Long term social distancing coping strategies

[Murphy101]

So I’m not the most active socially. We don’t do sports or play in bands or go to public schools k-12.

But we do go to daily mass and Sunday mass. The 3 yr old adores going to atrium once a week.  We go to the library every week. We are avid park goers and trail walkers, it’s a daily thing unless the weather is super awful. We go the zoo approx once a month, an aquarium a couple times a month, I have a coffee “date” with several friends once a week at a Panera.  During the school times I’m usually unable to make it but I also have a knit guild I try to make once a week. Chiropractor appts.  Art and nature and religious events other than Mass  are attended throughout most months.  We go visit or have family and friends visit multiple times a week.

How much of that do people think will be curtailed or canceled over the next month+?  How much would you stop doing? 

Worst case scenario - how do you plan to help the family manage quarantine when not sick? I suspect Netflix and Hulu and some forth are going to rack in money. I wonder if this will strain the communication systems? But also I don’t want to spend months watching tv either. 

I’ve tried to stock up on art supplies and preschool crafty therapeutic stuff like homemade cloud and play dough materials.   
We own a ridiculous amount of board games. I made a yarn run so that I can finish the crochet blanket I’m working on.

I was thinking of making a list of things to do during covid19 sorta like a Summer Family Checklist. 

Suggestions? No one panic!!  This is not a panic thread. This is a fun hypothetical what if we had to make the best of this thread.

[fairfarmhand]

Clean out and organize stuff. Get to the UFO projects stack.

Also, I think I will probably need, for my family's sake, to be more intentional about FUN. So board game night. Craft day, etc. This will be a stretch for me because I hate being the family activities director. Just let me read my book by myself. But I think I'll need to be a better planner for fun stuff or my kids will get all whiny and bickering.

Here in Middle TN spring is on the way, so at least we'll be able to be out in the yard quite a bit I think. 

[Murphy101]

Some ideas I’m thinking of are mostly making sure to keep doing what I do.

Vit D and other supplements.

Keep a routine and add fun around that. No matter what, I’m going to keep setting my alarm. It’s too easy to sink into an endless sleep pattern of apathy and lethargy. Set the alarm. Do 30 minutes of some kind of exercise. Make the kids get up and move around. We won’t call it exercise that they went up and down the stairs a dozen times bc mom was forgetful. 😉 Try to eat mostly healthy with some fun sprinkled in. Good meals offset cookies or popcorn with a movie or board game. Keep home schooling. 

Don’t settle for texting and emails. FaceTime matters. 

I added envelops and extra stamps to our stock bc I haven’t bought any in forever. But maybe giving and getting mail would be a brightness to a day.

Make a home repair list manageable with in hand things. Something concrete to do that is usually put off. 

[prairiewindmomma]

We are working in our yard a bit, and going for walks (where we are relatively assured to be alone). We have been reading books, using up art supplies and science kits. I have dusted off my sewing machine and am using up fabric. I have cleaned out my filing cabinets. I am labeling old photos of relatives over FaceTime and am doing some stuff on ancestry. I am slowly repainting the house. (Dh goes out for paint and supplies.) I FaceTime friends to stay in touch. They are all supportive. My tween daughter has some play dates 1:1 with friends who can reliably report if someone in their household is ill.

Watching movies all day is depressing. We tried that back when dd was a preemie during a bad flu season. We are being productive this go around.

[gardenmom5]

we're in a hotspot.

churches here are implementing "social distancing" plans. (and the news has stories on it.) our own has cancelled everything for the week - and will decided Friday what they will do next week.

[Shoeless]

I'm not worried about the "social distancing" part. This isn't forever. Spending a quiet spring and summer at home is not the end of the world. 

We have board games, jigsaw puzzles, art supplies.  We have books, we have school work to do.  We have about a zillion home improvement projects and organizing projects that are in a state of half-done-ness that can be worked on. We have video game consoles, computer games, internet, hulu, netflix, Amazon Prime. We have 2 cats and a dog to play with.  We have exercise equipment.  

I still plan to take kiddo to his weekly art class until The Powers That Be say we should not.  The art instructor has a meticulously clean home.  I'll still go to the art museum, because it's a no-touch area and people aren't likely to scrunch up together there. Children's museum? I'm waiting a couple of weeks. If schools are closed here, then we won't go there at all.   We also have a drive in movie theater not far from here.  

Chess club and the library: I don't know. Chess club is small, usually just a handful of people there at a time. But it's run by dudes that don't clean the place well, and it's not far from Lackland AFB. 

The library is off limits for a few weeks, too.  Maybe indefinitely.  Every time we've been over the last few months, we end up sick.  I've never seen them wipe down a table after an activity, now that I think about it.  The last time I bought a book from the friends of the library store, the volunteer licked her fingers and then counted back my change.  And then coughed on the bottle of hand sanitizer and my book, for crying out loud.  The library currently has a picture from today's kid's activity, featuring a kid with two fingers up his nose, and subsequent pictures show him with his hands all over tables and materials.  I have no idea what to do with this place, other than avoid it.    

 

[prairiewindmomma]

Also, no matter how many bags of Cadbury mini eggs you think you need, buy at least a dozen more. 🙂 

[Murphy101]

3 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Also, no matter how many bags of Cadbury mini eggs you think you need, buy at least a dozen more. 🙂 

 

Those things are disgusting.  However you reminded me I need to run out and buy 3 bags of black licorice jelly beans!!

Edited March 9, 2020 by Murphy101

[katilac]

1 hour ago, Murphy101 said:

So I’m not the most active socially. 

<snip>

No one panic! 

If that list is "not the most active socially" then I must qualify for hermit status 😄

tbf, no kids in the house makes it easier for sure 

Hmph, I'll panic if I want to, so there!

1 hour ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Order things on Amazon. If Amazon closes shop y'all, that's going to be what does me in. 😫

And that is how we knew the end was drawing near . . . 

[Ausmumof3]

Well on the giant thread we’ve all been recommended whisky for cough medicine and and wine for anti virals so we’re good.

in all honesty though our church already has a YouTube channel for watching the service so we could fairly easily go to broadcast.  I have a gazillion books here to read and we have a mini farm so the kids can have outdoor space.  They would really really miss footy but there’s not much I can do about that. 

[Kassia]

My daughter just quit her library job.  She'll work through March - 8 shifts left.  I can't wait until she's done.  I'm a wreck about her being there because it's so germy.  

She didn't quit because of coronavirus but that's a big reason why I'm glad she's going to be out of there soon.

 

[katilac]

1 hour ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

not say at a festival day  

What others call spring, we in the New Orleans area literally call 'festival season.' If large gatherings have to be canceled, it's going to be a financial disaster.

[regentrude]

If we didn't have to work, this would be the ideal time for a multi-month backpack in the wilderness.

[Murphy101]

11 minutes ago, katilac said:

If that list is "not the most active socially" then I must qualify for hermit status 😄

tbf, no kids in the house makes it easier for sure 

Hmph, I'll panic if I want to, so there!

And that is how we knew the end was drawing near . . . 

LOL  I thought the same thing after I posted it.  I need to stay home more!  But comparatively to the supposedly average person, I'm not going to a school/daycare/work 5 days a week plus whatever extracurricular multiple times a week, plus movies or eating out  Or or or.  And they go to mass and probably teach RE too.  I look at what working moms do with their 2 kids in school and think nope nope nope I could not do all that.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Murphy101

[katilac]

18 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

I hadn't realized that. I didn't realize it went big past Mardi Gras, so I thought y'all had eeked out just in time. 😞

Nope. Mardi Gras is tied to Lent/Easter. The spring festivals are just tied to a wavering hope that it probably won't be so hot and humid that you die (or wish you would die). 

Last year's French Quarter Festival had over 800,000 attendees over one weekend. Jazz Fest had about 450,000 people attending over two weekends, about half local, half tourists.

Honestly, we have festivals year-round, Essence Fest attracts over half a million people in the god-awful heat of July, but there's multiple ones pretty much every weekend in season. Lots of them smaller than these, of course, but still a lot of people in one area! 

Also, kisses and hugs are standard greetings. 

We're all going to die. *panics in defiance of Murphy101*

Edited March 9, 2020 by katilac

[katilac]

Aaaannnd we have our first 'presumptive' case confirmed. Whatever that means. First one for the state overall, local resident, being treated in downtown NOLA. Three teachers have been in voluntary quarantine because of possible exposure, but they didn't say if this case is one of those three people. 

Edited to add: presumptive means they've had the test, but CDC will test for themselves to make it official. 

 

Edited March 9, 2020 by katilac

[barnwife]

Well, we go to Mass and religious ed weekly. We also go to the library once a week. I seriously hope this doesn't interrupt religious ed, as I have one making a sacrament this year! Historically, we have often gotten sick after our weekly library trip. So far this year, things have been okay.

But I made 2 big changes to our trip. The first is that we no longer go during a storytime. It's just too many people (germy kids). So now we go at what is usually a pretty quiet time at our library. And everyone must wash hands when we get home. I supervise this for everyone, even the 9 yo. Basically, I resigned myself to the fact that even 9 yo can use some supervision in hand-washing.

We don't usually start going to the park until May-ish. I can get away with this because we live in the country, so my kids have plenty of space outdoors here at home.

If we need to stay home more than we do, we will go hardcore on schoolwork. This would help me feel better about our time off this fall (when something big is happening in our family).  There will be more screentime. I, as a pp said, would need to be a better activities director for our kiddos. We'd probably get to poetry time more often. 

I'd seriously up my prayer-time to include prayers that we all stay sane (and healthy).

[itsheresomewhere]

2 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Also, no matter how many bags of Cadbury mini eggs you think you need, buy at least a dozen more. 🙂 

Add the Lindt version of the mini eggs and you are set.  

[katilac]

 Someone just sent me this, wish it were true 😂

[fairfarmhand]

Good grief. I gave up sugar white flour and potatoes for lent. So no goodies for me to snack on when I’ve reached my limit.sigh.

[TravelingChris]

6 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

Clean out and organize stuff. Get to the UFO projects stack.

Also, I think I will probably need, for my family's sake, to be more intentional about FUN. So board game night. Craft day, etc. This will be a stretch for me because I hate being the family activities director. Just let me read my book by myself. But I think I'll need to be a better planner for fun stuff or my kids will get all whiny and bickering.

Here in Middle TN spring is on the way, so at least we'll be able to be out in the yard quite a bit I think. 

Since I have to self isolate, I will be doing more gardening, and definitely going to the Botanical Garden more frequently--- since I am not around people there. I will also go to more movies in the daytime- when the movie theaters are empty--- more movies than I normally go see.  I am having to self isolate and my dh has even forbidden me from getting the pest control service we have to come in and deal with a pest problem we are having inside because that guy will have been in lots of people\s houses potentially.  But I just upped our google fiber tv to include a few more stations. Netflix and Amazon and Tv and books will be even better friends for me.  

[Murphy101]

1 hour ago, fairfarmhand said:

Good grief. I gave up sugar white flour and potatoes for lent. So no goodies for me to snack on when I’ve reached my limit.sigh.

 

🙂The black licorice jelly beans are part of my easter gifts to my besties.  And maybe some for my own easter basket.  I'm knitting monogrammed cup cozies for them too.

[Shoeless]

6 hours ago, HeighHo said:

We are doing more walk and talk than sit and talk.

The library is basically out.  I have spoken to the person in charge and they aren't willing escort patrons who are coughing without covering to the door (this is also an area where tuberculosis is making a comeback).  The staff members who argued with me about requiring basic hygiene practices can have the place and I will patronize the e-book portion of the NYPL.  So essentially the library is an auxilliary to the nursing home...retirees who have flu or whatever and are, to quote a patron with a significant wet cough,  'bored at home' can infect and re-infect each other.  One of them informed me that they really didn't care to follow hygiene, as they have low cost medical care. It has not occurred to them that those who work need to be healthy get to work to make the cash to subsidize the retiree medical care or to do the actual care.  

scan lanes have recently come to the grocery stores here, so I'll keep using them.  

we are already social distancing from the indoor family activities, as those who refuse to use good hygiene and food prep can't refrain from causing a scene when we decline the e coli interactions.  

 

I wish there was a "horrified" emoji. Tuberculosis is making a comeback?! 

I'm starting to get a little pushback from family because I am not traveling 1800 miles to my cousin's baby shower in May. Maybe I'd get sick or maybe I wouldn't, but a) ALLLLLL  of my elderly aunts and uncles will be there. I am not willing to risk giving my aunt with Parkinson's even "just a cold". b) I don't want to risk getting my cousin sick with my out-of-state, fresh-outta-the-airport germs, and c) if the $hit hits the fan, I do not want to be stuck 1800 miles from my husband and house. 

[Tanaqui]

Quote

I wish there was a "horrified" emoji. Tuberculosis is making a comeback?! 

 

It never really went away. It's not like bedbugs. TB has always been here, especially among the poor. TB turns out to be a real pain to get rid of, especially with increasing antibiotic resistance - nowadays you have to take multiple pills for a long time, and the only way we've found to effectively get people to comply with this is to send somebody door to door to watch them take their medications every day. (Or to lock them in the hospital, but that's even more expensive and has enormous rippling costs.)

Edited March 10, 2020 by Tanaqui

[Carrie12345]

I am an introvert who loves to get out of social obligations, but I’m learning that I absolutely hate not being *allowed to do something.  

For example, I’m generally not big on dining out, drive thrus, pizza delivery, or convenience store prepped food, so I decided that completely eliminating any of that to reduce contacts would be no big deal. And now that’s just about all I want!

So I definitely do see extended deprivation (of anything) being a real psychological issue for me, despite the fact that home is just about always where I want to be now.  We do have a wide variety of available entertainment at home, but it would be a real effort to make it intentional and purposeful.

[Ausmumof3]

8 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

Good grief. I gave up sugar white flour and potatoes for lent. So no goodies for me to snack on when I’ve reached my limit.sigh.

There’s still cheese ...

just saying 

[Ausmumof3]

6 hours ago, CuriousMomof3 said:

Ironically, we might end up "sending" two of my kids to school because of Coronavirus.

We've been homeschooling since January because on of my kids is so vulnerable to germs, and we want to avoid the other kids bringing them home.  But otherwise we love their school.  So, if the school goes to online learning, we might have them rejoin their classes.  

 

 

I can see that.  If they decided to broadcast school to Tv or something I might be tempted to just have the kids watch it and take a couple of weeks off

[Tanaqui]

It may not be engaging, but it's necessary.

Quote

I think the rate has dropped somewhat here from what I’ve read

 

Yes, in the USA, although it continues to be unreasonably high among all the marginalized groups you expect - homeless, people with AIDS, prisoners, immigrants from places with high TB rates, people struggling with addiction.

https://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/statistics/tbtrends.htm

[mlktwins]

I hope it doens’t come to being stuck at home, because of the reason it is needed, but I think it will happen at some point.  We are a family of 4 introverts and I wish we didn’t have so much each week that kept us out of the house.  I think, if we are healthy and just being cautious or forced to stay home, we will all do fine.  My boys are 14 though and can amuse themselves.  We will continue school for sure!  We are so productive when we get full days at home.  They have 2 outside classes that could easily continue on-line.  The rest we’ve been doing at home anyway.

DH already works from home so that will likely continue.  I will be crafting, purging my house, and organizing my pictures on my computer. And..I will be doing our taxes 😩.

My boys and I will be taking apart and bagging up all the Lego sets we need to get out of their playroom and bedrooms - we just haven’t had a lot of free time to get it done.  We have a few new sets that were never built so we would probably build those and play board games.  We will binge watch a few shows.  

My boys work out in the basement already so they will be able to burn energy since they won’t be swimming everyday.  They game and Skype with friends in other states so they would be very happy to continue that. 

As of yesterday, we will not be eating out or getting take out/delivery, but will revisit that after the next 2 or 3 weeks pass.  I don’t really enjoy cooking so that is big for me to not grab some food out whenever I can.   We are now staying home as much as possible because I think, now that we have known cases in our large metropolitan area, the numbers are going to go up very quickly!

If mine were still little, we would be playing lots of games, dancing, doing arts and crafts, and they would help me cook/bake.  Would be a whole different ball game.

My boys volunteer at the library each week.  We are off this week because their mentor is, but I will think anout what to do this week.  It is s germy!  But...we signed up and have through May before the summer volunteers come on board.  This is their 2nd year at the library and I would hate to pull them out early.  Doens’t eman I wouldn't though.

My biggest worry is, and will continue to be, making sure my dad and in-laws do what they are supposed to do!!!  That is hard because the think everything will be just fine.  

 

 

[mlktwins]

We have a positive result near us in Wash, DC.  He is a rector at a church in Georgetowm.  500 people that were at the church during a certain period of time, are now asked to self-quarantine for 14 days.  If anyone tests positive from that group, people that person was in contact with will be asked to self-quarantine.  And so on!!  I think it’s going to get crazy soon so plan now.  

 

[ScoutTN]

2 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

There’s still cheese ...

just saying 

And bacon!

[ScoutTN]

My Ds is massively extroverted and high energy. Staying inside our tiny house for weeks on end would drive the rest of us insane bc he would be so bored. He will read, play board games, do Lego, etc for a while, but not nearly long enough. We cannot afford cable or any extra screen service and I do not want him developing the habit of watching tv or playing video games. We will allow more than usual, but not lots. 

Both his school and dd's tutorial will go online, if necessary. Maybe adding an Outschool class or two?

Absolutely lots of time outside - we have huge city parks and many state parks not far away. Hiking and fishing, maybe some camping.  Gardening. I foresee that the dog will be well walked. Scout things will get done, for sure, for both kids.

Not sure what else. 

Glad to get ideas from y'all.

Our main ec things are church, piano, and Scouts/AHG. Summer is pool, camps and friends. The late spring and early summer could really be terrible if everything is cancelled.

 

 

 

[mumto2]

 The kids classes will continue as online as usual until we hit the end of the semester, grateful they were already all online because of activity conflicts.  
 

In their spare time we have good hiking/biking trails nearby and they will be using them (so will Dh and I).  They already ride many miles most days.  Ds is jokingly threatening to ride to the beach........probably 60 miles round trip.  Trails do exist.  The beaches are in the plan.

We have a good collection of dvds, puzzles, and games.........personally I plan to quilt and read.

We have been joking with our neighbors that we will take chairs to the foot of our driveways and shout back and forth.    

[Shoeless]

I guess I should have asked, what is meant by "long term"? I'm introverted, so staying home for 2 weeks doesn't bother me much. We did that at Christmas voluntarily!  I'd probably get a bit tired of being home after 3 or 4 weeks, but 🤷‍♂️.

I'm a little surprised to hear people say they'd find it so difficult to be home for a few weeks. You'd still be able to call friends and family to talk. You'd have the other members of your household to talk to.  If you have a yard, you could go outside and get some fresh air.  I don't feel like that is isolation exactly? You've got contact, just not in-person contact outside of your house.   I wonder if this is an introvert/extrovert thing? 

Apologies if that seems snarky; it isn't my intent.  I'm just curious what people are envisioning. 

[Elizabeth86]

Ugh.  We don't do a lot of social commitments either.  I would miss going to the library, church and visiting with my parents, but it won't be a huge deal to us.  I would spend as much time outside as possible.  Dh informed me today if anyone tests positive at work and you are there you get quarantined there so I'm hoping like heck if and when that happens he is at home.  Lol. I mean, if we have to go get food and whatnot, I do not want to take 4 kids under 8 into public touching everything an getting us all diseased. So, literally I only recently started worrying a day or so ago.  So, this is supposed to be an issue into summer??  😭 Yeah, my kids will be totally fine never leaving the house.  Dh too.  I'm the only one that ever want to get out.

[easypeasy]

Well, we're not full-on social-distancing yet, but I'll tell you what - the stress has me cleaning and organizing like a wild woman! So, there's that! 😁

[Shoeless]

40 minutes ago, CuriousMomof3 said:

Speaking as an introvert sometimes the people I want to get away from  are the extroverts who live in my house.  I live in an urban enough area I assume I won’t be able to go for a walk.  

 

That makes sense.  We're a family of introverts, so being home for a few weeks together doesn't bother us. My dad and sister are extroverts, and the idea of being quarantined with them is overwhelming. (They.Never.Stop.Singing.All.Day.Long!)

[fairfarmhand]

7 hours ago, CuriousMomof3 said:

Speaking as an introvert sometimes the people I want to get away from  are the extroverts who live in my house.  I live in an urban enough area I assume I won’t be able to go for a walk.  

Nailed it! Yes God thought it would be hilarious to send 2 incredibly introverted parents, 4 kids, 3 of which are incredibly extroverted! 
 

and my extroverts get punchy irritable and annoying when stuck at homeZ

[katilac]

Welp, there was probably little social distancing at a convention we had in the city this week. One thousand attendees from all over the country, and one of them just tested positive. 

[StaceyinLA]

On 3/9/2020 at 5:28 PM, katilac said:

What others call spring, we in the New Orleans area literally call 'festival season.' If large gatherings have to be canceled, it's going to be a financial disaster.

 

I saw they’ve cancelled the Bourbon Festival for this weekend, and all other community activities for this weekend as well. I’m not far from NOLA. In fact, I need to go pick up my daughter’s wedding gown from there. Sooner would likely be better than later...

[katilac]

12 minutes ago, StaceyinLA said:

 

I saw they’ve cancelled the Bourbon Festival for this weekend, and all other community activities for this weekend as well.  

All of the St. Patrick's parades are cancelled. 

[StaceyinLA]

21 hours ago, katilac said:

All of the St. Patrick's parades are cancelled. 

 

I think Baton Rouge might have even cancelled theirs - not sure though.

[katilac]

2 hours ago, Happymomof1 said:

No one answered my question. What are long-term strategies for musical theatre majors? Music majors? Theater? Kinesiology?  My daughter will be a freshman musical theatre major in the fall.

I don't think an answer to this question exists yet. 

[catz]

3 hours ago, Happymomof1 said:

No one answered my question. What are long-term strategies for musical theatre majors? Music majors? Theater? Kinesiology?  My daughter will be a freshman musical theatre major in the fall.

My kid is a music major and his school just went online for at least the next month.  This is definitely developing and TBD.  Will depend on the school and the teachers involved.  

[catz]

3 minutes ago, Margaret in CO said:

In the case of music lessons, they're easy to shift to facetime or some such. My dd has been teaching that way for years. 

That's true, but much harder for ensemble classes like choir, orchestra, opera scenes, character development, etc.  But I do think this is a good choice. There are a lot of smart people involved who will make the best of a difficult situation.