So, we spent a couple of weeks in Florida at the end of February and headed home March 1.

There were 60 cases in the United States at this point and cruise ships had developed an even more negative reputation as virus hotbeds and given the number of ports in Florida, we thought we should get out of the state while it was still open. Little need for worry on that front as their governor basically kept beaches open as much as possible

I was anxious to get home as I had a relative in intensive care as a result of an extremely high temperature from Type A flu. Arriving home we did all the normal things that first week of March including visiting my relative in the hospital, getting haircuts, going out to a restaurant for breakfast, having lunch to catch up with friends, going to church, etc.  We also got back into the routine of hitting our health club several times a week.

This was also the time when toilet paper jokes, which particularly seemed to appeal to the male sense of humor, were making the rounds and kept Ross and his friends amused.

And it was probably the start of some unusual grocery shopping for me which during the next few weeks led to a pantry overflow.  Starting out with a “normal” grocery list, I found my usual haunt to be low on several items  particularly, and amazingly, ketchup. Since this is one of my major food groups, suffice it to say I was distressed. It later became more important than Clorox wipes, or paper towels, or toilet paper. Other “emergency” staples were beans, peanut butter, and tuna fish.

We were starting to think seriously about all this around March 11 when we decided not to attend the upcoming high school play in which two of our grandchildren were performing. Our thoughts were mostly on my relative in the hospital whom we were visiting frequently and not wanting to accidentally carry something to him.  The play, however, was cancelled anyway a few days later. By Sunday, March 15, all the restaurants in our area were ordered closed for inside seating and schools were shut down the following week. And so it began.

The last half of March started with the funeral of a dear friend on March 16 who had been ill for several months. Attending was a concern because of the virus warnings but we basically ignored that. The day after the funeral, local hospitals imposed a one-visitor rule and the day after that, no visitors were allowed. This created additional stress as now we could no longer visit our relative who was still recovering from a severe case of the flu and who was then moved to a totally new and strange rehab center without any visitors. How dreadful and anxious it must be for hospitalized coronavirus patients and their families.

Our main outing was to a grocery store on March 16 and the meat section was totally empty. If toilet paper or Clorox wipes were available, they were limited to one per person. The other item in short supply was cans of soup; no chicken noodle or mushroom soup. We made a mistake during this period and that was going to a local grocery store during senior citizen hour. What a madhouse of aging boomers. So we won’t repeat that.

Our total state lockdown was announced at end of the day March 19. Nationwide there were just over 14,000 cases of COVID-19. I made one last trek out to a local scrapbook store that day to stock up for the duration.

So now we’re at the point of walks outside when the weather is decent, dragging out what amount of strength training equipment we have, and checking out online workout videos. We have good intentions but really, really miss going to our health club, By March 22, there are 31,000 cases.

And we really, really miss seeing kids and grandkids but have done some face time.

We begin to tackle jobs around the house that have been avoided for several years. First up is sorting through boxes in storage in the basement. We moved three years ago and these boxes have been there, unopened, ever since. We tried to palm off some things to the kids but they aren’t Interested so a small amount goes back in storage and the rest is boxed up for donation .

By March 27, we led the world with 97,000 coronavirus cases.  We try to listen to the medical people when they appear on television and also try to catch Governor Andrew Cuomo’s daily updates on the virus in New YorK.

Near the end of the month, I’ve switched to sorting through boxes I’ve kept since my mother passed away in 2016. I started with her recipe boxes and find a recipe for soap.

And about a dozen or so recipes for pickles. So these should stand us in good stead during the quarantine.

We have a bicycle trip scheduled in June for northern Italy and are fairly certain it will be cancelled but wait for confirmation from the travel company. Italy has been overwhelmed with coronavirus cases and especially so in the northern part of the country.

By the end of March there are 181,000 cases in the U.S. and Trump extends the shutdown to April 30.