Daily/Weekly Thoughts

21 days and Counting

The past 21 days have been some of the most unique that North Americans have seen. Unfortunately, other parts of the world saw it so much earlier. So many businesses and venues have been closed down. So many people are sick. So many people are worried. It's terrifying! This is the stuff that April Fools day jokes would have been made of before - except that today's reality is too bizarre for anyone to even have suggested it.

As you sanitize, wash, and look over your shoulder at someone coughing, you are at the beginning of an understanding of our world. The world around a little one with a rare disease. Now you understand why we moved away when you coughed or obviously had a cold. Now you know why we left early if we were in a crowded room and people were sniffling/blowing their noses/coughing. Now you understand why we constantly used hand sanitizer - even though it offended you when we applied it shortly after shaking your hands. Now you understand why from October to April you rarely ever saw Emmett outside of his home.

Now you understand why this is 21 days and counting that we've been in self-isolation. Why Alisha and Josh cancelled their nursing support. Why if we meet you outside while on a walk, we quickly back away if you move into our space. Two metres? We prefer three or four, thank you. You're reading stories about people removing their clothes, bagging them, and showering before interacting with their families. While we didn't bag our clothes, they were absolutely removed, we showered, and changed into fresh clothes before interacting with Emmett after being out in public places. If you thought we were crazy about hand washing and sanitizing before, you should see us now! Plus we've shared before how, due to carrying Emmett all of the time, we stopped the practice of coughing into our elbow and only cough into our hands; you cannot clean your elbow and that is exactly where Emmett's head would be.

It wasn't that we did not want to interact or be sociable, especially Emmett, who loves interacting with others. But like you're probably doing right now with this Covid-19 virus, we were and are protecting those we love. Surfaces, light switches, door handles are disinfected daily - that's normal routine every day around Emmett. What is abnormal is that we literally are not going out - apart from neighbourhood walks on very broad pathways. (The forest path in the last blog, too narrow. It's not happening any more!) We are having Roger, Rhonda, Ben, and Alesha do our shopping - that's not normal. Not going to Canadian Tire. Oh my, that's so abnormal. My Canadian Tire fix has to come from online searches as I cannot go to the store. In fact, I cannot even look at the newspaper flyer as it's not allowed in the house until it's been sitting for days. And for Emmett, the prospects of entry to kindergarten this fall - with health experts indicating that there will be another Covid-19 wave happening then - have changed from excited anticipation to seriously considering planning out a home schooling program. And after beating us two rounds straight, we've decided we don't really want to play Uno with Emmett! He really is good at this game.

Shark-Kaaah is still floating. There is a tiny amount of ballast still in the ballast hold, but after 22 days of floating about we really do not anticipate that Shark-Kaaah will last the week. And we cannot risk getting a helium refill at this time, so time is limited for this galeocerdo. This is humourous, obviously, yet we are quite aware of the serious challenges that are facing families right now. Our family, just like yours, is in the midst of challenges that we can do little about. Emmett's Great-Grandpa Willms has just had a fall and a broken hip - and family cannot even go and see him. The hip has been replaced, but for a man closing in on 90 there are most certainly complications. Great Grandma Willms is facing lung cancer issues - again on her own, without family to support her, and not even able to see and support her husband. Kilometres away in Ontario Emmett's Great Grandpa Ewald has had a minor heart attack (if any heart attack is minor when you're in your 90th year) that coincided with the first of two falls - the first garnering a broken collarbone. This led to a bump up the "needs ladder" and admission into a nursing home. Great Grandma Ewald is now separated from him, still in her assisted living room where she is as comfortable as possible. The challenges of an extended family - exacerbated by seniors' facilities having shutdowns so that family cannot visit - these are being faced by all of us throughout the world. 

The world is full of daily challenges as everyone tries to adapt to and deal with Covid-19. So what does our day entail?

We wake up and go and do some baking. In our PJ's, of course. Why put clothes on! These sour dough glazed doughnuts were to die for! And the Raisin Carrot muffins we made today - so much healthier! And still really good. Emmett likes the texture of flour; that is feels so soft! We purposely put flour on our faces to show to everyone how hard we bakers were working!

And then we do some gardening - like planting a mock orange bush in grandma's garden. This was a lot of fun as Emmett asked all kinds of questions - especially when we dug up some construction refuse from years ago. Then you can see and hear that Emmett is thrilled to participate in home videos with his family:

Then we have some physical education activities like soccer:

It is possible that Emmett could be an Elasmobranchologist when he grows up - but right now he's just a boy with a shark! With a robot voice.

It is possible that Emmett's home school teacher will have to pull up her socks and be more enthusiastic in upcoming lessons - have to keep this little one inspired! But, as you can see, there are days when we change out of PJ's and into real clothes.

And while current affairs are more bizarre than any movie, Emmett had a lot of fun with April Fool's Day jokes. Telling us that spiders were on our heads, ants were in our pants, and that sharks were coming to eat us. My personal favourite - beating on a steel bowl with a wooden spoon while telling grandma that it was time to get up! LOL! I wonder who suggested that to this impressionable little boy! Then he proclaimed "April Fools!" and that it wasn't really her alarm clock! Emmett was quickly forgiven. Me, not so fast.

What will day 22 and following bring? Well, more progress on the bathroom renovations. The next blog post will have some updates on the progress that is happening there! Potentially more antics as we try to keep each other sane and occupied while we're isolated. There are articles floating about on social media that indicated that many of the deaths that are attributed to Covid-19 have underlying causes thus, the articles imply, Covid-19 is not so dangerous. This type of article absolutely angers me! That is the point! Covid-19 attacks those who are at risk and they for so many reasons they cannot overcome this disease. Emmett's lungs are so much stronger than they were just a few years ago, but this virus absolutely terrifies us. We have seen Emmett on a ventilator, with deep suctioning happening to clear his lungs and airways. We never want to see it again. We never want to see someone else, healthy or frail, having to undergo those procedures just because someone else was thoughtless and carried the virus to them. So practice social distancing. If you see someone in a wheelchair or other mobility device, GIVE THEM ROOM! That device is not a mobile as you are - it cannot go down the curb to get away. Thank you for being considerate of others. Wash your hands. And stay at home. We so appreciate everyone's support. Thank you for thinking about and praying for our family - and we're doing the same for our family and friends. Stay Home. Keep everyone safe!

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