Things here in Maryland are quite similar and you put words to my own personal handwringing, I feel like we’re living in some sort of horrific B-grade disaster movie about a failing government and insufficient medical system and what will society look like after this passes?
Also, three kids home and a husband working from home, crafts and forced reading/whatever random shit the county puts online for the kids to do but they can’t because they need an actual teacher to explain the common core approach to it. I have a freezer full of food and high risk parents to worry about. I’m glad it’s vaguely sunny here and not freezing so that we can at least go outside and walk around and wave sort of obliviously at neighbors like we’re in some sort of victorian-era pleasantville-movie. Suffice to say, I’m losing my fucking mind over here and it’s like day one of no-school for two weeks but of course that’s gonna go longer and what about everything ?
Goddamn I need a pill or something.

We are good! So far. Except for the part where I just got an email saying a fellow member of our of congregation has whooping cough and we all may have been exposed. Our church shut down quickly as the coronavirus spread—canceling all meetings and activities until further notice for over a week now (our school just shut down today and the public library will shut down tomorrow) but this is a fun and unexpected surprise.

I am trying not to lose it. I am a high school special ed. teacher in Ohio and I have spent the last few days trying to figure out how to provide lessons and interventions online. I am also trying to personally contact all of my kids and families and I am not having the best of luck. I also have an angry college-aged freshman at home who is constantly telling us how unfair this all is as well as a snarly 16 year old son who thinks his online lessons are all “stupid”. Going to be a fun time for all….sigh…

As a longtime Stephen King and The Walking Dead fan, I’m not amused.
I went into my office today, the law school of University of South Carolina, for the last time for at least a few weeks, if not the end of the semester, and it all just feels surreal so far. I guess I’m grateful for the husband’s redneck doomsday prepper general attitude of the last few years now?

I got laid off today and everybody is assuring me it’s because of the virus. And yet it’s so hard not to take it personally. Our town has shut down. Everything is closed. My kid’s birthday is in two days and I am feeling so shellshocked from all this crazy stuff happening around us, it doesn’t feel festive. I am so goddamn numb. I am scared my kids will notice the facade I am working so hard to keep up.

Here too. Only no kids just elders relying on me to take care of them cause I’m the healthiest of everyone around them. No pressure.

I’m an RN in Virginia and thankfully our part of the state hasn’t started lighting up with positives….yet. I feel very much like I’m standing on the shore just watching an approaching Tsunami and helpless to get away. I figure we’ve got about a week before things start to really fall apart here. I’m also stress baking a lot…my husband is in the group ‘most likely to have reeeeeaaaaallly bad outcomes’if he gets sick, so I’m also trying really hard to be okay with the likelihood of having to stay up by the hospital I work at and away from our house and my kids so I can keep him safe. It’s just a really weird time. I really hope things can eventually return to a semblance of normal by summer.

I swear panic was laying on the horn today. Yes, you’ve captured this awful surreal anxious feeling so well. Ugh.

I’m currently writing this from my cube farm lol. Please post every day to distract me from …. all of this.

You captured the mood alright. My college aged daughter is idled mid-semester and full of little bitches about her world in general. I am encouraging both of the elderly parents to self isolate in an abundance of caution. My semi retired husband is just business as usual, cutting grass and puttering. My job can be done from home, but I am filling in for a vacationing HR manager, so I am here at the plant in her capacity the rest of the week at least. Just watching the world around me grind to a halt…

Here in the midwest things are slowly grinding to a halt. the teenager has 3 weeks off but I’m torturing him with things to do. Today it is baking me a cake. Tomorrow is dinner for the family. Working from home is interesting as I’m in manufacturing. Everything is shut down. So, I’m doing shit I can’t get done during my normal week.

I’ve laid awake most nights this week, stressing about work deadlines that are not halting even though my kids are home for a while. My parents-in-law just came to live with us and my FIL is terminally ill. Plus, you know, just a regular old pandemic going around. BUT…I’m so grateful that my kids are old enough to mostly entertain themselves while I work from home. My MIL has been cooking for us. My oldest has taken to doing yoga videos with me. My youngest was delighted with the leprechaun visit for St Paddy’s day that my oldest orchestrated. I’ll take the little moments of joy and carry on!

So, so sorry Jill. I hope things look up for you soon.

We are cancelling my son’s 12 year old birthday party, which makes him sad and EVEN moodier, which makes us moodier … etc.

I feel like I’m living in a science fiction movie.