It has been soooo long.
Last time I posted it was right after Thanksgiving and the hospital stay and Oregon beach trip that accompanied that week.
Since then we have had Christmas and New Years and job upset (always job upset- my only constant for the last 2.5 years) and a trip and ....COVID-19.
Where to start?
I think with the job upset since that has been such a constant refrain in these posts for the last couple of years. At least when I bothered to post, it was a constant. Mid February our doctor called an office meeting and announced he was leaving our office to work for the only competition we had in our little tiny Colorado town. He was gone after the next day. The following week the Powers-that-Be from Colorado Springs drove in, took us out to dinner and gave us the news. The office will close in 2 weeks. No doctor, no office, no job. Effective March 2, I became unemployed. I had never been laid off before...always trying new things!
Surprisingly, I was pretty calm about this turn of events. Work had been so stressful, every time I got the hang of whatever the new normal was, something else was added to my position/office/situation. I was exhausted. My mom in Texas was going to need some help with her house since she had moved to Assisted Living so I had been thinking I was going to need to take some time off anyway. Truthfully I was relieved. The timing was impeccable. How perfect though, I had no idea.....
My retired friend suggested a quick trip before heading to Texas to help mom. Even though we had been hearing reports of a virus in China, it really had not hit home that it might be an issue. We scheduled flights out on March 7 after briefly discussing the possibility of "maybe we shouldn't go". We were headed to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico and figured since the virus had not been reported there, we would be fine.
We stopped in Texas on the way and attended the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. (Previous experience at the rodeo here.) There were plenty of people in attendance although we did notice more hand washing stations and hand sanitizer.
Maren Morris at HLSR
a VERY pregnant Maren Morris
The flight attendant on our flight the next morning assured us the seats had been sanitized for our protection, although we did do our own little wipe down with the Clorox wipes. Just in case, you know.
Once we got to Mexico, our only exposure to the Corona virus was through our morning emails and news updates. March 11 we heard that the Houston Rodeo had been cancelled, 11 days early. Friends were asking where was I, was I safe?
The only Corona we ran into.
Enjoying a margarita before all the restaurants closed down.
Our original return date had been March 17, but we moved it to March 31- the last day before the airlines were supposed to start restricting flights. As the week wore on, the news from the States was looking more and more grim while Mexico was beginning to shut things down around us. On March 22 the Mexican government closed the churches. No more Catholic Mass. The church bells in San Miguel rang all day long to spread the news. We started thinking maybe we should leave sooner as our entertainment options were becoming limited. Many restaurants had already gone to take out only.
See that rope hanging down?
That's how all the bells get rung- by hand.
Every quarter hour.
We scheduled a flight on the 26th only to have it cancelled, twice. We managed to get to Texas on the afternoon of the 26th. There were 15 passengers on the plane plus crew. Customs was EMPTY. Amazingly, coming into the country was a pieced of cake. No one asked if we were feeling sick, took our temp, nothing. Maybe they trusted Mexico to do that before we left- which they did. We filled out a form regarding where we had been, how we had felt and had our temp taken before boarding the plane in Queretero. On the 27th we flew back to Denver on a slightly fuller plane. I had a moment of panic on take-off as I had to move my seat. My seat belt was stuck so I had to sit next to a complete stranger for 15 minutes. I realized for the last 3 weeks I had basically only been that close to one other person, my traveling companion. Thankfully, the seat belt was freed and I got to return to my seat once we were in the air.
An incredibly empty Houston Intercontinental Airport
Once in Denver a decision was made to stay there. I made a quick trip to the cabin to get the cat and some warmer clothes and returned. Colorado had a Stay-at-Home order at that point and I was anxious about getting stopped. Fortunately the trip was uneventful and I have been here ever since. I am quite grateful to be in the city where there is food delivery. Door Dash! Uber Eats! Amazon Fresh! Things ordered actually show up within a couple of days. I did not want to be alone in the middle of nowhere with few resources, especially if I ended up getting sick.
And the job situation? I suspect you know how that goes. As I said, the timing was perfect. I am eligible for unemployment. Unable to search for a job, I am 100% enjoying the time off, although feeling a tiny bit guilty about how happy I am about it all. The government even deposited $1200 in my account... a welcome boost for the unemployed.
I'm hoping to use this Stay-at-Home time to be creative. I've been sewing (masks, working on a quilt) and done a bit of drawing. Without my computer I was unable to write which was totally driving me crazy. I sprung for a simple laptop so I could reconnect with my blog. More posts to come. And if this goes on much longer I'll be getting the jewelry making supplies here, also. Maybe I can even figure out a way to make money creating... wouldn't that be lovely?
Incredibly messy mask making.
Everyone stay safe, wear your masks outside, wash your hands and enjoy the enforced break.
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