It has now been three months since we started our COVID-19 self-isolation to help flatten the curve. At first, I was eating too much so I decided to also fatten my own curves so I could avoid the Pillsbury doughboy look. I’ve come to accept that there will be no trips. shows and concerts this year. All but one has been canceled and I expect that one to be canceled when we get closer. I’ve enjoyed having our daughter’s family with us and seeing our Granddaughter every day. That is something I will really miss when they go home.

I’ve adjusted to going to Moorpark Presbyterian online. It has some definite advantages. As an Elder of the church, we are spending a lot of time (over Zoom) figuring out how to safely reopen for in-person services.

I have built and planted two raised garden beds with a combined planting space of 36′ x4′. I am working on a third bed that will be 28’x4′. Plus we have 13 15-gallon containers for squashes and melons, plus 6 Potato grow bags and 6 Sunchoke grow bags. I think we will be eating from the first plantings this week!

I have read 36 books in three months. Most of them are cheap SciFi space opera stories, but six have been serious works. The one that has made me think the deepest is “Waking Up White and finding myself in the story of race “Waking Up White” by Debby Irving.

There has been sadness. A cousin to who I was close died unexpectedly. The world seems darker without Kevin. A second cousin who was close to my age died. His Dad (My Dad’s Cousin) just turned 99. Along with so many others, I have watched the inexcusable murders of black people. Seeing the last 9 minutes of George Floyd’s life brought me to tears. Seeing Ahmaud Arbery murdered after visiting a construction site really brought home the differences between black lives and mine. There is not a house built in my neighborhood in the 1990s and the 2000s that I did not “Inspect” regularly. I have come to the realization that it is not enough to be non-racist, I need to be anti-racist. The book “White Awake” by Daniel Hill is helping me figure out how – as a follower of Jesus – what steps I need to take.

We have learned a lot about COVID-19 in the last three months. Unfortunately not enough. There is still no national strategy. We are still experiencing just under a thousand deaths a day. I pray for those affected families. Fortunately, there are many promising vaccines under development. Over 160 at last count. I am disappointed that some people have made wearing masks a political statement instead of recognizing that wearing masks is one of the most effective things that we can do to slow the spread. It worked in 1918. It will work now.

I have grown to like my Governor. I did not vote for Newsom, but his calm, science base, fact-filled COVID-19 briefings and measured reopening plans have made me a supporter.

So life goes on. I miss getting together with my friends, but that will happen again.

Click for more of my musing about the COVID-19 Pandemic