Homebound: life amid coronavirus pandemic

I was browsing through a TN magazine when this poem caught my eye. It won third place in a poetry contest for people age 14-18.

To Be A Selfish Sympath
Hamsa Javagal

China’s distraught and in a panic
While more are reported “dead”.
Spreading uncontrolled and rapidly,
Their pleas for help, misread.

No solution reported from China
Leads to Italy’s despair.
Once a small and petty problem,
Now an international nightmare.

Still, no worries come from us-
Our alarms are left on snooze.
We know of no Coronavirus
Except for the one in the news.

But soon the US confirms its first case-
The affirmation seeming surreal.
It’s when the virus could possibly affect us
That problems become a big deal.

Big deal is a massive understatement! I read today's news on Covid-19 that global cases have reached 4,024,737 and 34% of those cases are in the U.S. alone! We knew about the problem back in January, yet we did not take precautions, and … here we are.

Those who follow us on this blog know we live aboard our boat Mai Thai on the Tennessee River. Our marina is located in a rural area with a population of a mere 650! Still, our county instituted a 2 week curfew April 8. We've stayed homebound since we got back to Tennessee in mid March, venturing out for groceries every two weeks. The lockdown has not affected us as much as others. We're homebodies who love to cook and bake.

Banana bread with cranberries

We practice social distancing when hanging out with boater friends in the open spaces at the marina. We are grateful we could fish, boat and kayak even when quarantined.

So far 2020 has not been kind. Tennessee experienced flooding and tornado outbreaks (Nashville in March, Chattanooga in April) amid the pandemic. Spring has been beautiful with pockets of wintry temperatures of high 30s and low 40s at night. The mallard duck came back to our flower pot to lay eggs, incubate and hatch 5 ducklings, much to our delight. Unfortunately, after a couple of days, the ducklings were  nowhere to be seen.

Apr 16: Five ducklings hatched on a chilly morning

Apr 7: Lovely bleeding hearts bloomed early

Mar 30: High water in Chattanooga waterfront

Mar 30: Chattanooga downtown was a ghost town

Mar 30: aisle with empty shelves (paper goods and cleaning supplies)

We're glad businesses are now opened, albeit operating at lower capacity, and people are back to work. We miss shopping, visiting with friends, hiking at the state parks, all the stuff we do in our normal everyday life.  For now, we'll be good and stay put, waiting patiently for the deadly coronavirus to go away.

We believe wearing a mask will help mitigate the spread of Covid-19. There is an excellent article about the risks and how to avoid them here. Be safe and stay healthy!

This post is shared on Through My Lens, Our World Tuesday and Image-in-ing.

Updated 11/19/20: Due to popular demand, I have included a link to the banana bread recipe.

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