So, is it
just me, or does it feel like we’re ending June on more of a whimper
than a bang this year? Creeping toward Independence Day with stealth—like
“Hey, COVID, nothing to see here, why don’t you just keep on going and leave me
alone”—rather than, you know, fireworks and barbeques and pool parties and
whatnot. On the bright side, it does mean that we’ve made it through another
month of the pandemic, so I’m incredibly grateful for that…even if many things
are still…weird.
For example,
routine tasks like, say, seeing a medical professional have taken on a whole
new set of rules and procedures in Corona-times. Let’s use Derek’s latest visit
to illustrate. I scheduled a time for his annual physical, at which point the
staff asked me the standard list of questions we’ve come to expect, about your current
health, recently completed travel, known instances of possible exposure to the
virus, or any red-flag symptoms you might be experiencing. (Then, because he’s
over 18, they informed us they’d be contacting him the day before his appointment
to go over the precautions again, just in case anything had changed.)
When we
arrived for his checkup, a sign on the door of the building instructed us to
call the front desk and let them know we were there. We were told to wait outside
until someone called us back to indicate they were ready for us. Given the
all-clear, we proceeded through the empty lobby (home to several other
practices that appeared deserted), up the stairs, and into the office, where we
were greeted by a thermometer-wielding nurse before being allowed to seat ourselves
(gingerly, on the just-disinfected furniture).
I’m telling
ya, the whole thing was pretty…surreal…including the fact that, for the
first time since he was BORN, I didn’t even lay eyes on the doctor the
entire time, much less get to have a conversation. (Granted, Derek is technically
an adult and still going to his pediatrician, so there’s that. I did offer
a long time ago to let him change, but he’s comfortable with what he knows—and who
am I to shake up his world…especially now? Yeah, we’ve all got quite
enough to be dealing with, I think…)
Meanwhile, in
other areas of “trying to maintain a semblance of normal”, Riley recently
decided that he’d like to join the cross-country squad for his final
year in High School. Along with his obvious passion for running, last year was
the first time he wasn’t on some kind of team, and I think he missed that to a
certain degree. Although the academic term just ended a few weeks ago, this is
about the time that Fall sports would authorize athletes to begin unofficial
(on-your-own, without formal coaching) training.
So Riley’s
been meeting a small gang of other guys for daily workouts, focusing on adapting
to the double-edged sword that is heat/humidity, and building speed and stamina
for eventually racing on the wooded course. We’re going to have to keep our
fingers crossed, though, because like with all things in this plague-clouded
period, restrictions on group sizes and gatherings could force the coaches to
limit the number of participants, which would mean cuts on a team that usually
accepts all comers, regardless of quickness or ability. Nothing we can do, so
Riley will keep plugging away, and the rest of us are just gonna make
sacrifices to the…sprinting gods, or what have you…and keep hoping for
the best…
And catching
up with the Department of Cancelled…Stuff, the short-lived second version
of Team WestEnders’ vacation 2020 had to be scrapped, when the universities
we’d hoped to tour all pretty much said, “Please stay away. Don’t step foot on
our campus. No, we’re not kidding, ‘kaythanksbye.” This of course left
us scrambling once more for yet another excursion, to avoid breaking our streak
of family getaways. (Also, can you tell we’re hella restless? Yeeeahhhh…)
Thus we conferred
amongst ourselves (the renowned Travel Committee), and concocted a Plan C,
but honestly I’m not inclined to mention it ahead of time because I’m feeling incredibly
superstitious right now and don’t want to risk jinxing it. (I swear, it’s
a thing! For real!) So let’s just leave it at this: road trip, slightly
westward, lots of hiking. Oh, and FINGERS CROSSED!
Finally, the
boys and I had an actual retail encounter last week. You see, now that
NC has been partially reopened for a while, it seemed safe enough to venture to
the outlet mall where we usually get the boys’ sneakers. We brought masks,
of course, and planned to stop by only the (2) stores where they know they’ll find
what they prefer. Sounds like no big deal, right? WELL…first of all, I
was horrified by the number of people wandering around without any kind of face
covering whatsoever. And also, social distancing just…didn’t seem to be a thing
that anyone was particularly invested in or concerned about.
Mind you,
this was in the next county over--and while I'm not throwing them under the bus, or anything--I believe from my own observation that
citizens in our more immediate area ARE for the most part following the
guidelines and being safe. Having seen this for myself, however, it came as no surprise
when the governor announced that we’d be remaining in Phase 2 for at
least several more weeks. (Um, we’re not meeting ANY metrics for improvement.
Like, Not. At. All. Science, dude…I’m so glad our fearless state leader
trusts it and is holding his ground…) Bonus: having accomplished this trip, the
guys won’t need any more footwear for some time, so whew, we’re done with THAT!
As for me, I’ll
stick to much less scary jaunts to ye olde grocery store and Target-- places where
they’ve demonstrated that they have the whole situation reasonably under
control, and one can feel secure whilst procuring one’s food and household
necessities…and…ahem…Starbucks. (It…um…helps with the shopping! Or it’s
my reward for braving the fray, whatever…) And there you have it…sailing
on toward July…and the latter half of 2020…gulp! Speaking of treating
ourselves during this difficult time, at least we can face the next part of
this ridiculous year with fruity frozen drinks and a good book outside
on the deck—cheers!
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