Decisions, Decisions

The Indiana governor announced today that he will move all of the state into Phase 4 meaning that bars and theaters will be opening at 50% capacity and restaurants will be allowed to serve at 75% capacity.  Social gatherings also will be allowed to move up from 100 to 250 people.  All of this would sound fine to us if we lived in Bloomington as the town has been strict about following the governor's orders through the separate stages including social distancing, outdoor seating at restaurants and mask wearing.  Around here it has been a different story.  Although a lot of families are still "following the guidelines," many in our county and the neighboring ones have gone back to life as usual with large social events and jam packed restaurants.  This has shown in the increased number of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 in Kosciusko, Elkhart and Noble counties.  Health administrators in each of these areas have tried to inform the public of their risky behaviors, but the message doesn't seem to be getting through.  Elkhart county has even asked the governor to keep their citizens in Phase 3 for at least another week as they sort through the numbers including the fact that their positivity rate went up 350% in the last month.

All of this information has made it challenging for Doug and I to make decisions about what to do with the family members in our house.  From the very beginning I have been nervous about getting COVID-19, not becuase I think it will kill me, but because of my experience with pleurisy which is another lung inflamation disorder caused by a virus.  I have had it four separate times and the last event was horrible complete with a trip to the hospital.  If the coronavirus is the same or worse than pleurisy than I definitely do not want it.  Thus, we will have some to give some thought as to when Cal can return to the bar life, how Cam will get to visit his friends at Bethany, when Meg should go swimming at Jackie's, how to go to mass safely or if we should partake in social events such as graduation open houses.  The stress of this can be overwhelming at times.  It gets harder when others throw out their opinions without understanding our thoughts.  It is extremely nice, however, that Cam, Meg and Doug have been diligent from the beginning on keeping our home environment a safe one for me.  Dr. Fauci said last week that this will all come to an end.  I know he's right, but some days it just doesn't feel like it.