Hunker Down

In an effort to get my writing juices flowing again, I have joined a Writing Through the Pandemic group sponsored by the Homer Library (Homer, Alaska). Here is my first submission...

Prompt
Make a list of 16 observations of life during the COVID-19 pandemic:
* 4 of them in your immediate living situation (your home, your food, your family dynamics, etc.)
* 4 of them beyond the borders of your home but still close (neighborhood, hiking trails nearby, grocery store, town)
* 4 of them far from home (outside news, family or friends you're in touch with, news from faraway places)
* 4 things about your life that are non-COVID related (life goes on, what are some of the circumstances of your life right now that would be true with or without the virus?)

Immediate Living Situation

1. In many ways, it feels like I’m back at our cabin on the Unalakleet River. It’s break-up and the river is unnavigable, so we are hunkered down for several weeks until we can move again. However, having just moved into our home in Sutton in December, we have a lot of projects to work on, inside and out, so it is nice to have the time, and the restrictions, to do so.
2. I haven’t been to a grocery store since March 13. Because I am one of those high risk people, my husband does all of the grocery shopping. I am a list maker, so I send him to the store with a detailed list every 10 days or so. However, he is an impulse buyer, so he always comes home with things not on the list. I joke that it’s like Chopped every night for dinner. Having lived offgrid for the last 3 years, I am used to having a stocked pantry, so this is not much of a change for us.
3. Gregg and I are used to being in close quarters together for extended periods of time, and I’m actually going to miss it when he starts work at Fish & Game on May 1. Our three dogs, garden, and greenhouse promise to keep me busy, though.
4. Since my job was mainly online before this all started (online UAF professor and holding a distance staff position as Writing Support Specialist for UAF-Bristol Bay Campus), not much has changed in that arena. However, most of my online students in the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands no longer have internet access with the school’s being closed. I have learned that Distance Learning is not synonymous with Online Learning, so I email hoards of files and self-made videos to central contacts in Unalaska and Togiak which they then download onto thumb drives. The drives are then taped on an outside office door for the students to pick up. They are returned the same way, and then my contacts email the completed assignments back to me. It really took a lot of out-of-the-box thinking to figure that all out!

Neighborhood

1. Moving to Sutton last December was a chance for me to have friends again, a chance to be a part of a community, something that I hadn’t really had for 6 years or so. This place is perfect for me in that the library is the heart of the community. The good news is that even though the building is closed, the library is alive and well. The exercise class that I attended there is now via audio conference. The book club, game nights, and stitching get-togethers have been cancelled for now, and that is difficult. However, last week, the library did start checking out books again! So, I can put books on hold online, call the library before I go there, and they put the books, with my name on them, on a table outside for me to pick up. I do miss chatting with the ladies who work there, though. That’s where I met everyone I know in town.
2. Sutton’s population is small, 1,600, but mighty. We have a local general store with an attached cafe. We can buy local, fresh eggs and order take-out. We love our neighbors so we order take-out every Friday as a show of support during this time. This week, we’ve already decided that it’s going to be pizza - fresh-made crust and fresh toppings with a slightly spicy red sauce and plenty of cheese! The best part is that it’s only half a mile from our house. Again, I always send Gregg there now, so I miss the lively conversation that a small general store produces.
3. Since we live in a place carved out of the wilderness and pressed tightly between the Matanuska River to the south and the Talkeetna Mountains to the north, the backcountry is only a mile away. I hopped on the 4-wheeler yesterday to go exploring. Just being able to feel the cool wind on my face and enjoy the beauty we live in freshened my spirit.
4. Our neighborhood is in hunker down mode. We see families riding around on 4-wheelers and dirt bikes, walking dogs, and pushing strollers. We all keep our distance and wave. I am cognizant of keeping my own dog, a chocolate lab named Nuka, close when we are out for a walk. She is used to going up to people and asking for a rub, but I understand that the virus is so contagious, that that is not optimal right now. Nuka doesn’t understand.

Far Away

1. Far away has a different connotation now than it did a couple of months ago. I used to have one daughter who lived far away, in Wisconsin, and one daughter who lived close, in Eagle River. Now, they are both far away. I’m thankful for FaceTime. Sarah, in Eagle River, FaceTimed me just yesterday to ask me about gardening, since she is getting ready to sow seeds. I wish I could be beside her with my hands in the dirt next to hers, but that’s not going to happen this year.
2. April, in Wisconsin, was supposed to come visit this summer with her husband and two-year old son, but of course that has been cancelled. I haven’t seen my grandson, Jack, in over a year and it may be another year before I get the chance again. I guess I should qualify that statement by saying that I haven’t seen Jack in person, because we do FaceTime and that makes my heart sing.
3. I also keep in touch with family and friends in the far-flung corners of the Lower 48 - Lori’s in Florida, Vicki’s in Texas, Robin’s in Louisiana, Holly, my sister, is in Washington state. All of them are in the high risk category and are often frustrated by the lack of consideration that the general populations are showing in their areas by not respecting social distancing and not wearing masks. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for their safety.
4. Then, there are those friends and family members who think this is overblown, a hoax, a conspiracy, or whatever. I wish I could just say, “You do you,” but I can’t. What they do affects those around them, whether it’s browsing through Walmart and then visiting older family members, spreading false news (who really knows what is fake anymore), rebuffing social distancing mandates, or refusing to wear masks. No matter what their political views, it’s still better to be selfless than careless.

Non-COVID

1. We brought home two Miniature American Eskimo puppies, a breeding pair, from Minnesota when we were there 6 weeks ago for Spring Break. They are smart and lively and we love them to pieces. I found them online and when we went to pick them up, we realized it was a puppy mill. They were scared to death and had no human socialization. We have loved them to pieces and they are cuddly little creatures now. I look forward to training them to do some fun tricks, because the breed has a history of being circus performers.
2. I have hundreds of seeds planted, waiting for the snow to melt so that they can settle into their new home in the fertile Matanuska River Valley. I love growing my own edible flowers from seeds and making flavorful and colorful jellies out of the petals, and I’m looking forward to a successful vegetable growing season after 3 failed attempts in Unalakleet!
3. Our “new” home is a 19-year-old, 1 bedroom, 1 bath (just a shower, no tub), 1,000 square foot, log cabin a stone’s throw from the river one way and a mountain range the other. It is beautiful. It is quaint. It is on a dirt road. It has modern appliances and a big kitchen. It is perfect for us.
4. Gregg and I just celebrated our 3rd Anniversary. We are happy. We are thankful.

Day 19

In the past 15 years, I’ve had pneumonia 7 times. Every year that I was teaching in a public school classroom, I came down with a respiratory infection that turned into bronchitis that turned into pneumonia. Every year. I was bracing myself for it this year, since I was back in the classroom, albeit a college classroom, when COVID-19 shut everything down.

The doctors say that my lungs are misshapen; my lungs and surrounding organs are pushed to one side, most likely because of scoliosis that went undetected until I was 29. Therefore, infections settle in my lungs very quickly. Because of this, I fall into the high-risk category for COVID-19.

That is one reason why I’m on Day 19 of extreme social distancing. The other reason is because of the carelessness of others. I wish I could care less about this virus, but I need to remain vigilant if I want to remain upright. Those who can care less, do. They meet up with friends for a quick visit. They take their entire family with them to go grocery shopping. They hug their grandchildren. They even go to packed church services. By doing those things, they are encouraging the spread of the virus. By doing those things, they are lengthening my isolation. By doing those things, they are encouraging others to do the same.

I send Gregg to the grocery store, have him wash his clothes and take a shower as soon as he gets home, and I only let him go during the senior shopping hours early in the morning when the carts have been freshly sanitized and the store isn’t open to the general public, those who care less. I love to cook and bake and I miss going to the store. It is one of the great pleasures of living on the road system, to see what’s in the produce department. I’m not willing to take the chance. I’m not willing to put myself into the category of the 5% of people who develop complications from the virus.

I was put on a ventilator last September and the intubation damaged my vocal cords. Despite the prognosis, I recovered. If I lost my voice permanently, it would be devastating for me and my career. I don’t want to take the chance of being put on a ventilator ever again.

Yes, I’ve had the flu shot before… and still came down with the flu.
Yes, I’ve had the pneumonia shot before… and came down with pneumonia twice that year.
I don’t believe in submitting myself to any more of those vaccines because they only target a select few of the viruses floating around. Viruses mutate and change and make the vaccines unreliable, at best. The best prevention is being careful, staying away from the general public, and teaching people to care more, not less.

With 3 feet of snow on the ground in April, it’s easy to get cabin fever. However, I combat it by taking long walks or going for a drive. There are so many mountain roads and communities to explore!

Is it an extreme reaction? Well, that’s the thing about opinions - everybody has one.