grinding to a halt

So many changes have come with the virus surging around the world. Flights, drives, jaunts and in many cases, even jogs are shut down or strongly discouraged. Our county still has just three positive cases and all are resting at home - so it's fairly quiet around here.

On the other hand, our workplace has many people out 'sick' meaning they are either ill with something else or in self-preservation quarantine due to previous conditions that the virus will greatly complicate. My work is among the few considered 'essential' so I'm getting my part-time check, unlike many in the USA and elsewhere. Congress is about to finalize a massive injection of cash into the system in several forms, and we're also partway into a home refinance that was being looked at before the viral growth curve began its exponential upswing.

If all goes as planned - a phrase that is getting little use right now! - we will emerge from this better than many others. My elder siblings and my mom are at a far greater level of risk than myself, but this virus is pervasive and not as discriminating as casual onlookers (mostly younger) have been led to believe. Less than 2% who catch it are dying, but they are not all above 85 or confronted with contributing health issues!

Nearly all of us will endure beyond this first phase, and any others that may await. The world will be rather different on the other end of it, I'm thinking.