Back Home and Self-Quarantining (MAR 14 & 23)


What a relief to get home during the night and wake up in our own bed this morning!

We succeeded in enjoying a lot of things we did, but increasingly present in our default thinking was all the ways the COVID-19 crisis might intersect us. We tried not to talk about it too much, but we knew what each other was thinking.

We are now self-quarantining for at least a week. At the end of that period it will be two weeks since we left Mexico. Our safety margin is actually longer since none of the ports where we went ashore since February 28 have not yet had a case of COVID-19 according to an online tracking map. The ship also passed stricter than usual health inspections when we entered Mexico and again when we docked in San Diego.
- - - MARCH 23 UPDATE BEGINS - - -

Revised Post-Trip Self-Quarantine End Date

 We are now well into our second week of self-quarantining.  With the relief of being home quickly followed the decision to calculate our two-week self-quarantine period from the date we last had direct contact with the public.  Doing so reset the date through Friday, March 27.  I am not sure for the foreseeable future that being off post-trip self-quarantine will physically be much different from general self-quarantine, but mentally it may provide some sense of freedom. 

Multiple references to quarantining prompts me to add the following:

Quarantine!


"The year was 1348, and the bubonic plague once again was spreading its black pall of death over Europe. Venice, one of Italy’s most important ports, lost 600 citizens in a single day. The Venetian Council frantically sought a means to protect their city, and ordered the Doge (their senior-most elected official) to command all incoming ships to remain at anchor, and traders to remain outside the walls, for quaranta giorni, or “forty days.” The number was no accident; according to the Bible, Christ himself had spent forty days in the wilderness cleansing himself and preparing for his ministry. Forty days, they said, was a divine number."    
(by Joseph A Tringali)

- - - MARCH 23 UPDATE ENDS - - -

We will go out for walks and drives, but not go into any home, enter any public building, use gas pumps, ATMs, etc. and most definitely not have direct contact with anyone. 

We recognize that self-quarantining protects us as well as our community. 

Our house is always well-provisioned.  Friends are offering to do grocery shopping for us. We are utilizing Peapod, Amazon and other sources to have supplies delivered.  I just got back from picking up some fresh produce and dairy products at Kathy's house, waving at her through her storm door. Counter-balancing all the incoming wealth of provisions is the need for a post-cruise diet.

So here we are, comfortably ensconced and planning to get a lot done around the house and online. We have movies to watch and books to read.  Could it be that self-quarantining will expire too soon? Maybe not. Remember that I quantified it as “at least a week” without stipulating the conditions under which we might extend it. Maybe we will need longer to complete a recuperative staycation after our stressful vacation. Time will tell.

We are grateful to be home. We are grateful to be healthy.  We are grateful for all of you who kept us in your thoughts.  We are grateful to everyone working to mitigate this international health crisis and all the harm it is causing.

Be well. Be safe.

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