The most notable change in day 18 versus other days is the sense of sadness that is beginning to permeate our daily routine. The routine itself is to the point of monotony.

Looking back on how we got to this point is pretty crazy. I agreed to come out of retirement to work a job for my old company prior to anyone realizing the mess we would all be in. The job was in a nice part of Westchester County, NY, and I agreed to work there for 5 weeks. We had no idea that the area was in its infancy of eventually becoming the epicenter of the coronavirus during my time there. Additionally, we went into Manhattan, rode metro trains, took subways, went to Grand Central, Times Square, Broadway plays, restaurants and basically exposed ourselves to the soon to be center of the pandemic. We packed up and left 3 days short of my agreed upon contract when the governor of NY issued the 1 mile containment zone where I worked.  We left March 11 and drove home to North Carolina.

I repeat all that information because it now amazes me that after all that exposure, we have remained symptom free in now our 18th day of self-quarantine. We actually began our quarantine prior to all the government calls for the same.

We continue to catch up on old recorded shows and new movies. And we’ve gotten lots of cleaning done. We have now completed 7 of the 10 rooms plus the 2 bathrooms. All the rooms (not bathrooms) have hardwood floors so they smell so good after a cleaning with Murphy’s Oil soap.

We have walked on the Greenway up to 4 miles, although I have begged off going the last couple days since the pollen is killing me. We have made a game of counting how many people we see on the paths as we walk. It has been as few as 2 and as many as 56 in the course of the 1-1/2 hour venture-mostly in singles or groups of two.

We enjoy Zoom video chats with our kids and some Face Time with the grandkids. I tried my hand at giving our grandson a video class where I showed him the significance of all my caps & hats, I have collected (about 50).  I knew I was doomed when part way in he said “You’re not gonna show me ALL your hats are you?” Class dismissed.

Peg is such a good cook; we have only done a takeout/delivery meal one time. I put the grandkids’ play table on the porch for the grocery deliveries to be placed and CVS delivers our drugs (prescriptions) which allows us to maintain “contactless” shopping.

As do all of you, we hope this will one day find an end, but in the meantime, we will carry on and do our part.  We continue to miss our family (especially the grandkids), our dance friends, and my acting peeps. Someday there will be lots of hugging going on.