Covid-19 Madness

The world is in an uproar.  Covid-19, the coronavirus, is sweeping across the world, a pandemic of proportions akin to the 1918 Spanish Flu.  Thousands of people have died in China and other parts of Asia, thousands more are dying in Europe, and it has arrived in North America.  We are hearing dreadfully grim news, and many are panicking, fearful of what is coming.  For some reason, people have been buying up toilet paper and bottled water, even though our water supply will be unaffected by a virus and will continue to flow from our taps.  It has been terribly upsetting.  We, Kent and I, are trying to remain calm, to rely on the Lord, and to recognize our blessings in the face of all the tumult.  We have toilet paper (I like to keep lots on hand), we have had income, we have a food supply in the basement, and we have each other and a strong faith in the Lord.

Since I began working, I have tried to be really good about making a menu, shopping for items I need to prepare the food on the menu, and then sticking to it.  It has made meal preparation much easier when I get home after working all day; I don't have to think about what to make, I have a list.  I have worked through the menu, and when we are down to one day left, I have gone shopping again.  I have to do that after work, which isn't always a treat because I'm shopping when lots of other people are shopping, and at the end of a long day away from home.

Two days ago was the day when I had one entree left to make and felt like I should go to the store.  I should have gone yesterday, but it was Wednesday, and since I have started working, I have designated Wednesday as my go to the temple day.  Kent, Brandt, and Blythe all have youth activity night, which means I can be gone and it is less disruptive to the overall smooth workings at home because I'll not be missed.  So rather than shop, I worshiped in God's house.  Today, however, the governor made a statement about staying home.  Tomorrow will be the last day of school for two weeks, non-essential work should cease, and people should stay home as much as possible.  We needed food as the fridge was largely bare and I needed to shop for the next two weeks, and so I went to the grocery store after work.

It was absolutely pandemonium at the store.  There were hundreds of people crowded into the space.  It was almost certainly a fire hazard and more people than legally should have been there.  It was difficult to find a cart, and then shelves were empty.  There was no canned soup, no flour, no sugar, no pasta, no ramen, no toilet paper, no bottled water (what's with that?!).  People's carts were piled as high as possible, and everyone was deadly earnest.  The lines to check out were ridiculous.  I got in line on one side of the store, down a whole aisles from the checkout.  I waited in line for an hour and a half.  We all inched our way down the aisle, nearly silent in what felt like fear and desperation.  I wished I had shopped yesterday and gone to the temple today.  Brandt called and asked what was for dinner, and when I told Kent he needed to make something, he said, "Oh, we can wait until you get home."  No, they couldn't; the children would have starved to death.  He made waffles while I waited and waited and waited.  Thing was, I was right there with everyone else, cart piled as high as possible, with foodstuffs for what I hope will be at least two weeks.  We have lots of food in storage, but not the fresh produce I really wanted.  I was grateful for the preparations we have made and hope we can survive this quarantine instigated by the leaders of our state and country.

Two and a half hours in the grocery store.

May this never happen again!