I first heard stirrings of a coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan China in about mid-January. I didn’t think much of it because there have been several virus outbreaks over the past 50 years, and we managed to survive them all with no interruption to our daily lives. In fact, I have never caught a single one of these viruses, and I know of no one else who has either.

So, as planned, I went on a Disney cruise with a friend from February 15-22 and all went on as usual. The only difference was a form we needed to fill out stating that we had not been to China and that we were not sick. Disney, of course, took great care in making sure everyone washed their hands before dining, and the ship was impeccably clean 24/7. However, this is standard for Disney, so all was normal. We had a great time and no one on the ship was concerned about a virus, much less an impending pandemic.

However, things changed dramatically over the next three weeks. Reports of cruise ships with outbreaks began popping up on the news, there were more and more cases of people in the U.S. contracting the virus, and by March 13th, schools began closing. Of course this was followed by the Great Toilet Paper Shortage, Shelter at Home policies, social distancing, work from home, lost jobs, curbside service, loss of personal services, cancelled appointments, and homemade masks.

And so, a new normal begins. For us that means Facetime with family and friends, grocery shopping every two weeks, with our homemade face masks, instead of on-demand. We also order curbside takeout for lunch the first Monday after every pay period. We cancelled planned trips. First, we cancelled the 90th birthday celebration of my father-in-law. It made no sense to celebrate his long life in the middle of a pandemic, possibly exposing him to the virus. We then cancelled the visit to our sons home to babysit our grand kids while he had a medical treatment done in another city. And finally, my sister, who planned a visit here with a few of her friends this week, cancelled her trip due to “safer at home” orders in place.

Another new normal, is getting outside when it’s easier to practice social distancing. For me, this means getting up at dawn when the rest of the world is still at rest. I use this time to heal my mind, body, and soul. I walk the beach admiring nature and beach artwork; I practice yoga, mediate, and pray for healing and answers. It is a very peaceful time to reflect on what is going on and how to adjust my mindset to this new situation. Below are signs of change including: the COVID-19 sign in front of my neighborhood, the roped off parking & playground at Bayfront Park, and the roped off entrance to the beach across from Bayfront Park.