To Mask or Not to Mask

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

First, I'm having a hard time believing we're in the 2nd half of 2021. I remember the 2nd half of 2020. You know, when we thought the covid pandemic was behind us. And it wasn't. So, we wore our masks and practiced social distancing and hoped it would be over soon.

Hubs and I became fully vaccinated--he in mid-February, me in mid-April. Now, all the adults in my immediate family are vaccinated, as is our 14-year-old granddaughter. Why was I so excited? Because now we could all get together without masks. We could hug each other. Can't believe how much I missed that physical touch. My sister and her husband are fully vaccinated. When they visited last week, we realized it had been two and a half years since we'd seen each other in person. Covid really messed up visitations.

If I'm fully vaccinated, why do I still wear a mask? Because there are too many people who aren't vaccinated. They could carry the virus. Consequently, I could carry the virus home to the four little ones who aren't old enough to be vaccinated. 

Doctors' offices, the hospital, the rehab facility where Hubs spent four weeks, all require mask wearing. The home health workers who visit us (to take care of Hubs) wear masks. They are vaccinated. If I go to the store (any store), I wear a mask. When I walk into a restaurant, I wear a mask.

Here in Michigan, our governor cancelled all the covid restrictions. Only those who aren't vaccinated are required to wear masks. How can I trust them? They are foolish not to get vaccinated. I know, it's their choice. But shouldn't their choice include what's best for all of us? On the news last night, the anchor said the only people who are hospitalized for covid aren't vaccinated.

I grew up in the 1950s when polio was the dangerous infection, easily spread like covid. And like covid, people died from polio. As soon as the vaccine was ready, my mother hustled us kids to get our shots. No question. 

When my kids were babies, I made sure they got their inoculations. Protecting them was my duty as a mother. No question.

I'll continue to wear a mask when I'm around people I don't know. How about you? Do you mask up?

#CovidVaccine and Weird Thoughts by Diane Burton

 Happy April 1st. No April Fool's Jokes from me today.

credit: banyanhill.com

Last week, I got my second covid shot. Whew! My husband got his almost two months ago. Since his health is not that good, I was very glad he was vaccinated. But I was sweating mine. Couldn’t wait to be protected. Besides the health concerns, I wanted/needed to hug my grandchildren.

When the announcement came last fall about a possible vaccine, my first thought was safety. Would the “government” force the drug makers into rushing the vaccine? Would the vaccine be safe? Would it be effective?

 

credit: gov.uk

While pondering this, I asked my go-to, favorite doctor (and family member) about the vaccine. He had been actively researching the whole situation since the beginning. He looked at the science. When he said we could trust the vaccine—and was first in line to get his—I was reassured.

 

credit: medicalnewstoday.com

Now comes the weird thoughts. Oh, I had them from the beginning because—well, I am a writer with an active imagination. We’ve all read paranormal and/or science fiction adventures about how a much-needed inoculation caused unexpected side effects. Like making all men (or females) sterile, so they had to go outside their planet searching for mates to repopulate the planet. And, of course, they came to Earth in search of that mate.

 

credit: NASA

Or, the inoculation caused paranormal talents to emerge. Like telepathy (communicating with others via the mind) or telekinesis (moving objects with the mind), pyrokinesis (controlling fire). What about psychometry (reading info from an object by touch)? Or bilocation (being in 2 places at once). That’s one busy people could use. Astral projection (separating mind and body in order to travel far distances with the mind only).

 

Wow. Wouldn’t some of those be cool!

 

psychometry credit: listverse.com

I’ll bet you’ve had some weird ideas, too. After all, we are writers. We have very active imaginations.

While waiting for my vaccine, I read or heard on the news that an amazing number of people weren’t getting the vaccine. With the virus killing over half a million Americans, why would people not get something to prevent it (or at least make it non-fatal)? Are they operating out of fear, distrust, or, in general, not getting preventive medicine?

 

Some people won’t go to the doctor for regular (preventive) checkups. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. They don’t take meds unless it’s critical. Men, in particular, are notorious for dismissing pain or other symptoms until, sometimes, it’s too late.

 

Distrust of the government. I’m a product of the 1960s, the generation that started questioning the Establishment. They didn’t always tell us the truth. Okay, they lied. I don’t need to give examples. That distrust carries over to today.

 

1963 credit: buzzfeed.com

Some people don’t get flu shots because they think they’ll get the flu, then they apply that to same reasoning to covid. According to medical resources, you don’t get the flu from the flu shot. You might get side effects that are similar but not the flu. Hubs and I were fortunate that we had no side effects from the covid vaccine. He got Moderna’s, and I received the one from Pfizer. I drank tons of water afterward and had no ill effects.

 

Until “herd immunity” is established, I’ll wear my mask and stay six feet or more away from people. But, I’ll get those hugs from my grandkiddies.

 

credit: Creative Commons

 

Moving On by Diane Burton

Two days ago, Lea Kirk wrote about how COVID’s shelter-in-place affected her family, especially her sons’ graduation. More than that how we need to keep moving forward. As our S-in-P nears its end (2 weeks, we hope), I feel like the Roman god Janus—whose statue is a 2-faced head, one looking forward and one looking behind.

I’m looking forward to a careful reopening of stores and restaurants, being able to visit with family and friends, getting hugs from my children and grandchildren—and getting a haircut. lol Since my son-in-law is a doctor, we’re more conscious of what’s happening locally with regard to the progression of cases. And how important it is not to rush the process for fear of a second wave.

At the same time, I look at what I’ve realized during the past nearly three months. I’m in awe of the courage of our healthcare professionals and first responders who’ve put their lives in jeopardy to take care of us, and I mourn those who succumbed to this dreaded virus. My heart aches for those whose financial security has been ripped away. I’ve been there three times in the past, frightened, terrified that we could lose our home and worried as bills overwhelmed us. Since we’re retired now, our financial situation hasn’t changed—if I don’t look at our retirement savings.

Some good things are happening because of S-in-P. Televisits with medical professionals have made it easier for follow ups and getting health advice. Grocery shopping (my least favorite occupation) has become easier with online ordering and curbside pickup. I’m aware this was available before, but Hubs never wanted to try it. He enjoyed shopping. Or maybe he just enjoyed getting out of the house. 😏

I never heard of Zoom and now my book group and writers’ group meet online. We used Zoom for the family to get together for our granddaughter’s 5th birthday party. Unfortunately we couldn’t have a piece of her cake, too. Another consequence of those Zoom meetings was discovering that my laptop’s webcam isn’t connected. Surprise! Zoom and other technologies are proving this old dog is capable of learning new tricks. Although our schools are closed, many new learning opportunities are available. Same with entertainment. Bringing Broadway and Stratford (Ontario) plays to our televisions provides us with opportunities we wouldn’t have otherwise. Church services on YouTube enriches our spirituality and helps us handle the stress of the quarantine. And FaceTime enables us to “visit” with our grandkids. Sure we had many of these opportunities before, but now they are necessary to maintain our closeness.

I have a new appreciation for our national and international scientists who strive to keep us informed and, hopefully, safer. I’m in awe of the strong governors, like Andrew Cuomo (NY) and our own Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan), who fight to keep us safe from the virus while fighting federal officials and gun-carrying rioters—without masks—threaten their lives and all of ours, too, by possibly spreading the virus. I thoroughly appreciate the ordinary people who quietly follow the guidelines to protect themselves and us, the volunteers who made (and continue to make) masks and protective gowns for those in need. A proud shoutout to my daughter and granddaughter (13) who are sewing and donating masks.

Yes, I’m more than ready for a return to normal. Just what will that “normal” will look like is unknown. In a way, it’s a lot like writing a novel. We know what we want to happen. For some of us it’s like driving in the fog. We can only see so far ahead. Even when we outline our plot, characters take us down paths we didn’t see and our stories turn out differently from what we imagined. So it is with our future post-COVID. Change is never easy. But we are stronger than we think. We will get through this and whatever Life throws at us.

Hang in there and stay safe.

When Every Day is Monday

By Maureen Bonatch

Many people have been off work or school since the coronavirus (COVID-19) quarantine. It’s resulted in some people feeling out of sorts because they’ve suddenly lost their routine. It’s as if every day has become the weekend, but even then they can’t maintain their routine prior to COVID-19.

I’ve worked full-time remotely for over a year now. There are a lot of benefits to working remotely, but there are also challenges. Besides focusing when everybody is at home, often the hours blend from day to night, and sometimes through the weekend.

Working in healthcare in a role related to education has resulted in me being busier than ever with work,. With no place to go, for me, and working more on the weekends, it’s almost as if every day has become Monday.

To remind those who feel like every day is the weekend, and for those who feel like every day has become Monday, here are a few of my favorite quotes to motivate you for the new week. 

Happy Monday

How Do You Keep Your Routine During Quarantine?

 

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook & Twitter

Be the first to know about Maureen’s book sales and new releases by following her on BookBub, Amazon and/or signing up for her newsletter

Coping In These Unusual Times by Diane Burton

Is anyone as mixed up as I am about days of the week? Hubs put out the trash a day early, and I'm almost a day late on this post. (I did remember to post for Insecure Writers Support Group today.)

I pray everyone is staying safe. Being at home for a month is a challenge, as I'm sure you know, especially if you have children. Working at home is nothing new for a writer. We joke about coming out of our cave after a lengthy writing session. Now, to protect ourselves and others, we hunker down in our cave. Thank goodness for social media that helps us connect with others. 

Darn Facebook.

As you can tell, I'm conflicted about Facebook. It keeps us in touch with family and friends. We get memes that make us laugh and lighten the tension. Then someone passes along false info. I'm careful to make sure I only share from reputable sites. I take the saying "consider the source" very carefully.

But FaceBook, like most social media, is a time suck. I tell myself I'll only check my profile page for a few minutes. An hour later . . . Well, I have to respond, don't I? Even if only an emoji. Then, I get upset when people turn it into politics. Please, not now. When this pandemic is over and we're all healthy again, that's when we can say what should have been done. Hindsight is 20/20. Still, we'll need to decide how we should proceed as a nation when something like this happens again.

What can we do? My colleagues here on Paranormal Romantics have given you so many great ideas:  Abigail Owens suggested what to do while we self-quarantine, Nancy Gideon told us how she's dealing with the anxiety we're all feeling, L.A. Kelley shared links to scientific discovery, Megan Slayer gave us something new to read,  Lea Kirk helped us laugh, and Elizabeth Alsobrook showed us how to make face masks. 

I can't do better. I'm having a hard time sticking with my writing. My mind is all over the place. As I said in my Insecure Writer's post, I haven't felt like this since 9/11. It's a national tragedy. We're inundated all day with news shows whose experts tell us what's happening around the country and what we can do.

Anxiety ramps up with each announcement from the reporters, from the White House, from the experts. I try not to watch too many news programs. Call me an ostrich as I hide my head in the sand or binge-watch movies or TV shows to escape. 

My heart goes out to those who've lost loved ones, who fear that they or their family will contract COVID-19, who've lost their jobs and worry how they will pay their bills. Amid all this anxiety, I thank the superheroes: the doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, and first responders. Let's not forget the grocery and drug store workers, those who work in restaurants where you can pick up a meal, and the truckers who bring much needed supplies. You all are the heroes of this war.

Stay safe. Stay at home unless you have an essential job. Please follow the guidelines to keep yourself and others safe. Who would've thought that handwashing and social distancing could defeat the unseen enemy?


We're in this for a long time. But, we're in this together. We can win the war.