coronavirus

Yes, this is a bargain hunting blog. However, I would be remiss to pretend like the entire world wasn't in crisis. I would love to be able to share this post with my kids in 5-10 years as they learn about our pandemic in history class (my youngest likely won't remember this time) to give them an idea of what our family unit is currently doing.

My husband had been in school full-time at a university in the city we live outside of. They extended his spring break to last two weeks then switched entirely to online learning. Today is his first day of that. He is supposed to begin his Master's program in May, but it is for teaching. If schools remain closed into the next school year, we do not know what this means for his program due to student teaching requirements. For now we are operating under the assumption he will be a student again come May.

Yesterday, Ohio's governor issued a stay at home order. Our family had already been practicing social distancing. We used to all go shopping together, but from the time I got home from a business trip on March 12th, we modified our routines so only one of us would go get supplies when absolutely necessary. We also religiously use hand sanitizer every time we got into the car. We also wash our hands after unloading items. Our schools announced they would be closing until at least early April on 3/12 and we immediately bought a chest freezer. We had been discussing it for over a year (our kitchen was poorly designed so our fridge is unusually small--the freezer is exceptionally tiny) and decided now was the time to pull the trigger. We didn't fill it up but we definitely bought way more frozen items than we normally do to help spread out our grocery trips.

My work encouraged those of us who were not needed in the lab to start working remotely last week. As such, I have shifted to entirely working from home. My husband's mom previously watched the kids while he was in class and I was at work. We made the decision that for her safety (ours also), we should maintain social distance. As such, my husband and I are working out the balance of entertaining and caring for our children while also getting our work accomplished. I work for an incredibly understanding employer (thank goodness) and they have been more than accommodating given the circumstances.

If push came to shove, we could probably survive on the items in our pantry for a solid 3-4 weeks. Ironically enough, a lot of these items are due to my bargain hunting and not the pandemic. I have not bought any paper products since February because I had a stockpile from when the items hit my buy price. I did see the writing on the wall in February in terms of food, so I finally made an emergency food tote (we do get tornadoes here, so it is probably wise to have anyway). Otherwise I have not cleared shelves or gone crazy. In fact, we should be under budget on groceries this month.

Our kids are adapting. Our 5-year-old sobbed when she watched the video her preschool teacher sent out saying hi. She misses her teacher and her friends. Our 7-year-old is doing okay. He is bummed about missing various activities in school and he definitely misses playing with friends, but he is okay. The youngest has no frame of reference and is loving that the 5 of us are here all day, every day. I will admit this extra time together has been lovely. We wish we could spend time with our extended families, but that is not wise at this moment. Now that the weather is starting to break we are able to spend a lot more time in our backyard which definitely helps.

I did not vote for Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, but I have been so impressed by his leadership. He had appointed qualified individuals and (arguably more importantly) listens to their advice. He has been making very difficult decisions given the ramifications on the economy, but I genuinely believe he is doing so in the interest of saving lives. He is also working closely with individuals in the sectors most affected by this to try to provide them financial relief. I don't agree with all his policies, but his leadership in a time of crisis has left me inclined to vote for him should he run for reelection. Of a greater note is Dr. Amy Acton. DeWine appointed her to be the director for the Ohio Department of Health. LET ME TELL YOU: she is a QUEEN. She is calm. She is collected. Her story is inspirational. She has been the calm and wise medical expert Ohio needed. I am personally pushing for her to run for president. I haven't told her that, but I think she should.

Overall, we will endure. We are praying for health and safety of all those who continue to work to keep life moving. We are praying that this will be over soon. We are praying for all those who have lost jobs. I have witnessed a whole lot of kindness in my community (supplying food to those who lost work, rallying to keep free/reduced lunches supplied to the kids who need it, etc.) that has restored my faith in humanity. Here is to hoping that by June things will be somewhat normal again...