COVID-19: Social Isolation the Last Month

Obviously, the last month I haven't blogged as much.  Things have settled down quite a bit.  I mean, the world is still weird, we still aren't seeing many people or going many places, the virus is still a threat, but there has been a shift in the responses around the country.  Many people, ourselves included, have really eased up on how strict they are being with isolation.  In our neighborhood, the kids are all out playing every day.  We still aren't allowing inside playdates, but if other kids are out playing, we let ours go out also.

Businesses are also starting to open up more.  The gym is finally open again.  They are only allowed to have 50% capacity and 6 ft distancer is required so group fitness classes are a lot smaller, but it is nice to be back to teaching!  It gives me some distraction and focus and something to work towards again!  In addition to teaching the regular Thursday morning step classes and about every other Saturday, I am also training to teach a new Group Blast class the gym is adding.  The training has been fun.  It is all a little intimidating and there is a lot of memorization, but again, it is a good distraction!

Restaurants are also starting to open their dining rooms!  We haven't been yet but, as soon as we feel comfortable asking a babysitter, I would love to go!

One downside of things opening back up is that the golf course is opened again so we can no longer enjoy the paths for walks and bike rides.  That is a bummer.  We really enjoyed it while it lasted!

We also drove up to MN for Mother's Day weekend and stayed with Mark and Jenna.  We saw Jon's parents as well, while maintaining some distance.  It was good to have a change of scenery and feel close to normal for a weekend!  Mike and Lisa came over and we ordered in Applebees Saturday night and on Sunday, we all huddled in blankets in Paul and Janice's garage in chairs spaced 6 feet apart and had home church together.  These are definitely interesting times!

This last weekend we had people over for the first time in forever.  Jon's cousin Jason and his wife Kendra and family (who live in Ankeny also) came over for dinner Thursday night.  The kids had lots of fun playing outside together and we had fun playing some games inside.  Then, Sunday, Mike and Lisa and Kyle and Emily drove down to visit for a few hours.  We hung out, went for a walk, had some Papa Murpheys pizza we had bought the day before, and then they headed home.

I have gotten together for social distancing hang outs with my friends here a couple of times.  They all seem way more cautious about getting together yet so beyond the "6 feet apart" parking lot hangouts, we haven't done much with them.

It is crazy the range in people's reactions to this pandemic.  On one side, I have some family and friends who think we should still be isolated at home, wearing masks all the time and there is some anger that the country is opening up at all. On the other side, there are family and friends who think this is all totally overblown, government manipulation- some even say conspiracy.  These people refuse to wear masks, and think we never should have shut anything down and now the economy will never recover.  Jon and I fall in the middle.  We feel like shutting down was the right answer- at first.  We needed to see what the virus was, and get a handle on what we were dealing with.  However, we also feel that the economy can not be ignored and that it is time to start opening up- SAFELY.  Wearing masks shouldn't be a big deal for most people so we feel like it helps prevent any spread, we should do it.   We are also just really hoping and praying that our bodies can be strong and fight off these germs because we realize that, especially with things opening up, we are bound to be exposed at some point- if we haven't already.

As of now there have been 1,933,696 cases in the US and 110,577 deaths.