News at Home: Why toilet paper?
So this COVID situation is madness. Of course, it makes sense to take precautions, but what’s the deal with the toilet paper y’all?! I swear, there’s some marketing genius over at Charmin or Scott who got this run on toilet paper started. I mean, toilet paper was invented in 1857 (I just googled it). That means that for the majority of human history they did not have toilet paper. And, frankly, water is healthier and better for the environment… that’s why many foreign countries (and wealthy) have made the switch to bidets. So this run on toilet paper is just ridiculous.
Toilet paper aside, I really look forward to the time where we can say this is all behind us. My husband is so terrified and won’t listen to reason. To ease his fears, I was one of the masses out on Friday buying necessities to last us (specifically Dante) for weeks if things shut down. And I ordered everything for pickup, so I wouldn’t have to go inside much. But I had to go into a couple stores because yeah, no one had toilet paper! I managed to snag 8 rolls, which should last us a few weeks. But good lord, how ridiculous is it that I couldn’t get toilet paper and there was plenty of soap? Are people even paying attention?
Do we need to be careful? Of course. Does it make sense to avoid large gatherings? Yes. Please, wash your hands and cover your mouth when you sneeze/cough (and not just for COVID, but all the time). But my husband acts like we should never leave the house again. He doesn’t hear me when I tell him that babies are very low-risk statistically. And he doesn’t understand why I’m willing to take Dante to daycare still. I have to work – and while my job may be moving me to work from home next week (I hope not, BTW. I don’t encounter many people at my job and I don’t do well feeling trapped at home), I cannot get work done while watching Dante. It is pretty fascinating to work at a research hospital, where I’m in frequent communication with some of the most prominent epidemiologists in the US, though. And I guess I feel pretty confident, because I’m getting twice daily updates on the situation from a world-class hospital (my job).
All this is hitting at the worst time for me emotionally (not that there’s a GOOD time). But I have suddenly been hit with a pretty real case of Post Partum Depression. I just really got hit with the how overwhelming the past year has been – moved 2 times, pregnancy, giving birth, new job, raising an infant – and I haven’t really felt like I’ve had a true break in 6 months. So I’m exhausted and it’s just hard. I love Dante so much and feel terribly guilty for feeling this way, which is why I have a therapy appointment tomorrow (now converted to a FaceTime appointment thanks to COVID). I know I’ll be okay, but the stress of COVID and potentially being trapped at home really is bad timing. I enjoy my commute. I like working. Work is a break for me and sometimes I wish I could go over the weekend.
Anyway, all that to say, I’m so over COVID and 2020. Let’s get this shit over with! Stay healthy, stay safe, stay calm.
Blog News
I’ve been working a lot these past couple weeks as we have a grant application due at the end of the month and the project manager has been out for 3 weeks. This week I sort of became interim project manger. So by noon Friday I had 40 hours… as in, I skipped a lot of lunch breaks. We’ll see how things go this week, between COVID (and potentially working from home) and lunch time nutrionist and therapy appointments, I may not make it on the blog much. I’m hoping life will get back to normal in April (at least from a work/blog perspective. I doubt COVID will be over, unfortunately.
Last Week on the Blog
- [9 Mar] Tell Me Something Tuesday: Do You Enjoy Anthologies?
- [10 Mar] Monthly Book Report ~ Month 2 of Year 2020 ~ I’ve been MIA but the month was good.
- [11 Mar] Waiting on Wednesday ~ Next in Series and The last Book
- [14 Mar] #MyTBRL ~ My Spooky Book Winner is, I can’t wait to read it!
- [15 Mar] Sunday Post with Berls | Why toilet paper?!
UGH! It’s crazy out there and it’s only going to get worse. I hope you and your family stay safe and healthy. And find all the TP you need! xo
I’m also looking forward to when we can put this behind us. I don’t get the toilet paper thing either. The virus isn’t a stomach thing.
I don’t get the whole tp thing. Maybe if this was like ebola but it’s respiratory. What do people think is going to happen?? I’m so sorry to hear about the PPD and so glad to hear you’ve already made an appointment with a therapist. I hope you are able to figure out a way to work in a break for yourself if you have to switch to working from home. The main thing to remember is your sanity is more important then just about anything so if there’s something that isn’t necessary that would prevent you from being able to take a minute to relax then let it go for a bit.
That’s neat that you work where you can get the down lo right from the health professionals themselves. I don’t blame you for needing a break. I do wonder sometimes why some products are hoarded while others that are even more necessary are still readily available.
Wishing you well through your post-partum blues, Berls!
I get it. I’m anxious and I’m almost never anxious. I think this is only the beginning. But I know the stay at home is short term at best, even 3-4 months sounds great to me. I like myself. I have plenty of projects I want to do. I can interact online. I’m more than happy to just stay home. I love to travel too but I won’t be doing it soon. Plus reading and projects can get accomplished.
I am so happy you love your new job and hope you can keep with it, being careful. Remember you have people out here who love you and can interact even if you can’t go out for a short time. Have a safe and healthy week!
Anne – Books of My Heart Here is my Sunday Post
I can see being prepared but this madness is stupid. Just like you said take all the TP and leave the soap! Um, they are saying to wash your hands regularly, not wrap yourself in TP. 😉
Hope you get to feeling more up beat and don’t let them baby blues get to you, but I can’t really say much as I don’t know anything about that stuff. 🙂 *hugs*
Have a great week and happy reading!
Stormi ox
So, our family is large…There are seven of us. I stay at home and homeschool so we’re pretty secluded from people. But, I get your struggle. We like to do playdates and whatnot…It’s awful, the thought of being stuck at home indefinitely.
Because we have a big family, we tend to always have a large stock of food and supplies on hand. But, you know, sometimes, you need milk or produce. It’s crazy how everyone’s gone over all this!
I don’t know if you’re one who may not take stock in this, so I don’t mean to offend, but I’m praying for you and your post-partum depression. I never went through it, but I have some very dear friends who did, and I can completely sympathize. And you are so wonderful for taking the steps needed to help yourself!
And, just remember to give yourself a little grace and know that you are still a wonderful mother!
I hope you guys all make it through this time unfazed by sickness and whatnot! What a crazy time this is!
I think a lot of people are scratching their heads over the toilet paper outages. I mean, it’s a respiratory virus… not a stomach bug. So why the obsession with t.p? Geez. Sorry to hear about the PPD. That’s rough. But kudos to you for being so proactive and setting up a therapy appointment! Hopefully you can continue going into the office and using daycare.
I’m done with 2020 too. The entire year has been one stress after another and I’m so freakin’ tired of it. This COVID outbreak just makes things so much worse. For what it’s worth, people in the UK are freaking out too (yep, toilet paper is the hot commodity but so is soap and hand gel) but our government is being incredibly well measured in its response which is getting nothing but rage from the overreacting population… Fun times.
Work wise I’m the project manager frantically trying to ensure the outputs I need delivering by the end of the month are delivered while people are panicking and “self-isolating”. It’s giving me migraines. Luckily my team is sensible and pretty solid so I’m sure we’ll get there… And if we get the call to shut the office then stuff will be late. Not our fault. We tried, you know?
Good luck with the coming week(s)! I hope things work out for you and you get the support you need. Post-partum depression/baby blues/anxiety all suck majorly and being isolated does not help. 🙁