Monday, March 30th, 2020
Not feeling great last night so headed to bed early, just to wake up at 1 am to thoughts running amok given sore throat. Made a mental list of all items to do.
Irrespective of real threat or not, I have resolved to get my “house” in order. It is something that of course all of us should have done and few of us actually do. Even without extenuating circumstances all of us with dependents should have our affairs settled to ensure they are taken care of and that in the event of an accident people know what to do. As a result spend part of the day getting these basics sorted.
While I did make a will a few years ago, it appears this is insufficient for the US if there is only a minor named as sole beneficiary. I need to find out more and will see if I can find a lawyer who for the next 12 months can put in place a trust so that EM is covered and safe and will also not be taken into custody by the US government in the event of my passing. That is the last thing I would want as in my mind they cannot be trusted. So, I have now written up where to find documents on bank accounts, properties and so on, and shared it with my sister and my daughter’s godfather as they have been named as executors of my will in the same. I have also put in place a back-up plan asking a friend to take care of her should anything happen to me. The main task would be to ensure EM gets to her father in Germany as soon as possible. Sad thoughts, but then again it cannot hurt to be prepared, still, just thinking about all of this has me of course in tears. I do want to be around to help my daughter become an adult. Hope becoming more critical than ever.
Between, throat is still a little sore, but it feels the same as whatever had befallen me in December and seemed to rear up again in January. I had been feeling that whatever it was had been suppressed rather than departed, so I am hoping it is just a normal cold consisting of sore throat, chills, and joint aches. I shall monitor. Other than that another normal day. Spend with the laptop on the chaise lounge and later, when the day became gorgeous, in my garden. The ability to work outside is one of the perks of working from home. Who knows, if this goes on long enough I may even develop a tan!
The only disruption of the day occurred during our walk when the governor sends out an alert for “Stay in Place Order”. The State, it seems, is expecting infection rates to significantly soar over the next two weeks. In a heightened attempt to contain it all everyone has been ordered to stay at home; save for essential medical or grocery trips.
Exercising is still allowed, so we can continue our socially distanced neighborhood walks at least. I have resolved to not leave the house for anything else! Even groceries will need to come via the internet for the next few weeks – not that we need any at this point in time.
School is slowly resuming in the new normal, with this week dedicated to testing technology. Next week they plan to start teaching online in earnest.
News from around the world continues to be bleak with infection rates everywhere rising. Germany now at 62k, getting close to Italy. Italy though is offering a glimmer of hope as the number of new infections reported has continued to decrease (half today of what it was yesterday). The same cannot be said for the US, where numbers are rising steeply and reports of overwhelmed hospitals in NYC continue. Increasingly health staff is infected. Even smaller rural states seem to finally wake up to the threat - they are trying to order PPE supplies and ventilators just to find there are none to be had and what is available for sale at astronomical prices is requisitioned by the federal government. Not sure what they are doing with it seeing it does not seem to find its way to the epicenters.
Meanwhile, we are staying home, still hoping to avoid infection, still hoping this is just a normal cold.
For years now we have not been home for Easter. While in Istanbul spring break was our time to go to Cape Town. Since moving to the US spring break was spent diving in the region as Cape Town is just too far from the US and breaks are just to short in the US (except for the three months over summer, when it is winter in Cape Town, so not too pleasant). Cuba two years ago was beautiful, the DR last year restful with a lot of easy dives; just the right thing for my newbie diver. This year Puerto Rico was the destination of choice. I had it all planned out, reef dives, wall dives, three different location North, West, and South of the island with the final day dedicated to exploring San Jose to allow enough decompression time before boarding our flight. Clearly that is not happening. Rather I am now in a fight with the airline (Spirit!) to get my tickets refunded, which they refuse to do. Rather they want to provide me with a credit that I can use in the next six months. Who knows what will happen in six months? Plus, there are no school breaks, so when am I supposed to use them? What is most annoying, I made the reservation only a few weeks before the world turned upside down. Then again, it is only money. What is that compared to health and happiness?
Anyway, being home for Easter for the first time in years means I am getting my Easter decorations out and putting them up – possibly for the last time with my girl still living at home, so that may just be a nice celebration. Thankfully I bought 24 white eggs, which we can boil and dye. Maybe we will hide them in the front garden and kids going for a Sunday walk can hunt a few. Otherwise, I fear we are in for a week of hardboiled egg lunches depriving me of one of the very few pleasant distractions in life - making food!