So, wow, long time, no post.
But I guess the end of life as we know it is as good a time as any to kick an old blog back into being, yes?
JUST in case any of you missed it, the global pandemic of COVID-19, or the Wuhan flu, has pretty much overthrown society in the world as we know it.
Today in Australia, we have completely closed our borders to all incoming traffic, and most outgoing (only essential travel overseas is permitted, such as armed forces or medical).
Any and all non-essential gatherings are banned. Weddings can proceed with only the celebrant, couple, and two witnesses. No reception.
Funerals can have a maximum of 10 people in attendance.
Pubs, clubs, gyms, and most other shops are closed.
You can still get takeaways or home delivery from many cafes and restaurants, but that's a matter of days, I think.
You can go to the supermarket, but there are heavy restrictions on items, and that now applies to alcohol as well.
People are pulling their kids out of school and older kids are pulling out of TAFE and university.
People are scared.
Personally, my daughter, 15, has not attended school for a bit over a week. She had a head cold and though it was mild, I elected to pull her out at that stage.
She's got some on-line assessments to keep her busy till they set up the on-line classrooms they promise us will happen.
Fabio and I have discussed paying for tutoring if we feel she's falling behind in maths.
My 18 year old son just started TAFE a few weeks ago, but we don't know what's going to happen with that. He may have to move back home.
My 27 year old is able to access his TAFE course on-line so far.
My older kids and grandkids are all ok so far, all working in industries considered to be essential (childcare, mining, food retail) and all healthy.
My husband has been working his butt off, in Perth, putting in huge days, trying to keep himself isolated as best he can while
re-organising our entire workforce to keep them as healthy as possible
liaising with current clients, financial and mechanical businesses
delivering buses to minesites so our workforce isn't on small planes
sanitising those buses
organising and delivering PPE and toilet paper and personal cutlery and the like to our people
as well as his usual job of mine manager which is a 24/7 job.
And when I say 'delivering buses and supplies', I mean he drives them there. He can easily do a 16 hour day with most of it spent on dirt roads.
He hasn't had more than 24 hours off at a time for the last 3 months, and only a couple of those 24 hour breaks since the beginning of February.
And WE are the lucky ones!
So far we're all fine. We have jobs and food and yes, toilet paper.
15 and I get along well, and that's a good thing because we're in this house all day, every day, just the two of us.
We live in a nice spot. We have nice neighbours we can chat to from a safe distance.
We're still getting mail, an occasional parcel, we have Netflix and internet and books.
So many in this country have lost their jobs, have mortgages and kids and year 12 and bills to worry about.
So many are sick. So many are afraid of becoming sick and dying, or causing the death of someone they love.
Every night we watch the news to find out what new freedoms and privileges have been wrested from us by this horrible virus.
But Aussies are a pretty resilient lot. We've been through horrific bushfires already this year, and we'll make it through this damn virus as well.
I just hope we learn some serious lessons from it all.
