we're alive, we're well
thursday, march 26, 2020


i know, i've gone quiet again. the last few weeks...so many things.

i saw my doctor last month (in a moment of perfect timing because later....). my blood pressure, as usual, was too high. we discussed bp meds: i said "no," she said "we'll try it your way and see." i didn't feel we connected at all. as my daughter says, she didn't have much f a bedside manner. at all. but like i said, she did agree to try it my way and sent in a prescription for my diuretic. she also ordered me to track my bp at home and keep in touch with her. in her favor, no fat shaming. i told her about our history here: being on track for a healthier lifestyle, getting derailed, no working on coming back to it, so maybe that's why she didn't mention weight. or maybe there was a note in my file from my previous doctor. who knows. regardless, i'm grateful that didn't become an issue. i'll take a less personal doctor if it keeps me from having to defend myself against that bullshit.

i mean, it's not like i don't know i'm fat, right?

anyway, got my meds. saw my file and blood work through the office portal and realized that for some reason my asthma wasn't listed. i contacted her about that and let her know i needed a new emergency inhaler. she updated and got that in the same day as my contact. cost a damn fortune, but i have one now. in recent days, it's been cold and damp (well, wet; a lot of rain these last few months), which are my triggers. and, yea, i've already had to use it a few times.

i'm fine though. it helps that the weather is finally looking up, though we're still dealing with a lot of storms. my sinuses are sooooo unhappy right now. so, so, so unhappy.

anyway, soon after that, things started to go south pretty quickly. just as we were all starting to hear about the coronavirus, it was already affecting hub's job. eugene made in flight meals for delta, and as we all know, the airlines were the first to have their businesses hit by it. delta started canceling orders. the company tried to limp along, but in the end, it had to lay off its employees. we're not expecting it to come back, though it's not down yet. they have said that they will hire people back as soon as they can, we just don't see it happening.

a week later, alma furloughed its employees without pay. so just like that, hubs was out of work. he filed unemployment for eugene when it happened, but he hadn't been at alma that long. the good thing about fifth group, which alma is a part of, is is you make a good impression on your chefs, they watch your back. he was sent a couple of possible job opportunities almost immediately from a couple of chefs in the company.

and a week later, he had a new job in a place that makes ice cream for walmart and costco (i believe). but there were more than 10 people in the location he worked, and they worked closer than 6' apart, and wore little protective gear. still, he went...until a person he worked with closely called out because she'd been exposed. at that point he was out. between his own health and the fact that he has someone with a higher risk (me; asthma) at home. he called and quit.

and in the middle of all of this, oldest was also furloughed. she has one full time paycheck, and some pto. plus the company will be applying for unemployment for her. initially, hubs wanted her to look for a temp job to cover the time she's out of work. but once he got his close call, that was done: he texted me to tell her to stay home and ride this out.

we're fortunate: we're going to get help for at least a bit. but i'm worried about my other kids, jewel who works in a grocery store, and froggy who's in a warehouse for salad packs. lex has already been laid off his job since it was in a karaoke bar. froggy's boy (who needs a nickname at some point) is a trucker, so he's doing fine, and hopefully that means they're covered for awhile. but even if finances are covered, the health risks have me a bit crazy.

all that said, we're alive, we're well, and we're working our way through social distancing. for me, being home as much as possible isn't a big deal: i do it to take care of my kiddo. but phoenix is already sleeping more than not. and with hubs home now, i'm a bit worried about the two of them having issues (they really are more alike than they know). we've gone out to get groceries (beans, flour, and tp being the most difficult to find atm) but otherwise have stayed in. these first few days have been off kilter for obvious reasons, but i'm going to get kiddo and i back on track for our routines. i took a couple days off of lifting for emotional reasons, but i can't let the situation derail me yet again.

so...i might continue to be quiet for a bit. other than having everyone in the house, there's not likely to be much going on. we're alive, we're well, and we're grateful for that.