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Covid-19--my Covid day #mycoviddiary

Today I went to work. I am so lucky to have a job that I can still do. Our two universities are closed for the duration of the year, going online. All of the restaurants and bars, all the places that aren't healthcare facilities, groceries, pharmacies or social services are closed in Washington, a stone's throw away. Most of ours are too, other than drive up and take out. I saw a few patients in person, people who were dangerously ill in a way that couldn't be managed on the phone or in an online visit. The visits over the phone were surprisingly gratifying, but I forgot to do things because it turns out having a patient in front of me triggers a whole lot of complex thought processes. I assume this will get better. One of my patients may have coronavirus, mild case, young person, but with lots of contacts with similar symptoms. We have tests. We will test her tomorrow.

I am well. No typical symptoms. My work will give paid sick leave if I need it, after I have used up my paid time off. That really would be really hard for people saving up PTO for a vacation, but for me it's no big deal since I just used every single day of it up going to South Sudan last month. That story is for another non-pandemic day.

Big Thought:
What if all of the things we have to forego for the next few weeks or months aren't really making our lives that much better (travel, eating out, the Olympics, pro sports) but they are costing us, as a world, lots of money and resources. And maybe we're all working so hard and never taking time off in our normal days to just hang out because we have to pay for all of that stuff that we don't really need. So maybe after this pandemic is over we could reset to a little less excess and with what we save on excess we could not have to hurry up and be so productive all the time. There are some hiccups to be worked out with this theory, but it's worth considering.

I feel guilty for not being productive right now but maybe, in a quieter world, that's alright.

Favorite images from the internet (where I spend more time right now.)



Comments

Gerri Sayler said…
Yes !!! You've got the right idea, Janice. We're learning the hard way about what matters most in this world and in our community, how to re-center ourselves in healthy ways. Thanks! ~ gerri
March 18, 2020 at 9:19 AM
Gerri Sayler said…
Yes ... we're learning the hard way what matters most, and finding ways to re-center ourselves, re-prioritize our focus. We're going to learn things about each other and ourselves that are long overdue in knowing. Be safe, be well. Hugs!
~ gerri
March 18, 2020 at 9:21 AM
herbert said…
Are we getting there? I hope so. Your essay reminded me of the "antra" that came to me, the week I pulled the A/C wires
from our rental on the Oregon Coast (that led to 12 years without the "benefits" of that particular form of power):
When in doubt, do Without." (Like Baba implied "it's all here, all the time... so don't worry".)
And THANKS!.. as usual. ^..^
March 24, 2020 at 10:58 AM
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