Control + Alt + Delete

I was reminded last night that SARS touched Prince Edward Island in 2003 to the extent that I wrote about it here, and to the extent that the Chief Public Health Officer was issuing advisories about self-isolation for returning travelers. How quickly we forget.

This time around, with COVID-19, things are considerably escalated.

For our family, most prominently this means that the Stars for Life day program is suspending as of tomorrow, leaving Oliver to be at home for his days; fortunately, as he and I were ill last week (with a bonus non-COVID-19 illness, from which we’ve now both recovered), we’ve got a routine down, and our daily life will continue without much calamitous disruption.

Our pantry is well-stocked. It turns out that I’ve been hoarding tempeh for months now, so we’ve got enough soy protein to last us for a long time. I found out on the weekend that Purity Dairy not only sells its own milk and ADL butter, but also yogurt, meaning that with the dry goods we have already, and a weekly walk to Purity, we can likely make do without going to a larger grocery store for some time.

I’ve been a “remote worker” since 1996, so not only am I well-versed in it, but my remote colleagues and I are several hundred iterations into fine-tuning our remote workflow. The NHL may be cancelled, but Almanac.com will continue to hum along for all your “will the sun come up tomorrow?” needs.

Meanwhile, I’ve taken the morning to #CancelEverything: upcoming face-to-face meetings are either rescheduled for “when life returns to normal” or moved to virtual meetings via Zoom. The best advice seems to be that its prudent not only to avoid large groups, but to avoid cross-contaminating family groups, so even a dinner party with friends is no longer benign; that takes some getting used to, and involves a change in social protocols.

I realized that, as regards the world going to hell and people dying, I have a particular set of hard-wrought skills in this regard.

Here’s my best advice for you, a gift from Catherine, really, as it distills how she dealt with her uncertain times:

Ask yourself “right now, here, am I alive?”

If the answer is “yes,” then continue.