this time shows the biggest difference between fiction and reality.
My family is unique, we’ve always lived outside the box, which is what our government is asking of each of you today. We’ve been homeschooling for 11 years. If you’re struggling and need advice or someone to just talk to, it’s okay to reach out. I’m certainly not going anywhere anytime soon. I’m used to having my family all here surrounding me while working from home. Need some separation pointers? I’m happy to give them. Even having a family environment that is entirely aligned with these new orders, just those little words of “stay at home” incites a rebellious nature where the last place anyone wants to be is at home.
Right now, we’re doing okay. I’ve stocked up a little more than usual of food and essentials because let’s face it, a family of 6 requires a lot of food, my brand new laptop arrived yesterday so I can get back to doing what I love most – writing!, Roman is home with us as colleges have closed for the semester or in his case moved to online only, and we are all safe and healthy. I pray the same for you and yours. I’d like to start blogging daily about what’s going on here in our little confined world. What are some things you’d like to hear about? Life in general? Funny Katy stories? Homeschooling tips? Working from home suggestions? Prepping and sustainability? All things books? All of the above? Something else entirely? Just let me know by dropping a comment, shooting me an email, or find me social media.
Facebook has a post floating around to fill newsfeeds with beautiful landscapes, so here’s a random picture from my travels in Iceland to end with.
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