CANCELLED

March 16, 2020, Monday 

This is officially a pandemic or epidemic, but plague seems like the right name. The word means a blow, or hit, or strike. It has happened so suddenly! 

Last Sunday at church, we’d reverted to the old practice of serving individual cups of wine at communion. On Friday I wrote out the steps for setting up this way, and went online to email the instructions. But instead, I read an email from our pastor that Sunday morning services would be suspended through March. 

Since Don and I are 80+, we’re among the highest risk age group for contracting the disease and for dying from it. Fortunately we don’t have underlying health issues, but it still seems prudent to remain at home and avoid exposure if possible. I will need to get groceries in a few days. People have been stripping the shelve bare at grocery stores, stocking up and possibly hoarding food and sanitary supplies. We have enough food in the house for two or three weeks. We wouldn’t go hungry, but nearing the end of the supply we’d be eating strangely. I’m hoping that if most people have stocked up, they won’t be shopping much this coming week. 

Both Don and I are used to working at home, and goodness knows we have enough unfinished projects and ideas to keep us busy for another life-time. Neither of us think of ourselves as needing a lot of social interaction. But yesterday I missed talking to people during the church coffee hour. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m not as much of a solitaire as I had thought. 

When I updated our calendar, I deleted almost a dozen appointments. I haven’t counted the number of emails in the past few days that have announced that this museum or that theater, or the other office is closed for the next few weeks or a month. But I suspect we’re in this for the long haul; at least several months.