This week I've been figuring out how to socially distance myself in the same house as my "higher risk category" mother. When I got off the plane at DTW, I filled out a health survey, had my temperature checked, answered some essential questions verbally, and was given verbal instructions to stay home, monitor my temperature and record any symptoms for 14 days. I could walk the neighborhood, but it was requested that I don't go to the grocery store, and instead ask someone to go for me.
I asked both parents before arriving if they would prefer I self-isolate at a hotel for two weeks. Both said no. In some ways I don't know if they understood how serious things could get, on the other, I knew I could likely make it work in my mom's home where there is plenty of space and extra rooms to stay separate if needed. When my mom picked me up from the airport, I rode in the backseat of the car while she had fresh air on blast in the front. When I got to the house, I decided I would only enter one bedroom, focus on using one bathroom regularly, only use one chair in the living room, and only one chair in the dining room. This would mean that I would essentially have spaces that she wouldn't be using as much, to hopefully avoid cross-contamination. I became extra vigilant about what my hands were touching in the kitchen when it came to shared food bags and containers. I washed my hands obsessively to a point of cracked knuckles, which I've never experienced in my life. I reminded her when she was coughing or sneezing uncovered. I waved hello to my dad through the glass front door and asked him to please go home and call me on video instead. I let my parents know I was taking quarantine very seriously, for their health. They didn't always understand at first, but I think as the news became more drastic, and local virus numbers started rising, they started to understand the gravity of the virus and ease of its spread.
When I wrote the poem above, some people were outraged. Mostly the hardcore gun owners. I think their rage was really about the fact that a gun won't protect them from a virus, but it was misdirected at my poems just because I mentioned guns as not being helpful right now. Unfortunately this is the reality- that the United States has invested heavily in arming itself against the rest of the world from a military perspective rather than heavily investing in healthcare systems that can save more lives. Print news from this week may forever reveal the frustrations of the healthcare professionals around the world in their attempts to get the tests and the supplies they need to save lives.
On March 23rd, the Michigan governor finally issued the "Stay at Home" order, a few days after New York. However, this hasn't stopped flights landing at DTW airport, not even as of April 3rd while I write this. A few airlines have recently offered free flights to healthcare workers from other states who can come to help Detroit's people, and some downtown hotels are also offering to provide free room and board for those healthcare workers who can't go home to their families. The businesses that will come out on top at the end of all this are definitely the ones who are stepping up to the plate and offering to help through their services and profit margins.
I asked both parents before arriving if they would prefer I self-isolate at a hotel for two weeks. Both said no. In some ways I don't know if they understood how serious things could get, on the other, I knew I could likely make it work in my mom's home where there is plenty of space and extra rooms to stay separate if needed. When my mom picked me up from the airport, I rode in the backseat of the car while she had fresh air on blast in the front. When I got to the house, I decided I would only enter one bedroom, focus on using one bathroom regularly, only use one chair in the living room, and only one chair in the dining room. This would mean that I would essentially have spaces that she wouldn't be using as much, to hopefully avoid cross-contamination. I became extra vigilant about what my hands were touching in the kitchen when it came to shared food bags and containers. I washed my hands obsessively to a point of cracked knuckles, which I've never experienced in my life. I reminded her when she was coughing or sneezing uncovered. I waved hello to my dad through the glass front door and asked him to please go home and call me on video instead. I let my parents know I was taking quarantine very seriously, for their health. They didn't always understand at first, but I think as the news became more drastic, and local virus numbers started rising, they started to understand the gravity of the virus and ease of its spread.
When I wrote the poem above, some people were outraged. Mostly the hardcore gun owners. I think their rage was really about the fact that a gun won't protect them from a virus, but it was misdirected at my poems just because I mentioned guns as not being helpful right now. Unfortunately this is the reality- that the United States has invested heavily in arming itself against the rest of the world from a military perspective rather than heavily investing in healthcare systems that can save more lives. Print news from this week may forever reveal the frustrations of the healthcare professionals around the world in their attempts to get the tests and the supplies they need to save lives.
On March 23rd, the Michigan governor finally issued the "Stay at Home" order, a few days after New York. However, this hasn't stopped flights landing at DTW airport, not even as of April 3rd while I write this. A few airlines have recently offered free flights to healthcare workers from other states who can come to help Detroit's people, and some downtown hotels are also offering to provide free room and board for those healthcare workers who can't go home to their families. The businesses that will come out on top at the end of all this are definitely the ones who are stepping up to the plate and offering to help through their services and profit margins.
We did experience our first grocery shortage this week due to local stores being depleted of essentials. It caused a change in how we use our well water. We have yet to decide if this will be a permanent change or a temporary change. I'm sure some other homes in the neighborhood are wrestling with this as well. I think my mother also experienced enough panic and anxiety from people not keeping their distance at the grocery store that she may be feeling less inclined to keep restocking items every few days and wait until she needs more items at once. While she may feel very youthful and young, she's still in a higher risk category than I am.
