Aging Through Covid-19, March 30, 2020 – Series Intro Post

Little Steps Poster ©Felipe Adan Lerma
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It seems an extraordinary length of time since my last blog post (SilverSneakers workouts online), especially considering all that’s transpired in our lives.

I wish I had a better excuse/reason for not posting, but I just couldn’t get myself to.

First I was simply overwhelmed, my wife & I actually, with tentatively stockpiling food and hygiene items we might need “if” we needed them, while continuing fitness classes and seeing the youngest grandchild as able.

Then it was going to 1 or more stores per day for durable goods, plus replenishing produce to extend more than a couple of days, having gotten comfortable for years buying as needed, on demand, or also known as in-time. It was beginning to be obvious, even if all turned out less serious than expected. Plus, with rumors of gyms closing, among a vastly reduced number of people going and increased # of sanitary wipes round most every corner inside, we stepped up our pace to the gym and fitness classes.

Finally stores started closing. The gyms closed. Grocery stores began shortening hours to allow their employees time to both rest & restock. Restaurants closed. Bookstores closed. Small businesses, then larger big boxes, closed. Amazon began hiring thousands of workers for its warehouses, and restricted delivery of non medical and non-household products by vendors to those warehouses. The news became a contest of what was true, why things weren’t being mobilized, and the fight in congress heated up in a hurry to bailout large affected businesses with negotiations for an amount to all the workers suddenly being laid off indefinitely.

People began dying in numbers we’d only seen from other countries, or in moments of extreme violence.

It’d all been predicted, but not prepared for.

It was a shock.

All the while, the schools closed in Austin. UT shut down, going online. SXSW was cancelled.

Though generally healthy, but in the target age group for most vulnerable, Sheila and I had early on began practicing social distancing. We also ate well, better even. More veggies. More sleep – can’t tell you what a blessing that’s been for me, lol! 😊

Scheduled and got in one more overnight with the 7 year old, then shut down.

A sore throat I had worsened, but no fever. A cough wanted to start, but didn’t. Reluctantly, I saw my primary care doctor. I knew from literally a lifetime of respiratory problems I had an infection. Typically I’d wait til I knew I couldn’t fight it off any longer, then went to the dr. This time I went early, when I felt the first tickle of infection wanting to leave my sinuses and throat and drop into my bronchiole tubes, and my doctor confirmed what I instinctively knew, prescribed me antibiotics and a strong cough medicine, the latter for as needed, and last night and today are the best I’ve felt in a couple of weeks ❤️

Our children in Austin want us to stay put & they’ll bring us whatever we might need —

Sheila and I are beyond fortunate! 💕

So, if I am able, I’ll be doing this theme for a bit – Aging Through Covid-19.

I’ll be more brief, I hope, than this post 😊 and change topics – sometimes about my art, or our fitness efforts, or simply ruminating. It seems, if I’m also lucky, I’ll have more time ☺️

I’ll provide links to either useful (fitness, safety, mindfulness), uplifting, or informative articles about what’s being learned about this virus, treatments being tested, and such.

But no blame pieces, lol 😂

We’re all in this together, whether we like it or not.

There’s plenty of sites that blame others, point fingers, are genuinely angry.

Nothing wrong with that. If the information sparking blame or angry is true. I read some. I gloss over some. I ignore some.

We’ll either make it through this, or not. I’m working on the assumption we will. 💕

Each time I post while doing this series (may it be a short series, but if so, for positive reasons 😊), I’ll post one or more links to posts I feel are worth seeing or reading. Some will be COVID-19 specific, some just uplifting, some encouraging via exercise or nutrition etc, but all within the rubric of what we’re all facing tougher ❤️

Stay well everyone!

Adan

Suggested link, more open access books at the Library of Congress – https://the-digital-reader.com/2020/03/29/library-of-congress-expands-its-collection-of-open-access-ebooks/ via a great books/internet digest via Nate! 😊

Do you have good, positive, useful or encouraging info to share? Please post in the moderated comments below 😊

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Thanks again, everyone! 😊

Adan

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