Last year my wife and I started a through hike attempt on the Appalachian Trail starting in the south and heading north.
I retired and we took off.
We had some family matters (hurrah for a new grandchild, etc) that took some time, went north to Katahdin and then headed south getting almost to Massachusetts. Our plan was to return to the trail this March and head north.
So, we rented out our Condo until August, and started. Next thing we knew, the governing body for the trail went from encouraging to asking everyone to get off the trail.
So, we hiked to Unicoi Gap and out. Next thing you know we grabbed some clothes and drove out to stay in our daughter’s basement.
The bad part is that while I had several planned essays I haven’t felt like finishing them. I miss the trail.
The good thing is that we get to watch our grandchildren while the two adult engineers work in critical industries.
Surprisingly, I’m feeling better than I expected.
I really enjoy my grandchildren. I love my daughter and son in law. For social distancing this location is perfect.
I’m surprised at how good I feel. Which led me to thinking about the REM song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_the_End_of_the_World_as_We_Know_It_(And_I_Feel_Fine)
Though I’ve noticed so many people aren’t feeling fine. Some of the complaints resonate with me some don’t.
Specifically I was surprised to see the criticism I’ve read at suggestions that we socially distance at church, or that we remember God and prayers at this time.
Yes. In many ways things are terrible. Dreams lost or deferred. Death and loss. More to come.
But in my life there has always been death and loss. Over and over again. That I’m in the “disposable” or high risk group due to age got my attention.
I’d rather not die right now, but death will eventually come for me. My wife’s ruminations on morphine drips and end of life care were sobering.
And yet, I’m finding, that in the moment, I’m fine.
How about you?
Wheat & Tares 
Doing great! Love working from home full time and being around my family do much. Glad to able to invest in stocks again after a crash. Glad my son got home safe this week from over the Atlantic, and still trying to help a daughter overseas figure out what she wants to do. But I don‘t know anyone personally who has been infected or become sick yet, so once that changes I‘ll likely get more stressed.
Same as Eugene. Things are pretty good in our household. One of my teenagers is an extrovert, so she gets antsy, but we were smart enough to get her a phone so she could stay in touch with friends.
I love that my husband has been able to work from home several times this week. He is in the healthcare field, but he’s not yet on the front lines when it comes to coronavirus (he’ll be brought in if the need arises, which is very possible).
Getting the kids positioned with online learning has been rocky, but things are smoothing out.
40-60 high stress/energy hours a week in drug rehab to MOBY DICK in a chair in the sunshine – tho I gotta say this guy can write! I miss that job. Very difficult, unhappy transition.
First world cons include a cancelled Disney cruise this week (spring break), a cancelled trip to the UK in May to visit my wife’s sister and her family, and trying to keep cabin fever from setting in when you live 10 miles from the beach, Disneyland, hiking trails, etc that are all closed. Other cons include not visiting my parents right now (they are high risk based on age and our family of six are germ carriers even in the pre-COVID-19 days).
But so many pros, including the ability to work from home (which I’ve always had, just not full time), watching my kids school online, getting creative with how we spend our time together, adopting a rescue dog (we planned on doing this in the summer when school let out so we simply accelerated this), and, being a tax guy, I now will get the pleasure of helping my clients apply for stimulus bill aid. My company’s response to this whole fiasco has been amazing. The last two weeks I’ve felt so helpless and, while it’s a small thing, I feel so grateful I get to finally help by applying the stimulus package to my corporate clients and, by extension, to their employees. I’ve been cooking again (I love it but rarely get to as a corporate tax guy juggling multiple deadlines), and we are trying to support local business as much as we can. It’s a huge privilege to not be worried about money right now. Another huge pro is the jogging trail literally outside my door. I still have access and the ability to exercise while being socially distant.
As noted above, I do not personally know anyone impacted yet. So it still doesn’t feel too real yet. My thoughts and prayers are with the world right now.