This week's post is going to be pretty different than you are probably used to when you come to this page. Any readers that are coming back may be surprised. If you stumbled onto my page today for the first time just know that I usually have a much lighter approach to my writing every week. Typically I like to make this page a place to escape from the real world. I like to write about personal experiences and teach a positive lesson and throughout the entire post I usually have a fairly positive and almost cheery way of talking about things. I will not be doing that today. I have witnessed a lot of craziness this past week and quite frankly I need a place to write down my thoughts. Hopefully by the end of this post I can encourage a little positivity during this crazy time right now.

It is no secret that the world is a very crazy place right now. I am not going to go all into details about the coronavirus. You basically cannot go twenty minutes without hearing about it these days so I will save that information for the news sites to share with you and keep you well informed. What I can talk about is fear. I would be lying if I said I wasn't fearful to be alive during this pandemic. In a sense it is fear of the unknown. Will I get the virus? More importantly will my parents that are technically considered elderly (sorry Mom and Dad I know you don't want to admit it but you are 😉) going to get it and what will that mean? One of the other larger concerns of mine is if we will have enough food to get through a quarantine if need be. The thing I am most fearful of is what fear has done to people.

Now I know this is going on to different extents all over the world right now so I don't need to describe it much, but to give a small recap of my week. I stopped for some extra toilet paper on Tuesday which was lucky because it was cleared from the shelves by Wednesday. On Thursday I stopped at the grocery store by work only to find the shelves nearly empty. I went to grabbed some canned foods and such for my parents and I just so we had some food in the house. Not an excessive amount by any means. The pasta was almost cleaned out. Any affordable brand of pasta sauce was cleared out except for the store brand that I was able to reach way at the top of the shelf only because I am 5'10 and was wearing my boots with a slight heel on them. Canned fruits, canned vegetables, bread, rice, beans, etc. all had next to nothing on the shelves. I had to buy peanut butter off of Amazon because the stores had none. It quite literally felt like I was walking in a scene of a move. By Friday I received a text around lunchtime from my boss's wife who was basically in tears because the store was next to empty and she needed food to feed her three kids that will likely not have school during the coming weeks. She was able to go to a different store and get some food, and was even kind enough to call and grab anything I might still need because the shelves were emptying fast. 

This madness seems unreal honestly, but all it does is anger me. The store shelves wouldn't look the way they do if people were only buying for their needs. The entire country should not be panic buying anything. Think of all the underprivileged families, elderly people, people who are working 3 jobs and haven't been able to go to the grocery store all week. Think about the ones who have half the amount of food in their house because by the time they could get to a store everything was gone. I beg every single one of you reading this to think about SOMEONE OTHER THAN YOURSELF! Fear is making people do some crazy things right now. Fear has overtaken so many of us. Fear is the route to all of these issues. I am not saying you are not justified in being fearful of what is going on right now. We are all scared no matter what some of us are saying. But that is not an excuse to disregard the needs of other people. The "every person for themself" mentality is causing what I can only describe as hysteria right now and it has to stop. Be prepared, be safe, be smart, but most importantly DO NOT be selfish in this time that is so uncertain for all of us.

So to end this on a positive note what can we do to help during this time? For starters stop hoarding more than you and your family need. If you have more supplies than you would need for a few weeks to a month check in with your extended family or even your neighbors. Be courteous of those around you. By that I mean, as all officials are saying right now, to stay home whenever possible. You do not need to be out at a bar or casually shopping in a crowded store right now. Wash your hands. If you see an elderly person amongst the panic in public help them out. Wash your hands. Be kind to the retail workers that are cashing out your groceries not only being exposed to all of the people out shopping, but being verbally abused but many of them as well. Trust me they do not get paid enough for that. WASH YOUR FREAKING HANDS! The fact that this even needs to be said as much as it has been still absolutely infuriates me, but that is a topic for another day. What is going on right now is something we are all in together. No age, race, gender, sexuality etc. is excluded from this equation. So instead of letting fear overtake our common sense lets come together to keep everyone safe, healthy, and comfortable in the event that they are stuck at home for a while. I want you all to stay safe and happy (as happy as possible) during this crazy time we are living through right now!