I realize that it has been awhile since my last post. I would love to say that I have been so busy that I just haven’t had the time, but I don’t like to lie. In truth, Trace and I have both been dealing with this new norm of sheltering in place and keeping social distances. Trace continues to work from home, but as I mentioned in my last post, I have been furloughed from Magnolia. That’s the tough part. I actually miss the countless daily social interactions I get from working there. It’s tough being cooped up in this apartment all day, everyday. We did find a local park in Woodway that has a 0.4 mile track around it. So I have been able to keep up with my race walking (while maintaining the appropriate social distancing), and Trace walks there as well, albeit at a bit slower pace. Thank God for these parks!!
But, in our McLennan County we have been at 76 total COVID cases for the past 4 days. So maybe we are finally seeing a flattening of the curve out here and hopefully we can soon start to begin the return to normalcy, or some sort of pseudo-normalcy at least. I do believe that face masks may be a part of that pseudo-normalcy for the foreseeable future. Trace and I have both been wearing these when we go grocery shopping. But I have heard that here in Texas, they may make these masks a requirement any time you venture outside. Not sure I want to wear one when I am race walking. So far, I haven’t had to, but that may change.
Our son, Will is still doing ok in NYC. But he has been sheltering in place a whole lot longer than we have here in Texas. And obviously, the situation is a whole lot worse out there. He is basically stuck in his apartment. He does not own a car (never needed it in NYC) but now he cannot even ride the subway as they have restricted it to essential (a.k.a. healthcare workers, etc.) only. They have closed all the parks around him and he cannot leave his apartment unless he is donning a face mask. At least for us here in Texas, we can take a drive in our car just to get out of the apartment. He cannot even do that. My heart goes out to him out there. We ended up sending him some toilet paper and face masks, as he could not get either within walking distance of where his apartment is in Brooklyn, and trying to get them online is another challenge in itself. I know he is getting cabin fever as he has been calling and/or face-timing us everyday!
But on a happier note, they have broken ground on our house. Believe it or not, construction projects are deemed essential here in Texas, as are the gun stores and liquor stores! Only in Texas!!! Anyway, we are hoping to be in our new house by Christmas 2020 (fingers crossed).
So to whittle away the hours while I am not working, I have taken up doing jigsaw puzzles, and have started getting back into my photography again. I’m attaching some of my pics below.
