Pandemic 2020

Life is certainly different these days, isn't it? Welcome to the Pandemic.

Society is virtually shut down. Human interaction is reduced to waving at people from six feet away, calling and texting, and--most importantly--inundating social media with our endless wisdom concerning things we know very little about. We call it "sharing."

Mark and I are currently parked in Valdosta, Georgia. We are decidedly disappointed that we were unable to visit the Disney World parks we were so looking forward to. It is a reminder that, as the Good Book says, "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." (Proverbs 16:9)
It is also a reminder of how quickly life can go from normal to difficult, and how little control we have over it. Fortunately, our tickets will still be honored the next time we make it back to Florida.

Before we left Florida, we had a new roof put on by Elite RV in Palmetto. They did a beautiful job. We decided to put on a FlexArmor roof rather than the standard original roofing. It has a life-time guarantee and at least twenty years before we have to worry about maintaining the top coat. We'll probably be dead by then--or at least the RV will be. Either way, we are looking at a maintenance free roof for all intents and purposes. One less thing to worry about. Our insurance company paid out almost the entire cost of it-- all to repair a small little hole from an unyielding pine tree branch back in the fall of last year.

While our RV was being serviced, we took advantage of a Thousand Trails gift stay in a cabin at the Orlando RV Park in Clermont. The cabin was quite cozy, except for one thing-- the mattress on the bed was wrapped in heavy plastic! I get it, I suppose. Nobody wants to sleep on a soiled mattress. But if you've ever tried to sleep on plastic, I need say no more. I ended up stripping the bed and putting down a spare blanket between the mattress and the sheet, which made it somewhat more comfortable. The next day, Mark and I made a trip to Walmart and purchased an "egg-carton" pad and a padded mattress cover to put over it. Word of warning to anyone considering renting a Thousand Trails cabin-- ask for one with central air, and take a mattress cover with you. Otherwise they are quite well-stocked with towels, pillows (though not very cushy), dishes and cookware.

A walk down to the lake at Orlando RV Park

Taking in the calm

As with many other states around the country, Georgia has declared a "Stay-at-home" rule beginning tomorrow. So we'll be staying home, of course. The stay-at-home order is for ten days. We're still mulling over whether or not to break the rule and continue to visit the kids & grandkids, at least on occasion. It's a risk, but the plain truth is, life itself is a risk. Everything we do must be weighed against the potential harm of doing it.

As much as possible, we'll be following our plans going forward unless something out of our control derails them.

Our prayers go out to all our friends and family for God's providencial care over you all, especially those who are faced with a reduced income or none at all because of a mandatory shutdowns-- and those who may still be stuck outside of the country. As someone shared recently, "eventually the clouds run out of rain."

Until the storm passes over...

Stay well!