Twiddling My Thumbs!

Twiddling my thumbs! Yeah, you are right, too hard to do when you are short on thumbs!  I told Deb I would write a blog.  When your life is in a holding pattern, finding topics is not so easy.

We have been spending a considerable amount of time together.  Trying to “social distance” ourselves from others, to protect both ourselves and them.  In the RV park we are staying, it appears, we are the only ones thinking this way!  People are getting together in groups to socialize quite often.  If we were totally isolated from the outside world, in a protected environment, this might not be bad.  These same people are going out of the RV park, sometimes daily, to shop for themselves.  They don’t come back and isolate themselves from their group of friends, but instead engage them, right away, to share their success or defeat they experienced on their shopping excursion.  

I don’t get it, most of these people are up in years.  The park is for adults over 55 years of age.  If one person gets too close to a cashier that has been in an unprotected environment since this started, they could be a carrier exposing numerous others to this deadly virus.

Deb and I are trying to be mindful of our actions, engaging with others from a safe distance.  We are trying to walk several times a day, usually getting ten thousand steps or more in daily.  We bike ride on occasion, although lately the days have been a little too hot.

Yahtzee seems to be our game of choice most often now.  We usually play games outside while trying to get some fresh air.  It has been way too windy to play cards recently.  So we have been playing Yahtzee more often.  We are fairly even matched; no professional Yahtzee player in this group.

We are in Florida now with no exit date in sight.  Not knowing when the “stay safe in place” directive will be lifted, we are just taking a “wait and see” approach.  Right now we are booked here through April and if needed, we will extend through May.  One benefit of being retired and living in the RV, we are at home and don’t have any specific commitments or timeline to meet.

We hope that everyone is feeling well, heeding the directive and staying safe. Our prayers are with those affected by this deadly virus; from those who are sick as well as the doctors, nurses, paramedics, other caregivers, laboratory professionals, truck drivers, cashiers, stock clerks, maintenance workers, farmers, etc., etc. etc.  We live in such a codependent society.   I hope that the lessons learned from this pandemic is that success can be achieved for all by all of us working together and staying apart!  

I think of the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”, where the angel 2nd class, Clarence tells George Bailey how one life can affect so many others.  In the movie, many of George’s friends and relatives had much harder lives because he did not exist.  Imagine if George Bailey was the virus, a nice and healthy looking guy.  People didn’t back away because he appeared well.  Well, the virus is invisible to the eye without substantial magnification; it makes no noise and sets off no alarms.  You could pick it up from a previously handled package in a store, then touching your face.  Walking near a person having it, maybe further than six feet on a windy day.

If you want to be like George Bailey and be a positive force in another persons life, stay home and isolated!  You may think you are staying relatively isolated, so you should be safe.  Honestly if people don’t isolate, this situation may last a very long time.  We need complete participation.  Be safe, you and your neighbors, friends and relatives are all worth it….and most importantly don’t forget to say prayers!

Pink moon over our almost empty RV Park